Getting better all the time

I really didn't know this. I thought Republican anti-immigrant agitation was just racist bigotry.

I still think that is what's going on, but I didn't know how large an influx the country has enjoyed in the last decade.

All these willing workers and entrepreneurial strivers are making us a smarter, better country.

As throughout our history, it will take awhile for American society to digest the newcomers. But, even in the age of Republican stupidity, we're still big and rich and spacious and adaptable and we'll be fine.

Source: NYT gift article. It might be possible to have some quibbles about the numbers, because a lot of the people in these figures are keeping their heads down. David Kurtz has summarized:

    The pace of immigration from 2021-23 was faster than at any previous period in U.S. history, including the peak of Ellis Island.

    As a share of total U.S. population, the average annual change in the foreign-born population went up faster than any period since at least the 1850s.

    The percentage of the U.S. population born in another country reached a new high of 15.2 percent in 2023. The previous high was 14.8 percent in 1890.

For Californians, there's a local angle to stay aware of: according to CalMatters: 

Roughly 3.3 million Californians live in mixed-status households, including 1 in 5 children under 18.