Yesterday The New York Times posted a story about efforts to help new immigrants become citizens quickly so that they can register to vote. I think the idea of new immigrants registering to vote is a wonderful idea if they have some understanding of how American works. In the past, American Presidents have paused immigration in order to allow new immigrants to assimilate. At the present time, we have a very large number of immigrants, some of which are not at all interested in assimilation.

The article reports:

The influence of the Latino voting bloc has added impetus to the drive. According to Latino Decisions, a polling and research firm, 80 percent of naturalized Latino citizens voted for President Obama in 2012. In New York State, there are approximately 915,000 legal permanent residents, more than 317,400 of whom are Latino, according to the Center for Migration Studies.

Do you think that if these immigrants were voting Republican the Democrats would be so anxious to have them here?

To illustrate my point about assimilation:

In the end, though, only 38 of the day’s applicants were able to move forward (with the process of becoming an American citizen), Mr. Frugone said. Most of the others were not proficient enough in English to pass the citizenship exam, which requires an applicant to answer basic questions orally, write a sentence and pass a civics test.

Some older immigrants who have not learned English wait for the precise moment when they have lived in the United States for 20 years and are older than 50; at that point, they can take the test in their own language.

Jose Miguel Toledo Madera, 53, a resident of Washington Heights in Manhattan, said he had been too busy working as a custodian to learn English. After six hours at the Unite Here citizenship drive, he finally finished his application by taking photos.

The article further states:

“I want to vote so that we can have a better situation in the country for all the immigrants, for all the people we actually need in this country,” Dinelsa Quezada Martinez, 70, said in Spanish in the organization’s offices. “I want a president that’s really going to worry and take care of our country and all the people in this country.

Note to Ms. Martinez: It is not the President’s job to take care of the people in this country–it is the President’s job not to interfere with the success of the people in this country. Dear lady, your attitude is part of the problem.