The Murder Of Ilan Halimi

JNM's vivid depiction of the perils of the banlieu are a testament to a key demographic difference between the US and Europe. I wrote a post a few weeks back on this exact issue but never got around to editing it for publication: immigration. Here in the US, I contend that we are incredibly lucky to share a 2,000 mile land border with a country whose people tend to share a religious tradition with most Americans. This is because religions impart values, and congruency in value systems makes the immigration and adjustment process smoother. Almost 176,000 Mexicans legally immigrate to the US every year, and I applaud every last one (even those that come here illegally; and if the estimates are right, the numbers are much higher than those that come here legally).

In Europe its clear that a majority of immigrants are not coming from similar religious backgrounds (religion is largely dead in Europe anyway) and instead come from primarily Arab Muslim, or African Muslim backgrounds. Just from my own anecdotal evidence I would venture to say that immigration and subsequent adjustment is far easier in the United States, and we are incredibly lucky for it. I wonder if our Parisian correspondent would like to add further and far more scientific observations of his own?