Strong editorial in the L.A. Times today:
It's really no wonder that Bank of America has been quiet about its new initiative in the Los Angeles area to offer credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers or credit histories — including illegal immigrants. After all, just hours after the Wall Street Journal reported on the program, CNN anchor Lou Dobbs chastised the $74-billion banking giant for its "outrageous policy," called its spokeswoman an idiot and hinted ominously that the new credit cards would stoke terrorism, money laundering and forgery.
In fact, BofA's program, which issues small amounts of credit at relatively high interest rates to checking customers in good standing, shows how markets adjust to deal with reality, even when politicians and nativist TV commentators want to remain in denial. BofA recognizes that the 28 million Latinos in its market are here to stay, and it is targeting financial products to suit their needs and help them continue to boost local economies.
[...]
According to a recent study by the Center for an Urban Future, a New York-based think tank, L.A. County leads the nation in the number of Latino-owned (as well as Asian-owned) firms. More to the point, the study also reported that about 80% of L.A.'s new entrepreneurs were immigrants.
But at the same time, the paper still feels the need to run letters like this. Irrelevent xenophobic nativists still need to vent somewhere -- might as well be the LAT, I suppose. Here's the Gannett news story on the study cited in the editorial: Immigrant workers drive urban economies. Now I wonder, what market is CNN adjusting to?