DALLAS _ Many Americans are convinced their country is being invaded by Mexicans, both U.S. born and immigrant.
Who would think such a thing? There are actually people here in America _ the world's biggest military power which has invaded Afghanistan and Iraq and has a long and sad history of interventions in Latin America _ who feel invaded.

One of them is Pat Buchanan, former Republican candidate for the presidency.

It would be easy to suggest that Buchanan's latest book ("State of Emergency; The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America") is alarmist and illusory, if it weren't for all the people who think similarly. According to The New York Times Book Review, the book is sixth on its best-sellers list.

"Between 10 percent and 20 percent of all Mexican, Central American, and Caribbean peoples have moved into the United States. One to 2 million enter every year and stay, half of them in defiance of America's laws ... This is an invasion, the greatest invasion in history."

Buchanan and his followers firmly believe two things: one, that there are too many foreigners in the United States, and two, that the new immigrants are not assimilating in American society as other groups (German, Polish, Italian ...) did during last century.

Well, Buchanan and his followers are wrong.
It's true that there are about 36 million people in the United States born abroad (mostly Mexican). To Buchanan this seems a huge number, but in fact, it is not; foreigners today make up only 12 percent of America's population; in the early 20th century, they represented 14 percent. So, why the commotion?

The problem for Buchanan is that the immigrants of today are mostly Latin American and not European. By the year 2050, white Anglo-Saxons will be a minority in the United States, as is now happening in California and here in Texas. This horrifies the ultra conservative author. "By nation of origin of our people, America will be a Third World country," he says.

That is not true.

Hispanics, contrary to Buchanan's argument, are assimilating rapidly into mainstream U.S.A.: Most second generation Hispanics speak better English than Spanish; third generation Hispanics tend to marry outside the Latin community; and nine out of 10 Hispanics are bilingual. Additionally: Hispanics own more than a million businesses in the United States, over half a million Latinos are doctors and lawyers, and they have master's or doctorate degrees. The U.S. attorney general is Hispanic; there are already three Latinos in the U.S. Senate, one Hispanic governor, and the day that someone called Garcia, Rodriguez or Lopez will get to the White House is not far away.

Everything is possible in the United States for Hispanics today.
The real truth is that Buchanan and company don't want to recognize the inescapable: The United States is multiethnic, multicultural and multiracial. And therein lies its strength. The identity of this nation is not linked to the English language, ethnic origin or color, but to its most traditional values: a historical acceptance of immigrants, tolerance toward diversity, and innovation. In that sense, it is a unique country.

In Congress, unfortunately, there are many who think like Buchanan, and believe that a wall extending along more than 700 miles of the border will stop the "invasion" from the south. That's a mistake.

The immigration flowing northward is like a torrent of water: meeting a wall in its path, it simply gushes round the sides. It is the good salaries and opportunities that attract so many immigrants to the United States, and for this country to grow, it needs them. Their contributions to the country, despite what Buchanan suggests, are far bigger than the costs they generate for society.

But even if they were successful in sealing off the U.S.-Mexican border to illegal migrants, the social and cultural transformation of America is already here. In 2005, for the first time, more Hispanics were born in the United States than the number of immigrants coming from Latin America.

No, there is no Hispanic invasion engulfing the United States, nor are Mexicans "reconquering" America's south and southwest. Invading or reconquering would imply a total dominance and control that Hispanics do not have or want. And Mexico, last time I checked, was not at war with the United States.

However, I do acknowledge that the huge growth of the Hispanic population and the constant flow of immigrants from Latin America are changing the face of America forever. And this country, Mr. Buchanan, is a much better place as a result.