MSNBC anchor José Díaz-Balart spoke to NPR Latino USA's Digital Media Director, Julio Ricardo Varela, about the recent Pew Hispanic report that found a significant decrease in the number of foreign-born Latinos. Whereas 40 percent of Latinos were foreign-born in 2000, the number has decreased to 35 percent in 2013 and trends are indicating it will continue to decline.
"This is a classic immigrant pattern - this shouldn't shock anybody," stated Varela, who said it contradicted the kind of heated political rhetoric that describes Latino immigration as an "invasion." Varela said the rhetoric is reminiscent of what was said of other immigrant groups - there was a time that people said you could never have an Irish Catholic for president - and then came John F. Kennedy.