Editorial: South Louisiana is home to new natives, immigrants who love the place

With a scholarship in hand, Laura Siu left Honduras for Louisiana to attend the University of New Orleans; she married a local and settled in. Albert Wehbe left a destructive civil war in Lebanon for an education and a calmer life when he went to what today is the University of Louisiana at Lafayette; he married a local and he’s been here since. Originally from Wellington in New Zealand, Dave Tubb Duncan spent several years in Asia before moving to Baton Rouge with his Louisiana-born wife. It was going to be “for a while;” it’s been longer.

Siu, Wehbe and Duncan are Louisiana immigrants. They arrived from different parts of the world, came for a time and they’re still here.

Reporter Jack Barlow talked with several Louisiana immigrants on the Fourth of July. Their stories remind us how important immigrants have been to our state and our nation.

Our immigrant population has been growing. In 1990, about 2.1% of Louisiana’s state population was born abroad. That percentage rose to 2.6% in 2000 and jumped to 4.3% in 2021. Most of our immigrants come from Latin America. Others come from Asia, Europe and Africa.

At a time when debates over immigration policy have become so hostile, it’s good to remember that this type of diversity is what makes our place special.