BY TONY BEST

IF NUMBERS PAINT an accurate picture, then consider some astonishingly high figures:

* More than half-million people from CARICOM nations alone joined the list of green card holders in the United States between 1998 and 2007.

* Almost 8 000 Bajans, 7 565 to be exact, were among the nationals of CARICOM who became permanent residents.

* Haitians and Jamaicans accounted for 349 571 of the 523 964 West Indians, with Haitians having the lion's share of 183 173 and Jamaicans 166 398.

* Some 68 939 Guyanese, 59 786 Trinidadians and 8 385 Belizeans were among them.

* The members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States had at least 30 000.

Now add the 250 000 immigrants from the Dominican Republic and what we see is a significant exodus of people from the Caribbean to the United States. Of course, we can look at it another way and describe the flow of persons as a productive influx into the North American economic colossus from the Caribbean sub-region of the Western Hemisphere.

When we take into consideration that the estimated number of undocumented souls waiting to become legal residents is at least twice the size of the new additions to the legal residents, we are almost tempted to ask, somewhat tongue in cheek of course, who are the folks being left behind. But it explains a number of things.

The first is that there's a strengthening of the umbilical cord between the United States and the Caribbean, one that stretches back centuries and underscores the contribution which people from the Caribbean have made to the United States, long before the American colonies severed their ties with England in the second half of the 18th century. Crispus Attucks, said to be a Black Bajan, was the first person to give his life in the American War of Independence.

Next, the figures underscore the point that's often made: every household in Barbados, Guyana, Grenada and the rest of the Caribbean can single out a relative or close friend living in some part of the United States.

Thirdly, the steady flow of remittances every year to the Caribbean is an economic lifeline to the region. At least US$5 billion in remittances go to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Barbados, Grenada and their neighbours, helping families improve their living conditions.

Immigrant quality

Next is the quality of the immigrants the region is sending to the United States. Many of them are highly trained professionals, doctors, nurses, engineers, economist, information communications technology specialists and the like who received their education and training in the Caribbean. It's called the "brain drain" and the United States is the prime recipient, something that's often shunted aside by the anti-immigration noise-makers who like to pretend that the United States is the dumping ground for the poorest of the poor from the developing world.

But there is more to this immigration story than the numbers and the types of persons who are making a substantial difference in this nation of immigration.

We are in the last lap of the divisive Democratic primary campaign to decide the presidential nominee to run against Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee, in November, and many of the green card holders have since become new Americans, naturalised citizens. They can and must participate in the political process by registering to vote. Not only that, they must go to the polls. Senator Clinton's victory in Tuesday's Pennsylvania over Senator Barack Obama shows the importance of going to the polls.

According to data compiled by the Department of Homeland Security and the Migration Policy Institute, there were more than 15 million naturalised citizens eligible to vote two years ago.

Unfortunately, Caribbean immigrants were among those least likely to change their status from green card holders to naturalised citizens, something which the Caribbean community must change.

With the general election moving into its final phase, it's important that West Indians in America have a significant presence on the electoral rolls and turn out to vote. Why?

They can continue to lend their voices in support of efforts by African Americans, Asians, Hispanics are others to the ongoing campaigns designed to expand vital social services in cities and the states in which they live.

They can also become powerful advocates for the further economic and social development of CARICOM.

Every year, Caribbean immigrants stage America's largest cultural festival, the West Indian-American Day Carnival on Eastern Parkway on Labour Day. It draws about two million smiling, hip-swaying and eager souls to Brooklyn to mark the official end of summer. They must be encouraged to use that powerful and positive presence in other ways as well.

Yes, the manifestations of Caribbean culture are an important of our life in this vast metropolis, but there is more to it than that.

Human development and respect for civil liberties and political rights much become key elements of the equation and West Indians must continue to demonstrate that long-standing interest through their involvement in the political process.