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| Report: Illegal Immigration Has Increased |
| 2005-09-28 |
| Illegal immigrants are increasing despite tighter border security and now outnumber foreigners moving to the United States legally. The Pew Hispanic Center reported Tuesday that immigration in general has been picking up, tracking the reviving American economy and improving jobs picture. "The U.S. economy was obviously a very important factor in determining these flows," said Roberto Suro, director of the center and a co-author of its study. Immigration â both legal and illegal â topped 1.5 million people in 1999 and 2000, according to the report. The number of people entering the United States then plummeted to 1.1 million people by 2003, the same level as in 1992. Immigration bounced back to 1.2 million in 2004, but the report cautioned that it is difficult to say whether the recent upswing is part of a new trend. "The extremely high (immigration) flows at the end of the past decade were not the norm, nor part of a long-term trend, but rather the peak of a momentary increase that lasted for only a few years," said the report, which was written by Suro and demographer Jeffrey Passel. The report documents immigration levels from 1992 to 2004, generating estimates from a variety of Census data.The Pew Hispanic Center is a nonpartisan research organization supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Border security gained national attention last month after the governors of two states, Arizona and New Mexico, declared states of emergency on their borders with Mexico. The governors cited security shortcomings by the federal government. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said at the time that he had already ordered a review of border security strategy. "The Pew report is yet another indicator that the immigration system is broken," said a statement by John Cornyn, chairman of the Senate's Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship Subcommittee. "Immigration reform must be comprehensive and address both enforcement and improved avenues for legal immigration." The Texas Republican has co-authored a bill that would create a temporary worker visa, as well as a mandatory system for employers to check on the immigration status of prospective employees. The Pew report said immigration levels closely mirror economic conditions in the United States â as the economy improves, immigration increases â suggesting that the lure of jobs is a strong factor in attracting people to this country. The U.S. economy appears to be a stronger factor than economic conditions in the countries sending immigrants here, the report said. Among the report's findings: _Since 2001, the number of legal permanent residents entering the United States has declined from 578,000 to 455,000, while the number of illegal immigrants has increased from 549,000 to 562,000. Legal, temporary residents account for the remainder of people entering the country. "We've seen a fairly steady growth in the number of undocumented immigrants living here, and this data shows very sizable numbers coming in," Passel said. "We're clearly not stopping them at the border." Declines in legal immigration "appear to reflect processing backlogs, security delays and other developments that followed the Sept. 11 attacks," the report said. _Mexico accounted for about a third of all U.S. immigrants, a percentage that was steady from 1992 to 2004. Other Latin American countries accounted for about 20 percent of all immigrants, Asia accounted for a little more than a quarter, and Europe and Canda combined to account for about 14 percent. _More immigrants are shunning states with large immigrant communities, such as New York and California, and moving to states with smaller foreign-born populations, such as North Carolina and Iowa. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #3 Problem is that the Dems view the illegals as future Democratic voters (or in some states CURRENT Democratic voters). And the GOP is too busy with their fingers in their ears yelling "LA LA LA LA LA WHAT PROBLEM??". |
| Posted by: DMFD 2005-09-28 21:12 |
| #2 "...but the report cautioned that it is difficult to say whether the recent upswing is part of a new trend." What constitutes an authentic trend? Perhaps: Immigration and Nationality Act [INA]- 1965 Congress eliminated the "national origins" quota system and established a âFamily Reunificationâ policy. "Our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually; under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same." Chief Senate Sponsor: U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. Since 1970, more than 30 million legal and illegal immigrants have settled in the U.S., representing more than one-third of all people ever to come to America's shores. Immigration Reform and Control Act [IRCA]- 1986 Congress increased appropriations for enforcement and amnesty provisions. âCongress will pass or kill any immigration bill for one of these four reasons; emotion, fear, compassion or racism " Chief Senate Sponsor: U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, R-Wyoming Approximately 2.7 million illegal aliens were granted legal status. The immigration service estimated that, during just the 1990s, 1.5 million illegal aliens received green cards, outside of the IRCA amnesty. Bush Guest Worker Proposal- 2004 Allow illegal aliens currently living in the United States to apply for a work permit for up to three years. âI propose a new temporary worker program that will match willing foreign workers with willing American employers, when no Americans can be found to fill the jobs.â GW Bush, President A 13.1 percent increase in apprehensions of illegal aliens was reported in the first month after the Presidents announcement. Figures show increases in apprehensions continue to rise. Now illegal immigration outnumbers legal immigrantion. Is the US willing to wait to see if these figures represent an authentic trend? |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2005-09-28 13:50 |
| #1 The ILLEGAL ALIENS (not 'undocumented immigrants') are coming in anticipation of Amnesty being granted by Bush and Co. In the meantime LEGAL imigrants (you know... the law abiding ones who made this country great....) are patently waiting their turn while Bush PISSES ALL OVER THEM (again) by granting what amounts to amnesty to ILLEGAL aliens (you know... the lawbreakers who's mere presence here is in violation of federal law...). |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2005-09-28 08:54 |