How is this writer utilizing an 11 million illegal alien number to base his opinion upon?
Any rational individual would have to believe that at a minimum, that number is at least doubled or tripled, since we've been utilizing the 11 million number for over sixteen years. On Sun, Jan 29, 2017 at 12:06 PM, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > > Number 39: Spring 2011 > > *Ten Myths About Immigration * > > *Editor’s note: While originally published in 2011, this story was updated > in 2015 to reflect current statistics, policies and conditions in the > United States. Click here > <http://www.tolerance.org/article/sources-ten-myths-about-immigration> for > a detailed list of sources. *Myths about immigration and immigrants are > common. Here are a few of the most frequently heard misconceptionsalong > with information to help you and your students separate fact from fear. > > When students make statements that are mistaken or inaccurate, one > response is to simply ask, “How do you know that’s true?” Whatever the > answereven if it’s “That’s what my parents say”probe a little more to get > at the source. Ask, “Where do you think they got that information?” or > “That sounds like it might be an opinion and not a fact.” Guide students to > find a reliable source and help them figure out how to check the facts. > > > *Most immigrants are here illegally. *With so much controversy around the > issue of undocumented immigrants, it’s easy to overlook the fact that most > of the foreign-born people living in the United States have followed the > rules and have permission to be here. Of the more than 41 million > foreign-born people living in the United States in 2013, about 30 million > were naturalized citizens, permanent residents and legal residents. Eleven > million were unauthorized immigrants. Of those who did not have > authorization to be here, about 40 percent entered the country legally and > then let their visas expire. > > > *It's just as easy to enter the country legally today as it was when my > ancestors arrived. *Ask students when their ancestors immigrated and if > they know what the entry requirements were at the time. For about the first > 100 years, the United States had an “open immigration system that allowed > any able-bodied immigrant in,” explains immigration historian David > Reimers. The biggest obstacle would-be immigrants faced was getting > heresome even resorted to selling themselves into indentured servitude to > do so. Today, there are many rules about who may enter the country and stay > legally. Under current policy, many students’ immigrant ancestors who > arrived between 1790 and 1924 would not be allowed in today. > > > *There’s a way to enter the country legally for anyone who wants to get in > line. *Ask students if they know the rules to enter the country legally > and stay here to work. The simple answer is that there is no “line” for > most very poor people with few skills to stand in and gain permanent U.S. > residency. Generally, gaining permission to live and work in the United > States is limited to people who are (1) highly trained in a skill that is > in short supply here and offered a job by a U.S. employer, (2) escaping > political persecution, (3) joining close family already here, or (4) > winners of the green-card lottery. > > > *My ancestors learned English, but today’s immigrants refuse. *Ask > students to find out how long it took for their ancestors to stop using > their first language. “Earlier immigrant groups held onto their cultures > fiercely,” notes Reimers. “When the United States entered the First World > War [in 1917], there were over 700 German-language newspapers. Yet, German > immigration had peaked in the 1870s.” > > While today’s immigrants may speak their first language at home, one-half > of those older than 5 speak English “very well” according to research by > the independent, nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. And the demand for > adult ESL instruction in the United States far outstrips available classes. > > > *Today’s immigrants don’t want to blend in and become “Americanized.” *Ask > students what it means to blend in to American society. Nearly 655,000 > people became naturalized citizens during the 2014 fiscal year. They had to > overcome obstacles like getting here, finding a job, tackling language > barriers, paying naturalization fees, dealing with a famously lethargic > immigration bureaucracy and taking a written citizenship test. This is not > the behavior of people who take becoming American lightly. > > The reality is that the typical pattern of assimilation in the United > States has remained steady, says Reimers. “The first generation struggled > with English and didn’t learn it. The second was bilingual. And the third > can’t talk to their grandparents.” If anything, the speed of assimilation > is faster today than at any time in our past, mainly because of public > education and mass media. > > > *Immigrants take good jobs from Americans. *Ask students what kinds of > jobs they think immigrants are taking. According to the Immigration Policy > Center, a nonpartisan group, research indicates there is little connection > between immigrant labor and unemployment rates of native-born workers. Here > in the United States, two trendsbetter education and an aging > populationhave resulted in a decrease in the number of Americans willing > or available to take low-paying jobs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor > Statistics, close to 26 million foreign-born people, or 17 percent of the > country’s labor force, worked in the United States in 2014. These workers > are more likely to be employed by the service industry, while native-born > workers are more likely to hold jobs in management, professional, sales and > office occupations. > > To fill the void of low-skilled American workers, employers often hire > immigrant workers. One of the consequences, unfortunately, is that it is > easier for unscrupulous employers to exploit this labor source and pay > immigrants less, not provide benefits and ignore worker-safety laws. On an > economic level, Americans benefit from relatively low prices on food and > other goods produced by undocumented immigrant labor. > > > *Undocumented immigrants bring crime. *Ask students where they heard this. > Nationally, > from 1990 to 2010, the violent crime rate declined almost 45 percent and > the property crime rate fell 42 percent, even as the number of undocumented > immigrants more than tripled. According to the conservative Americas > Majority Foundation, crime rates from 1999 to 2006 were lowest in states > with the highest immigration growth rates. During that period, the total > crime rate fell 14 percent in the 19 top immigration states, compared to > only 7 percent in the other 31. Truth is, foreign-born people in > Americawhether they are naturalized citizens, permanent residents or > undocumentedare incarcerated at a much lower rate than native-born > Americans, according to the National Institute of Corrections. > > > *Undocumented immigrants don’t pay taxes but still get benefits. *Ask > students what are some ways Americans pay taxes, as in income tax and sales > tax. Undocumented immigrants pay taxes every time they buy gas, clothes or > new appliances. They also contribute to property taxesa main source of > school fundingwhen they buy or rent a house, or rent an apartment. The > U.S. Social Security Administration estimated that in 2013 undocumented > immigrantsand their employerspaid $13 billion in payroll taxes alone for > benefits they will never get. They can receive schooling and emergency > medical care, but not welfare or food stamps. > > > *The United States is being overrun by immigrants like never before. *Ask > students why they think this. As a percentage of the U.S. population, the > historic high actually came in 1890, when the foreign-born constituted > nearly 15 percent of the population. By 2012, about 13 percent of the > population was foreign-born. At the start of the recession in 2008, the > number of undocumented immigrants coming into the country actually dropped, > and in more recent years, that number is stabilizing with little change. > > Many people also accuse immigrants of having “anchor babies”children who > allow the whole family to stay. According to the U.S. Constitution, a child > born on U.S. soil is automatically an American citizen. That is true. But > immigration judges will not keep immigrant parents in the United States > just because their children are U.S. citizens. In 2013, the federal > government deported about 72, 410 foreign-born parents whose children had > been born here. These children must wait until they are 21 before they can > petition to allow their parents to join them in the United States. That > process is long and difficult. In reality, there is no such thing as an > “anchor baby.” > > > *Anyone who enters the country illegally is a criminal. *Ask students > whether someone who jaywalks or who doesn’t feed a parking meter is a > criminal. Explain that only very serious misbehavior is generally > considered “criminal” in our legal system. Violations of less serious laws > are usually “civil” matters and are tried in civil courts. People accused > of crimes are tried in criminal courts and can be imprisoned. Federal > immigration law says that unlawful presence in the country is a civil > offense and is, therefore, not a crime. The punishment is deportation. > However, some stateslike Arizonahave criminalized an immigrant’s mere > presence. > > > http://www.tolerance.org/immigration-myths > > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
