Let The Trail Of Tears II begin!!! our immigration laws must be enforced
illegal alien/criminals must either be deported or leave OUR nation voluntarily the catholics, the jews, and the hispanic community should all be scorned for defending criminals On May 3, 2:30 pm, "M. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote: > 5 Myths about immigrationBy Doris Meissner > Sunday, May 2, 2010; B02Despite the fact that we are a nation of immigrants > -- or perhaps because of it -- immigration continues to be one of America's > most contentious topics.The new law in Arizonaauthorizing police to arrest > individuals who cannot show documents proving that they are in the country > legally has set off a fresh bout of acrimony. But as in the past, much of the > debate is founded on mythology.1. Immigrants take jobs from American > workers.Although immigrants account for 12.5 percent of the U.S. population, > they make up about 15 percent of the workforce. They are overrepresented > among workers largely because the rest of our population is aging: Immigrants > and their children have accounted for 58 percent of U.S. population growth > since 1980. This probably won't change anytime soon. Low U.S. fertility rates > and the upcoming retirement of the baby boomers mean that immigration is > likely to be the only source of growth in what we call the "prime age" > workforce -- workers ages 25 to 55 -- in the decades ahead. As record numbers > of retirees begin drawing Social Security checks, younger immigrant workers > will be paying taxes, somewhat easing the financial pressures on the system. > Moreover, immigrants tend to be concentrated in high- and low-skilled > occupations that complement -- rather than compete with -- jobs held by > native workers. And the foreign-born workers who fill lower-paying jobs are > typically first-hired/first-fired employees, allowing employers to expand and > contract their workforces rapidly. As a result, immigrants experience higher > employment than natives during booms -- but they suffer higher job losses > during downturns, including the current one. > It's true that an influx of new workers pushes wages down, but immigration > also stimulates growth by creating new consumers, entrepreneurs and > investors. As a result of this growth, economists estimate that wages for the > vast majority of American workers are slightly higher than they would be > without immigration. U.S. workers without a high school degree experience > wage declines as a result of competition from immigrants, but these losses > are modest, at just over 1 percent. Economists also estimate that for each > job an immigrant fills, an additional job is created.2. Immigration is at an > all-time high, and most new immigrants came illegally.The historic high came > more than a century ago, in 1890, when immigrants made up 14.8 percent of our > population. Today, about two-thirds of immigrants are here legally, either as > naturalized citizens or as lawful permanent residents, more commonly known as > "green card" holders. And of the approximately 10.8 million immigrants who > are in the country illegally, about 40 percent arrived legally but overstayed > their visas. > It's worth noting that although the unauthorized immigrant population > includes more people from Mexico than from any other country, Mexicans are > also the largest group of lawful immigrants. As for the flow of illegal > immigrants, apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border have declined by more > than 50 percent over the past four years, while increases in the size of the > illegal population, which had been growing by about 500,000 a year for more > than a decade, have stopped. This decline is largely due to the recession, > but stepped-up border enforcement is playing a part.3. Today's immigrants are > not integrating into American life like past waves did.The integration of > immigrants remains a hallmark of America's vitality as a society and a source > of admiration abroad, as it has been throughout our history. Although some > people complain that today's immigrants are not integrating into U.S. society > as quickly as previous newcomers did, the same charge was leveled at > virtually every past wave of immigrants, including the large numbers of > Germans, Irish and Italians who arrived in the 19th and early 20th centuries. > Today, as before, immigrant integration takes a generation or two. Learning > English is one key driver of this process; the education and upward mobility > of immigrants' children is the other. On the first count, today's immigrants > consistently seek English instruction in such large numbers that > adult-education programs cannot meet the demand, especially in places such as > California. On the second count, the No Child Left Behind Act has played a > critical role in helping educate immigrant children because it holds schools > newly accountable for teaching them English. > However, the unauthorized status of millions of foreign-born immigrants can > slow integration in crucial ways. For example, illegal immigrants are > ineligible for in-state tuition at most public colleges and universities, > putting higher education effectively out of their reach. And laws prohibiting > unauthorized immigrants from getting driver's licenses or various > professional credentials can leave them stuck in jobs with a high density of > other immigrants and unable to advance.4. Cracking down on illegal border > crossings will make us safer.The job of protecting the nation's borders is > immense, encompassing nearly 7,500 miles of land borders, 12,380 miles of > coastline and a vast network of sea ports, international airports, ports of > entry along the Mexican and Canadian borders and visa-issuing consulates > abroad. > Since Sept. 11, 2001, we have dramatically strengthened our borders through > the use of biometrics at ports of entry, secure cargo-shipment systems, > intelligence gathering, integrated databases and increased international > cooperation. The Border Patrol has nearly doubled in size in the past five > years, to more than 20,000 agents. The Department of Homeland Security says > it is on schedule to meet congressional mandates for southwestern border > enforcement, including fence-building. And cooperation with the Mexican > government has improved significantly. > Still, our southwest border is more a classic law enforcement challenge than > a front line in the war on terrorism. Antiterrorism measures rely heavily on > intelligence gathering and clandestine efforts that are unrelated to border > enforcement. > The seasoned enforcement officials I have spoken with all contend that if we > provided enough visas to meet the economy's demand for workers, border agents > would be freed to focus on protecting the nation from truly dangerous > individuals and activities, such as drug-trafficking, smuggling andcartel > violence.5. Immigration reform cannot happen in an election year.The politics > of immigration can be explosive and can chase lawmakers away, especially as > elections near, with the result that Congress infrequently and reluctantly > updates immigration laws. However, all the significant immigration bills > enacted in recent decades were passed in election years, often at the last > minute and after fractious debates. > This list dates back to the Refugee Act of 1980, which established our system > for humanitarian protection and refugee and asylum admissions. Next came the > Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which made it illegal to hire > unauthorized immigrants and provided amnesty for 2.7 million illegal > immigrants. The Immigration Act of 1990 increased the number of visas > allotted to highly skilled workers. And the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform > and Immigrant Responsibility Act charged immigration agencies with > implementing significant new law enforcement mandates. > Legislative attempts to make urgently needed changes fizzled in the House in > 2005 and in the Senate in 2006 and2007,and the to-do list for this Congress > is substantial. But ruling out immigration reform, whether because Congress > has other priorities or because it's an election year, would be a mistake.The > outline for immigration legislationthat Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and his > Democratic colleagues unveiled last week, together with the uproar over the > Arizona law, may help convince lawmakers that there's no time like the > present.Doris Meissner, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, > served as commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service > from 1993 to 2000. She will beonlineMonday, May 3, at 11 a.m. ET to > chat.Submit your questions and commentsbefore or during the discussion.Want > to challenge everything you think you know? Visit the"Five Myths" > archive.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/30/AR2010043001106.html?wprss=rss_print/outlook > > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help seehttp://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community athttp://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -- 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.
