Demographics
Immigrants are a vital, dynamic part of the U.S. population—especially when it comes to the workforce. 77.1% of immigrants are of working age (16–64), compared to just 62.0% of U.S.-born residents, making them key contributors to the economy as both taxpayers and consumers.
- 22.9 million immigrants are active in the U.S. workforce
- 74% of foreign-born residents are proficient in English
- 89.4% of all undocumented immigrants are of working age
- 5.2 million U.S. citizen children living with at least one undocumented family member
- Only 4.9% of immigrants are under 15, compared to 20.3% of U.S.-born residents
- 18% of immigrants are 65+, nearly identical to the 17.7% of U.S.-born seniors
New Reports Reveal Immigration Does Not Increase Unemployment
Two new reports prepared for the IPC by the consulting firm Rob Paral & Associates debunk the simplistic myth propagated by anti-immigration activists that immigrants fill U.S. jobs only at the expense of unemployed native-born workers. The reports use data from the Census Bureau to demonstrate that there is no discernible relationship whatsoever between the number of recent immigrants in a particular locale and the unemployment rate among native-born whites, blacks, Latinos, or Asians. This holds true even now, at a time of economic recession and high unemployment. These reports are the first two installments of a three-part series, Untying the Knot vinyan download , which seeks to unravel the complex and frequently misrepresented relationship between immigration and unemployment. The first report, "The Unemployment and Immigration Disconnect," analyzes the relationship (or lack thereof) between recent immigration and the general unemployment rate in different regions, states, and counties. The report finds that areas with high unemployment rates do not necessarily have large numbers of recent immigrants. For instance, recent immigrants are 7.3% of the population in New Jersey and only 0.8% of the population in Maine, yet unemployment rates are nearly identical in both states. On average, counties with lower unemployment rates have larger populations of recent immigrants. Read More
Immigrants Could Soften Effects of Baby Boomer Retirement
On Tuesday, the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees released their annual reports on the dire financial condition of the nation's two largest social safety-net programs. Not surprisingly, the reports highlight the devastating impact that the current recession is having on both Social Security and Medicare, which are now expected to run out of money years earlier that previously forecast. The reports should also serve as a reminder of the severe demographic crisis the United States is confronting as the native-born population grows older: as the 78-million Baby Boomers retire over the next two decades, immigrants will play increasingly important roles in the U.S. economy as taxpayers, workers, consumers, and homebuyers. Read More
Pew Report Reveals Continuing Importance of Immigrants to Housing Market
A recent report from the Pew Hispanic Center sheds new light on the value of immigration to the U.S. economy—even in the midst of a recession. The report, which examines the impact of the housing market's boom-and-bust cycle on minorities and immigrants in the United States, found that the latest housing "bust" which began to unfold in 2005 has had less of an impact on immigrant homeowners than on native-born homeowners. Although immigrants are still less likely to own homes than the native-born (just as native-born blacks and Latinos are less likely to own homes than native-born whites), rates of homeownership have declined faster for the native-born than for immigrants since the onset of the current housing crisis. The findings of the Pew report are a far cry from the shrill claims of anti-immigrant commentators such as Rush Limbaugh, who not long ago helped propagate the fabricated claim that the crumbling of the housing market was precipitated in no small part by millions of undocumented immigrants defaulting on subprime mortgages. Read More
Immigration Inching Towards Reform One Year After Postville Raids
Today, May 12, 2008, marks the one-year anniversary of the immigration raid in Postville, Iowa, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted the largest workplace immigration raid in U.S. history, arresting 389 immigrants at the Iowa Agriprocessors meatpacking plant for the crime of working without proper authorization. Aside from the tragedy of separating families and decimating a local economy, the raid symbolizes the failed enforcement-only policies of the Bush administration and serves as yet another grim reminder of the desperate need for fair and comprehensive immigration reform. Last May, undocumented immigrants in Postville were rounded up, charged as serious criminals for using false Social Security numbers or residency papers, and some even sentenced to five months in prison without being informed of their rights. An interpreter, Dr. Erik Camayd-Freixas, who assisted as a translator during these below-the-belt trials described the event as a “twist in Dickensian cruelty:” Read More
Sheriff Joe Arpaio to Recruit and Arm Citizens, Neo-Nazis “Have His Back”
Rather than cleaning up his police department and addressing allegations of racial profiling and discrimination, Arpaio has decided to recruit and arm more Maricopa citizens in the absence of state funds. Back in April, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in Arizona voted to postpone the acceptance of $1.6 million from the state to help pay for County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's controversial immigration enforcement tactics. Observers said the decision could signal that the board is concerned by federal inquires into Arpaio's practices that stem from his hard-line immigration tactics which include the deputization of volunteer "posses" to perform immigration sweeps, armed workplace raids, and set up checkpoints. Read More
Obama Budget Not a Replacement for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
The Obama Administration appears increasingly poised to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform, as promised. Yesterday the White House announced budgetary initiatives that signal a change in priorities and pave the way for immigration reform. At the same time, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, testified before the Senate yesterday about her plans to protect our borders and enforce our immigration laws in smarter and more effective ways. While the changes are welcome, they're still just fiddling along the edges of a real solution. Comprehensive immigration reform is the only real way to fix the problem. Read More
All Signs Point Toward Immigration Reform
The stars continue to align for comprehensive immigration reform. The President continues to call for movement this year, Congress is beginning the legislative process, and DHS is realigning their priorities to focus on the root causes of undocumented immigration. FIRST, at yesterday's press conference marking the end of his first 100 days, President Obama stated: "we want to move this process. We can't continue with a broken immigration system. It's not good for anybody. It's not good for American workers. It's dangerous for Mexican would-be workers who are trying to cross a dangerous border." Read More
College Board Unanimously Supports DREAM Act for Undocumented Students
Just as the Obama administration has signaled that they hope to tackle immigration reform in the coming months, the College Board's trustees unanimously voted to support legislation which would provide undocumented youths a path to citizenship through college or the military. More specifically, the College Board expressed its support of the DREAM Act, a piece of legislation sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) that would give some young immigrants who have stayed out of trouble, graduated from high school, and either finished two years of college or two years of military service the opportunity to become permanent residents. Ultimately, it aims at giving hard-working undocumented children who have always considered America "home" the opportunity to fix their status and contribute to our economy and their communities. Read More
Low-Income Latinos and Immigrants Reported “Under Siege” in the South
Today the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) released a new report entitled "Under Siege: Life for Low-Income Latinos in the South." SLPC report adds to the mounting evidence pointing to the harmful impact that the absence of a functioning immigration system is having on Latinos and immigrant communities. SPLC investigators interviewed and surveyed 500 low-income Latinos -- including U.S. citizens, legal residents, and undocumented immigrants -- in the South and found a population "under siege and living in fear -- fear of the police, fear of the government and fear of criminals who prey on immigrants because of their vulnerability." Read More
Arizona’s Sheriff Arpaio Puts Publicity Before Border Violence Hearing
You'd think America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff," Joe Arpaio, would've been in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona to attend yesterday's U.S. Senate hearing on border violence. Instead, while a panel of U.S. Senators lead by John McCain traveled to Arizona, Sheriff Arpaio was well on his way to appear on Stephen Colbert's comedy show, The Colbert Report, taped in New York City. Arpaio is known for transforming Arizona's Maricopa County Police Department into an immigration-enforcement agency, taking the pursuit of undocumented immigrants to "unconstitutional extremes" and gaining international notoriety and a Department of Justice investigation in the process. Yet, if all his extreme tactics are in the name of protecting his community, why did Arpaio miss a hearing on one of the biggest threats to Maricopa County's public safety hosted in his own town hall? The truth is Arpaio's appetite for publicity is so insatiable that it overrides any sense of duty, rationality, or morality. Read More
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