Dispelling myths about immigrants.

Originally Posted by Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights

FACT SHEET: DISPELLING THE MYTHS ABOUT IMMIGRANTS

MYTH: Immigration is a drain on the U.S. economy.

FACT: Immigration grows the U.S. economy. An estimated 17.9 million immigrants are
currently working in the U.S.—accounting for 14% of the total civilian labor force.
Compared to the native-born, a significantly higher percentage of immigrants are of working
age (between 28 and 54 years of age). Immigrants are just as likely to be self-employed and
start new businesses as the native-born. They generate employment, and bring new
innovations and creative diversity to our communities. Additionally, new immigrants often
take positions that U.S. workers are less likely to fill – in manufacturing, computer
technology, service work, and engineering. These immigrants help keep the U.S.
internationally competitive and give U.S. businesses a more global perspective—an outlook
that is becoming increasingly necessary in this era of globalization.

MYTH: Immigrants abuse the Social Security and welfare systems.

FACT: While all immigrants are required to pay taxes—including sales, income and property
taxes—most immigrants are barred from receiving public assistance. Only refugees, asylees,
and some legal immigrants are eligible to receive any public benefits, and even those who
are eligible for benefits are subject to time limits. Undocumented persons are not eligible
for any public benefit program, with the exception of emergency medical assistance.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 1999, approximately one in five foreign-born
householders received benefits such as food stamps and housing assistance. This use,
however, is heavily concentrated among refugees and elderly immigrants – populations we
are committed to and legally obligated to assist. Furthermore, immigrants are large
contributors to—rather than recipients of—Social Security, and will play an integral role in
financing Social Security as the U.S. population ages. A study in 2005 found that
undocumented immigrants pay $6-7 billion in Social Security taxes alone that they will never
be able to claim.

MYTH: Immigrants cause urban problems.

FACT: The U.S. Census Bureau reports that “the foreign-born population is more
concentrated than the native population in metropolitan areas and in their central cities.”
However, areas that receive new immigrants are most often transformed and revitalized by
these newcomers. Dominican immigrants revitalized Washington Heights in Manhattan’s
Upper West Side, and an array of new arrivals revitalized Nicollet Avenue (“Eat Street”) and
Lake Street in South Minneapolis. These examples are repeated hundreds of times across
the country. According to the Alexis de Tocqueville Institute, a study carried out over an
18-year period in Washington D.C. revealed that there is a positive correlation between the
number of immigrants in a neighborhood and increasing property values. As one real-estate
agent put it, with immigration “there goes the neighborhood—up.”

MYTH: There is a higher percentage of immigrants in the U.S. now than ever before in U.S.
history.

FACT: Although the actual number of immigrants currently living in the U.S. continues to
grow, when considered as a percentage of the population, the levels are not as high as they
have been in the past. Currently, about 12% of the U.S. population is foreign born.
However, between 1890 and 1910, nearly 15% of the population was foreign born.
Currently, about two-thirds of immigrants settle in six states: California, Texas, New York,
Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey. European immigrants—historically a large portion of
immigration to the U.S—today make up 14% of newcomers; 52% come from Latin America;
27% come from Asia; and 6% from other parts of the world. In 2004, the top ten countries
of immigration to the U.S. were: Mexico, India, the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Dominican
Republic, El Salvador, Cuba, and Korea.

MYTH: The United States is being overrun with illegal immigrants.

FACT: The estimated number of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. ranges from 10
to 11 million. Even the highest estimate accounts for less than 4% of the U.S. population.
Many people who currently do not have legal permission to reside in the country did, in fact,
enter legally. Experts estimate that between 25-40% of all undocumented immigrants came
legally to this country and became undocumented by remaining here after their periods of
authorized stay expired.

MYTH: Most immigrants to the United States are undocumented aliens who come only for
economic reasons.

FACT: According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 946,142 immigrants were
legally admitted to the U.S. in FY2004, compared with a much smaller number of people who
entered the U.S. without permission. This number includes both people who were
adjusting their status and new arrivals. Smaller numbers of people came to the U.S. without
legal permission. It is estimated that a net average of 500,000 people came annually in the
last decade.

U.S. immigration policy allows immigration for three main reasons: 1) family, 2) work, and
3) freedom – in that order. Of the immigrants coming legally to the U.S. in 2004, 66% came
to be reunited with immediate family members (parents, children, siblings, or spouses), 16%
were sponsored by U.S. employers to fill in positions for which no U.S. worker was available,
and an additional 8% came as refugees or asylees, fleeing persecution and looking for safety
and freedom in the U.S. Undocumented people come for a variety of reasons. We often
talk about these reasons in terms of “push” and “pull.” “Push” factors are the reasons at
home that cause someone to leave – examples include poverty, lack of job opportunities,
natural disasters, and political instability. “Pull” factors are the reasons elsewhere that
cause someone to arrive – examples include increased freedom, job opportunities, and
joining family members. Like generations of immigrants before them, all of these
immigrants come to this country looking for a better life, and their energy and ideas enrich
all of our communities.