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 (1).  Compared to the native-born, a significantly higher percentage of immigrants are of working age (between 28 and 54 years of age) (2).  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 pay taxes, only refugees, asylees, and some legal immigrants are eligible to receive any public benefits. Those who are eligible for benefits are subject to time limits. Undocumented persons are not eligible for any public benefit programs (3). 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 (4).  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  (5).

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” (6).  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” (7). 

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, about12% of the U.S. population is foreign-born (8). However, between 1890 and 1910, about 15% of the population was foreign-born (9).

Currently, about two-thirds of immigrants settle in six states: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey (10). 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 (11). 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 (12).

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

FACT: The estimated number of illegal aliens living in the U.S. ranges from 10 to 11 million (13). Even the highest estimate accounts for less than 4% of the U.S. population. Many people that 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 illegal by remaining here after their visas expired (14).

MYTH: Most immigrants to the United States are illegal, 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. 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 (15). 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 (16). 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.

Sources of Information

(1)  Urban Institute. “A Profile of the Low-Wage Immigrant Work Force.” 2002. Accessed Jan. 06 from: http://www.urban.org/publications/310880.html.

(2)  "Profile of the Foreign Born Population in the United States: 2000.” U.S. Census Bureau. Dec, 2001. Accessed Feb. 06 from: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-206.pdf.

(3)  Levinson, Amanda.  "Immigrants and Welfare Use." Migration Policy Institute.  August 2002.  Accessed Feb. 06 from: http://www.migrationinformation.org/USFocus/display.cfm?ID=45.  The only situation where an undocumented person may receive assistance is in the case of a health- or life-threatening emergency.

(4)  “In 1999, 21.2% of households with foreign-born householders participated in … means-tested programs.” “Profile of the Foreign Born Population in the United States: 2000.” U.S. Census Bureau. Dec, 2001. Accessed Feb. 06 from: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-206.pdf.

(5)  Capps, Randy and Fix, Michael. “Undocumented Immigrants: Myths and Reality.” The Urban Institute and the Migration Policy Institute. Oct, 2005. Accessed Jan. 06 from: http://www.urban.org/publications/900898.html.

(6)  “Profile of the Foreign Born Population in the United States: 2000.” U.S Census Bureau. Dec, 2001. p. 16. Accessed Feb. 06 from: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-206.pdf.

(7)  “There Goes the Neighborhood – Up” by Bronwyn Lance, Margalit Edelman & Peter Mountford through the Alexis de Toqueville Institute. Accessed Jan. 06 from: http://www.adti.net/imm/neighborhood_execsumm.html.

(8)  U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2004, Table 1.1a. Accessed Jan. 06 from: http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/yearbook/YrBk04Im.htm.

(9)  Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-born Population of the US. 1850-1990” Gibson & Lennon. US Census Bureau Feb 1999. Accessed Feb. 06 from: http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0029/twps0029.html.

(10)  Passel, Capps, and Fix. “Undocumented Immigrants: Facts and Figures.” Urban Institute Immigration Studies Program. 2004. Accessed Jan. 06 from: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1000587_undoc_immigrants_facts.pdf.

(11)  U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2004, Table 3.1a. Accessed Jan. 06 from: http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/yearbook/YrBk04Im.htm.

(12)  Migration Policy Institute. “Global Data Center.” 2004. Accessed Jan. 06 from: http://www.migrationinformation.org/GlobalData/countrydata/data.cfm.

(13)  Capps, Randy and Fix, Michael. “Undocumented Immigrants: Myths and Reality.” Urban Institute and Migration Policy Institute. Oct, 2005. Accessed Jan. 06 from: http://www.urban.org/publications/900898.html.

(14)  Ibid.

(15)  U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2004, Table 5. Accessed Jan 06 from: http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/yearbook/2004/table5.xls.

(16)  Ibid.