Thread: Immigration - there is in fact benefits

Immigrants fuel California's economy through their labor and entrepreneurship:

Overall, immigrants comprise approximately one-third of the California labor force. Immigrants figure prominently in key economic sectors in California including agriculture, manufacturing and services.

Immigrants prove leadership and labor for the expansion of California's growing economic sectors – from telecommunications and information technology to health services and housing construction.

Immigrants participate in the labor force at slightly higher rates than the national average. Approximately 90 percent of Latino and Asian immigrant men are employed.

Over the next 30 years, the children and grandchildren of immigrants will play an increasingly critical role in the state's economy. According to projections by the University of Southern California, there will be a nearly 60 percent increase in the labor force coming from the second generation of immigrant families.

Immigrants are among California's most productive entrepreneurs, and have created jobs for tens of thousand of Californian. In San Jose alone, immigrant owners of technology companies created more than 58,000 jobs and generated more that $17 billion in sales during the late 1990s. Google, Sun Microsystems, eBay, and Yahoo! Are all companies that were founded or co-founded by immigrants.



Countries of Origin for California's Immigrants

North America – 2 percent

Africa - 1 percent

Oceania – 1 percent

Latin America – 55 percent

Asia – 33 percent

Europe – 8 percent

Percentage of California Immigrants in Select Occupations and Sectors

General Services – 40 percent

Manufacturing – 45 percent

Gardeners – 66 percent

Cooks – 66 percent

Domestic Workers – 66 percent

Farm Workers – 90 percent

All CA Workers – 33 percent

Immigrants pay into the system more than they use in services:

In California, the average immigrant-headed household contributes a net $2,679 annually to Social Security, which is $539 more than the average US-born household.

Since most immigrants are under 65 years of age, as a group they are net contributors to this large federal program. Social security, along with Medicare, works to keep older Americans out of poverty.

According to US Census data, the average US born Californian receives a total of $1,212 annually in cash benefits from programs such as Social Security, SSI, TANF, and other programs. Non-citizens received only $474 annually in public benefits.

Immigrants in California pay approximately $4.5 billion in state taxes each year; their federal tax contribution is more than $30 billion annually.

Overall, 19 percent of California's foreign born lived in poverty in 2000, compared to 10 percent of whites. Nevertheless, they tend to be net contributors to government programs at both the federal and state levels.

Immigrants often require the most assistance immediately upon arrival to the United States. As immigrants reside in the state for a longer period of time, they are less likely to use services and more likely to contribute significant amounts.

Immigrants are a vibrant force in California's changing demographics:

More than one-quarter of all California residents are foreign born, a rate higher than any other state in the United States. According to the 2000 Census, 9 million Californians are immigrants.

39 % of California's foreign-born immigrants are U.s. citizens.

Of the 8.8 million foreign-born in California, 3.3 million are legal permanent residents.

Immigrants and their children comprise nearly half of our state's population and live in virtually all of California's 58 counties, with major concentrations in Los Angeles and the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

The number of immigrants choosing California as their destination is leveling; those who decide to stay are staying longer. As immigrants remain in the U.S., poverty rates among them decrease, home ownership rises and immigrants become more invested in their schools, communities and neighborhoods.

Throughout California, immigrants speak more than 250 distinct languages. Approximately 40 percent of Californians speak another language other than English at home.

Most non-citizens live in families that are also comprised of citizens. Nearly 90 percent of Latino non-citizens live in households with citizens, while nearly 80 percent of Asians live in mixed status families.



Robert Stanford

Candidate for Modesto City Council Seat 1

http://www.myspace.com/stanford4modesto

If you really hate me - you can find friends of yours at

http://thehive.modbee.com/?q=node/5372#comment-17826

No one doubts that LEGAL immigrants add to the economy. It is the effects of the ILLEGAL immigrants I am concerned about.

I meant both - forgot to specify that.

Two groups profit from illegals the wealthy on this side of the border and
the wealthy in Mexico. large numbers of studies have shown that poor
educated third world immigrants gain more from the system over a life
time then they pay in.

If you wish to argue the point they come for a better life, etc then I can
listen but to tell me I or the taxpayer gains from such large numbers
crossing the border is foolish.

it's obvious the writer was leaning FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAr to the left. I do believe the massive amount of drug flow, 1 murder, 1 rape, or even 1 DUI that results in the death or catistropic injury FAR out weighs anything or any point you are trying to convey... Unfortunatly for the fine citizens of this country we are being decimated and by far exceed our worst nightmare...

no thank you, I'll cut my own grass

I think Fred Thompson said it the best.
What does it say for a Country when the Major Exported goods are Illegal Drugs and its Citizens.
I guess the question I have for (stanford4medesto) would be why cant these prosperous individuals make good in there own Country? I keep asking that question and it never gets answered.

OLDGUY I second your post.

If the argument was whether no immigration was better than some immigration there wold be some grounds for an argument in favor of the former. Unfortunately what we have are people arguing for having unlimited immigration against having citizens setting what would be optimal for them.
The democratic process has given the country an amount of legal addmission that we want. Illegal aliens are in excess to that number.

Speaking as a legal immigrant someone as ignorant as Stanford should not hold public office.

He would make a great parrot though.

Thanks Richard. Hope things in MA are good.
I also liked oldguy's comments as well.

Here's Bob's MySpace page :

http://www.myspace.com/stanford4modesto

Drop in and say hello.

Originally Posted by Richard

If the argument was whether no immigration was better than some immigration there wold be some grounds for an argument in favor of the former. Unfortunately what we have are people arguing for having unlimited immigration against having citizens setting what would be optimal for them.
The democratic process has given the country an amount of legal addmission that we want. Illegal aliens are in excess to that number.

Speaking as a legal immigrant someone as ignorant as Stanford should not hold public office.

He would make a great parrot though.

You are right on the money. I can't remember where I read it, but I recall an article that pointed out that if we look at legal immigrants ONLY, the US immigrant population has the highest level of education of any country in the world.

I hope we can soon find out just how much they ' contributed' after they are all gone !

How many asians do you see working in the fields ? I have not seen one . Most of them own the business's Americans won't do !

Jihad watch . We are about to pay to have some ' MORE ' footbathes put into our universities for them , we already have some at airports . Man forbid ' they blow up a plane with dirty feet ! We can't even have the Ten Commandments in our courthouse or public places but we can have mosques in prisons and islamic prayers and footbaths at airports and schools !

None of them assimilate except with each other in our streets to defend Hamas or Palistine .

Considering the grave possibility of another attack, seems we should be speaking as much about them as the hispanics , because they're 38% of immigrants according to one website .

I don't think I have seen any comments here about it . But I have only been here a week or so .

I just left a news website that showed our citizens jumping to their death and heros dying trying to save others on 911 .

All along our leaders keep 'promising ' us another attack is going to happen, not if but certain .