Immigration to U.S. slows dramatically
Posted on Tuesday, September 23 @ 09:34:39 EDT
Topic: illegal Border crossing immigrants
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 Sept. 23, 2008
WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) --
Immigration to the United States was down significantly in 2007, with just 511,000 people coming to America, the U.S. Census Bureau reports.
Citing Census data scheduled to be released Tuesday, The Washington Post said the number of immigrants in 2007 was down from about 1 million a year since 2000. The population of foreign-born people fell in 14 states -- including New Jersey and Illinois, which have historically served as immigration gateways.
William H. Frey, a researcher with the Brookings Institution, told the Post the decline is a result of the economic downturn. (You forgot increased immigration enforcement there buddy!)
Topics: legal immigration, illegal immigration, enforcement, economy, propoganda from Brookings Institute, Census data, 2007
I think this shows that immigrants are keeping an eye on the economy when they make their decision on whether to come or where to live in the United States, he said. When the economy appears to be in decline -- particularly for the kind of construction, retail and service jobs that immigrants are inclined to take -- they are less attracted to us.
Frey said immigration from Asia and Africa declined by more than 60 percent, while Hispanic immigration slowed by 36 percent.
Despite the lower number of immigrants, there were 38.7 million foreign-born people in the United States last year -- a record. Immigrants comprised 12.6 percent of the population, the Post said.
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America sees immigration slowdown
Weakening economy, tougher laws cited for drop in newcomers
updated 12:07 a.m. ET, Tues., Sept. 23, 2008
WASHINGTON - The wave of immigrants entering the United States slowed dramatically last year as the economy faltered and the government stepped up enforcement of immigration laws.
The nation added about a half million immigrants in 2007, down from more than 1.8 million the year before, according to estimates being released Tuesday by the Census Bureau.
"The U.S. is still a beacon for many people who want to come here for all kinds of reasons," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution who analyzed the numbers. "But what this shows is that the economy plays a big part in it."
The U.S. has added an average of about a million immigrants a year since 1990, including those in the country legally and illegally.
At more than 38 million, the number of immigrants in the U.S. is now at an all-time high. Immigrants made up 12.6 percent of the population in 2007, the largest share since 1920, when the U.S. was nearing the end of its last immigration boom, one that brought millions of people from Europe to the United States.
That wave of immigrants ended with the Great Depression and the onset of World War II.
Looking for jobs
The immigration figures released Tuesday were from the 2007 American Community Survey, the government's annual survey of about 3 million households. The survey, which is replacing the long form from the 10-year census, yields reams of demographic, social and economic data about the nation.
Because the estimates come from a survey, each includes a margin of sampling error that makes year-to-year comparisons inexact. Annual immigration changes for many states and cities were within the margins of error, but the national trend was statistically significant: The nation's immigration boom slowed substantially in 2007.
Fourteen states showed declines in the estimated number of immigrants from 2006 to 2007, including New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont and South Dakota. Several major cities also posted decreases, including Atlanta, Las Vegas and Oakland, Calif.
Other cities continued to show gains, including Phoenix, Boston and Denver.
Census data
Highlights of Census Bureau report
_Median home values increased 2 percent from 2006 to 2007, a significantly lower rate than in recent years.
_Hawaii had the highest median home value, at $555,400, while West Virginia and Mississippi tied for the lowest, at $96,000. The national estimate was $194,300.
_The average commute to work increased from 25.0 minutes in 2006 to 25.3 minutes in 2007. Commuters in New York state had the longest average journey to work, at 31.5 minutes; workers in North Dakota had the shortest, at 16.1 minutes.
_Immigrants made up 27.4 percent of the population in California, the largest of any state. West Virginia has the lowest percentage, at 1.3 percent. The national average was 12.6 percent.
_Nearly 43 percent of Californians spoke a language other than English at home, the highest rate in the nation; West Virginia had the lowest rate, at 2.3 percent. The national share was 19.7 percent.
_Wyoming had the highest share of high school graduates, at 91.2 percent of the population age 25 and older; Mississippi had the lowest, at 78.5 percent. The national share was 84.5 percent, up slightly from 2006.
_The District of Columbia had the highest share of those with a bachelor's degree, at 47.5 percent, while West Virginia had the lowest, at 17.3 percent. The national share was 27.5 percent, up from 27.0 percent in 2006.
_Alaska had the highest share of veterans, at 15.4 percent of the population, while New York had the lowest, at 7 percent.
_South Carolina had the highest share of housing that was mobile homes, at 18.2 percent, while the District of Columbia had none.
Source: Census Bureau's 2007 American Community Survey.
"Immigrants have always come to the United States for jobs, but before they went to big immigration magnets to be with family or other immigrants," Frey said. "Now the geography of where these people move is much more tied to the economy than ever before."
Much of the nation experienced a housing boom in the first half of the decade, providing jobs that attracted immigrants. The housing bubble burst last year, sending housing markets tumbling and contributing to a slumping economy that some economists believe is in recession.
The Census Bureau's' estimates for immigrants include those in the country legally and illegally because the agency does not ask about legal status. Government and private estimates put the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. at about 12 million.
A little more than half of U.S. immigrants are from Latin America and about a quarter are from Asia. About 13 percent are from Europe and 4 percent from Africa.
The latest immigration boom has sparked political and social turmoil in many communities unaccustomed to large influxes of foreigners. About one in five U.S. residents spoke a language other than English at home in 2007, about the same share as a year before.
Immigration reform
The issue, however, has been muted in this year's presidential election in part because both Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama support comprehensive immigration packages that include increased enforcement and an eventual path to citizenship for many illegal immigrants.
Obama and McCain aren't talking much about immigration reform — at least not in English. Both, however, are running Spanish-language TV ads accusing the other of derailing comprehensive immigration packages supported by many Hispanics.
Voters say other issues are more important to them than immigration policy, including the economy, gas prices and education, according to the latest AP-Yahoo News poll.
In many communities, though, immigration is an important issue.
Federal agents started conducting more high-profile immigration raids the past several years. The effects on local immigration levels have been mixed.
For example, a leather goods manufacturer in New Bedford, Mass., was raided in March 2007, and the number of immigrants living there dropped for the year. At the same time number of immigrants in Boston, about 50 miles away, jumped.
A temporary employment agency in Baltimore was raided in March 2007, and the number of immigrants in the city dropped slightly for the year. But a meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colo., was raided in late 2006 and the number of immigrants increased in 2007.
Some communities have tried to get tough on illegal immigration with local ordinances.
In Northern Virginia's Prince William County, officials debated a crackdown for months before directing local police to check the immigration status of everyone they arrest. The county experienced a small drop the number of immigrants last year despite overall population gains.
"In our county there is a tremendous amount of fear," said Nancy Lyall, legal coordinator for Mexicans Without Borders, an immigrant advocacy group. "The people who can leave Prince William County have."
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