Thread: Legal and Illegal Immigration: By the Numbers

Legal and Illegal Immigration: By the Numbers

Sylvia Cochran
Wed Mar 2, 7:16 pm ET
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Talk about comprehensive immigration reform, the recent downfall of the Dream Act and the frequent instances surrounding illegal alien worker raids -- think Chipotle and Tyson -- dominate the news. Ever wonder about the conflicting numbers surrounding the legal (and illegal) immigration debate?

1 million less: The difference between illegal aliens living in the United States in 2009 when compared to figures from 2008. It is interesting to note that the decline spans at least two years.

11.2 million: The count of unauthorized immigrants currently residing in America as published by the Pew Hispanic Center in 2011. The organization concurs that the spike for the illegal aliens' presence in the U.S. occurred in 2007 with approximately 12 million.

4.7 million: Of the 11 million (or so) illegal immigrants living in the U.S., 4.7 million reside in California, Texas and Arizona. The remaining individuals are dispersed among the rest of the states. On the heels of this uneven population growth also comes a spike in arrests and an increase in the illegal alien prison population in these border states.

350,000: Children born in 2009 to families where at least one parent is an illegal immigrant. In the less than respectful vernacular, these children -- who automatically become citizens of the U.S. -- are referred to as 'anchor babies.'

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473: The initial number of approved alien investor EB-5 visas in 2010. In contrast, 148 applications were denied. This program welcomes foreign investors who propose to spend between $500,000 and $1 million to start a new business (or rescue a failing one) that will create at least 10 full-time jobs in the United States. Applicants and their families qualify for temporary residence and may file for permanent residence two years after arriving in the U.S.

$113 billion: Estimated sum total of the costs related to illegal immigration that taxpayers must bear on the federal, state and local levels. This breaks down to approximately $1,000 per tax-paying American household. An average 27 percent of this dollar figure has to do with the administration of justice, while 16 percent are public assistance expenditures. Twenty-one percent go to medical care and an estimated seven percent support education.

28 percent: Pew Hispanic estimates that approximately 28 percent of foreign-born nationals living in the United States to be illegal aliens. In contrast, 72 percent are legal immigrants. This latter number breaks down to include 37 percent who are naturalized citizens, 4 percent who self-identify as (legal) temporary migrants and 31 percent who are legal permanent residents.

Sylvia Cochran offers an insider's perspective of the American immigration system. Having gone through the steps of becoming a citizen -- and currently living in a border state -- she brings hands-on familiarity with hot-button issues to the table.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Join the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own articles.

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