Thread: Illegal immigrants make up 12 percent of Arizona work force

Thursday, November 29, 2007 - 12:46 PM MST
Study: Illegal immigrants make up 12 percent of Arizona work force
The Business Journal of Phoenix - by Mike Sunnucks Phoenix Business Journal
A study released Thursday estimates there are 579,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona, who make up 65 percent of the state's foreign-born population and 12 percent of the state's work force.

Arizona's total population is 6.2 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The study by the Center of Immigration Studies estimates there are 37 million legal and illegal immigrants in the U.S. and 894,000 in Arizona.

The CIS study shows more illegals in Arizona than in New York with 552,000 and Illinois at 480,000. CIS reports 11.3 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. including 2.9 million in California, 1 million in Florida and 1.7 million in Texas.

The study also found that the average household income of illegal immigrants in Arizona is $35,000 per year versus $69,000 for natives. Sixty-nine percent of illegals in Arizona and 55 percent of those nationally are at or near the poverty level.

Also, 69 percent of Arizona's undocumented immigrants do not have health insurance and with their children account for 37 percent of the state's uninsured population.

The study looked at Census, welfare, education and economic data nationally and at the state level.

www.bizjournals.com

Study: Illegal immigrants make up 12 percent of Arizona work force The Business Journal of Phoenix - by Mike Sunnucks Phoenix Business Journal
A study released Thursday estimates there are 579,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona, who make up 65 percent of the state's foreign-born population and 12 percent of the state's work force.

That is understandable because Arizona is a border state and because of its farming industry.