Thread: Wisconsin has high proportion of undocumented immigrants

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Wisconsin, surprisingly, has a large concentration of illegals. And the state is feeling the pinch - "Every small town superintendent of schools has come to Joint Finance (committee) to testify that their foreign-born population is growing and they can't afford ESL (English as Second Language) and bilingual education, even though the governor has increased funding for these services," Colon said."

State has high proportion of undocumented immigrants
Associated Press
Posted on Fri, Mar. 25, 2005

MILWAUKEE - Wisconsin has among the highest ratios of undocumented immigrants compared to the total foreign-born population, according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C.

California and Texas have the most undocumented immigrants with an estimated 2.4 million and 1.4 million respectively. Wisconsin, along with states such as Oklahoma, Idaho, Tennessee and Georgia, have a high proportion of undocumented immigrants, the Pew study showed.

About 57 percent of the 5.9 million undocumented came to the U.S. from Mexico. President Bush and Mexico's President Vicente Fox planned to meet in Texas Wednesday to discuss Mexican immigration.

The Pew research showed the number of undocumented in Wisconsin, estimated at 100,000 to 150,000, was relatively small compared to the overall population. But, compared to the total foreign-born population in the state, an estimated 40 percent to 54 percent were undocumented, the study said.

Undocumented immigrants include those who entered the country illegally and those who entered legally but overstayed their visas.

The information in the Pew study doesn't come as a surprise to Democratic Rep. Pedro Colon, who represents a Milwaukee district with a large immigrant population.
Every small town superintendent of schools has come to Joint Finance (committee) to testify that their foreign-born population is growing and they can't afford ESL (English as Second Language) and bilingual education, even though the governor has increased funding for these services," Colon said.
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"Places like Milwaukee would be a desert on the south side without the undocumented who are an integral part of the economy," he said.

The study estimates the number of undocumented by subtracting legal foreign-born residents from the total foreign-born population, which is based on the federal government's Current Population Survey.

And if you are a farmer, hiring an illegal aliens is the ideal way to cut costs. To the dickens with America.. cut costs. We should own that farm.. we won't.