Thread: Immigration to U.S. slows dramatically

Immigration to U.S. slows dramatically

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.

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.
http://www.timesoftheinternet.com/5720.html

These figures do not account for the illegal aliens that continue to cross our border illegally.

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."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26842511

Immigration dips as raids increase, economy slows
Texas adds 90,000 in 2007, a 2.4 percent hike
From staff and wire reports
Sept. 22, 2008, 11:16PM

The Census Bureau has released the 2007 American Community Survey, an annual estimate of social, economic and housing characteristics for the nation. Among the highlights:

• Median home values : An increase of 5 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.

• Average commute to work: An increase 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.

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.

Texas, however, bucked that trend, although the state's increase in immigrant population was modest.

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 today 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.

The latest immigration boom has sparked political and social turmoil in many communities unaccustomed to large influxes of foreigners. Federal agents have started conducting more high-profile immigration raids. Some communities have tried to get tough on illegal immigration with local laws.

Rice University sociologist Stephen Klineberg said the new numbers are not surprising, although the decrease in growth in the immigrant population nationally from 2006 to 2007 is significant. During that time, Texas reported a 2.4 percent increase, according to census figures. The estimated number of immigrants in Texas increased from 3.74 million in 2006 to 3.83 million in 2007.

"That's not a big increase," Klineberg said. "But it does say that Texas, California, Florida and Arizona continue to be the main entry entry points for immigrants coming into the U.S."

He said the figures should also help put into perspective the fact that "immigration has peaked, and it's slowing down."

The new immigration figures are from the 2007 American Community Survey, an annual government survey of about 3 million households.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hea ... 16645.html

Immigrants by state
By The Associated Press © 2008 The Associated Press
Sept. 22, 2008, 11:06PM
The nation's immigration boom slowed significantly in 2007, according to new government estimates. The estimated number of immigrants, or foreign born, in each state in 2007 and 2006 and the percent change:
___
State 2007 2006 Percent Change
Ala. 137,275 130,049 5.6
Alaska 48,928 47,066 4.0
Ariz. 991,584 929,083 6.7
Ark. 118,405 107,346 10.3
Calif. 10,024,352 9,902,067 1.2
Colo. 485,170 489,496 -0.9
Conn. 449,661 452,358 -0.6
Del. 65,821 68,722 -4.2
D.C. 74,409 73,820 0.8
Fla. 3,440,918 3,425,634 0.4
Ga. 868,413 859,590 1.0
Hawaii 221,448 210,162 5.4
Idaho 83,904 82,040 2.3
Ill. 1,768,518 1,773,600 -0.3
Ind. 263,848 263,607 0.1
Iowa 117,437 112,299 4.6
Kan. 167,085 173,394 -3.6
Ky. 107,833 111,724 -3.5
La. 143,267 125,204 14.4
Maine 44,464 41,956 6.0
Md. 694,590 683,157 1.7
Mass. 913,957 908,271 0.6
Mich. 609,457 598,651 1.8
Minn. 345,001 339,236 1.7
Miss. 49,483 51,044 -3.1
Mo. 208,121 193,690 7.5
Mont. 16,057 17,512 -8.3
Neb. 98,512 99,500 -1.0
Nev. 497,821 475,914 4.6
N.H. 67,735 71,200 -4.9
N.J. 1,731,202 1,754,253 -1.3
N.M. 182,936 197,251 -7.3
N.Y. 4,205,813 4,178,962 0.6
N.C. 629,947 614,198 2.6
N.D. 15,586 13,378 16.5
Ohio 419,443 412,352 1.7
Okla. 182,186 175,987 3.5
Ore. 367,551 359,867 2.1
Pa. 665,176 636,567 4.5
R.I. 134,823 134,390 0.3
S.C. 190,014 176,018 8.0
S.D. 14,530 16,852 -13.8
Tenn. 249,552 236,516 5.5
Texas 3,828,904 3,740,667 2.4
Utah 215,757 210,500 2.5
Vt. 21,410 24,182 -11.5
Va. 794,246 773,785 2.6
Wash. 795,179 793,789 0.2
W.Va. 23,455 21,948 6.9
Wis. 252,150 245,006 2.9
Wyo. 16,360 13,929 17.5
Nation 38,059,694 37,547,789 1.4
___
Source: Census Bureau

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6016865.html

Immigration Slows in Face of Economic Downturn

U.S. Crackdown on Illegal Workers Further Dims Opportunity

By MIRIAM JORDAN and CONOR DOUGHERTY.Article
SEPTEMBER 23, 2008



The economic downturn, coupled with a government crackdown on illegal immigration, is dramatically slowing immigration to the U.S., according to new data from the Census Bureau.

The data, and additional analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center, provide the first solid evidence that fewer foreigners are entering the U.S -- and some illegal immigrants who are already here may be returning home because of decreased opportunity.

The data, part of the Census Bureau's annual American Community Survey, shows that the country's foreign-born population grew by about 500,000 last year, about half the annual average between 2000 and 2007.
"Immigrants are much more attuned to the economy's ups and down in the U.S. than we thought before," said William Frey, a senior demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

The collapse of the housing market and the broader economic malaise that has followed have reduced the number of low-skilled jobs in construction and other sectors that are the mainstay of low-skilled Latin Americans, in particular. As opportunity in the U.S. dries up, fewer immigrants are coming, and those already here are struggling.

At the same time, the Bush Administration has been conducting high-profile raids at meatpacking plants and other worksites believed to employ undocumented workers, leading to a record number of arrests and deportations. Several states, such as Arizona, Oklahoma and Rhode Island, have introduced laws that seek to punish employers of illegal immigrants.

Driven by an economic expansion that leaned heavily on home building and service industries, the foreign-born population grew an average of about one million a year between 2000 and 2007. Roughly 56% of that total were foreign-born Hispanics. Last year, the number of foreign-born Hispanics who entered the U.S. dropped to about 358,000, compared with an average of roughly 558,000 a year between 2000 and 2007.

"There is a constant cost-benefit analysis that people who are thinking of coming to the U.S. are making," says Roberto Suro, a University of Southern California journalism professor who specializes in immigration. Given the current environment, "it makes sense that fewer people are coming," he says.

The foreign-born worker data only covers 2007, when the economy was much stronger than it is today. The country has shed 600,000 jobs through August, and unemployment has risen to 6.1%.

According to preliminary analysis of the data, the Pew Hispanic Center estimates that annual arrivals from Mexico and Central America are down as much as 50% this year relative to 2007, to fewer than 150,000 and 75,000 a year, respectively. Undocumented immigrants represent about 80% of all Latin Americans who have arrived in the U.S. in the past decade.

"It could be the case that there are more people leaving than coming," says Jeff Passel, a demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center, an independent think tank in Washington.

About 12 million illegal immigrants are believed to live in the U.S., but this number could also begin to shrink. According to Mr. Passel's analysis of government data, the flow of unauthorized migrants is about half what it was at its peak. There is no official tracking of illegal immigrants leaving the country, but immigrant-advocacy groups report that some are returning home.

"Many friends of mine are thinking of going back in December," says Braulio Gonzalez, a day-laborer organizer in Redondo Beach, Calif. "They are asking themselves, 'Why stay here: there are no jobs and we don't have legal papers.' "

Over the past year, thousands of lower-skilled jobs once held by immigrants have been lost, or the gains were much slower. About 77,000 construction jobs were shed between 2006 and 2007, compared with a gain of almost 359,000 in the year earlier period, according to Moody's Economy.com. Sectors including repair and maintenance and animal slaughtering added far fewer jobs in 2007 than in the year earlier. More than 20% of foreign born Hispanics are employed in construction. Foreign-born workers represented about 23% of workers in service jobs, such as restaurant and cleaning work, according to the Department of Labor.
Historical data indicate that arrivals from Latin America ebb and flow. The last time migrant flows to the U.S. slackened was during the 2001-2002 recession.

For immigrants already here, the picture is bleak: The Census Bureau reported last month that the income of households headed by a foreigner who is also not a U.S. citizen dropped 7.3% compared with a 4.1% rise between 2005 and 2006. Preliminary analysis by Pew Hispanic Center researchers indicates that Hispanic households have suffered an even greater decrease in income between 2006 and 2007.

"This drop in income is consistent with employment trends for Latino workers showing a sharp increase in unemployment beginning in late 2006," says Rakesh Kochhar, economist at the Pew Hispanic Center.
Meanwhile, immigrant advocates say they've observed a surge in the number of immigrants soliciting work outside convenience stores and home-improvement retailers. "More people are turning to day labor as they get laid off in other sectors of the economy," says Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network that has 41 affiliated groups across the country.

Fourteen states saw their foreign-born population decrease last year. In half of those states, a decline in the foreign-born Hispanic population contributed to the overall decline. The largest decline was in New Jersey, which saw its foreign-born population decrease by 23,000 last year, largely due to losses of Latin American immigrants. New Mexico, Colorado Montana and Nebraska also saw their foreign-born populations decline largely because of a loss of foreign-born Hispanics.

"From the business point of view, it has been an entirely contingent and disposable labor force," says Mr. Suro, the USC professor.

Indeed, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Latino workers -- many believed to be in the country illegally -- rushed to New Orleans for cleanup and reconstruction work. The scene is being replayed in Galveston and Houston, where hundreds of immigrants are welcome hands in the massive effort to return to normalcy after Hurricane Ike.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1222130 ... #printMode

Plenty of Legal construction workers need work too. Why not bus those on unemployment to Galveston to work? Let them get back on their feet and off of government unemployment payments.
Probably makes too much sense for any politician to understand.

Do Not believe all the reports of Mexicans going home. They are just moving to Texas. Houston Mayor White said we need the workers to rebuild after Ike. Welcome to Texico.

two of these article added to the homepage

http://www.alipac.us/article3564.html