Thread: Study: Almost half of Arizona's immigrant population illegal

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/breakingne ... immigrants

December 12, 2005


Study: Almost half of Arizona's immigrant population illegal
ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
The Associated Press
Arizona's immigrant population reached 851,000 in March, with an estimated 46 percent of that number here illegally, according to a report based on new Census Bureau data.

The report released Monday by the Center for Immigration Studies also found that Arizona has one of the nation's largest disparities in terms of educational levels between its native-born and immigrant populations, with poorly educated immigrants languishing.

Forty percent of immigrants - but only 7 percent of natives - have not finished high school, ranking Arizona third worst in that category behind Texas and Colorado, said Steven Camarota, the Washington-based center's research director.

"Education is the single-best predictor of your economic status," Camarota said. "Name your social measure and it highly correlates with education."

The study also pointed to a correlation between low education and higher incidence of poverty or near-poverty and reliance on welfare programs.

Arizona, which has an overall population of more than 5.8 million, has been the busiest illegal entry point on the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years.

The state has also been a focal point for an ongoing Border Patrol buildup aimed at stopping the flow. And more recently, state lawmakers have approved or tried to pass legislation to allow state authorities to take a more active role in stopping illegal immigrants.

Camarota said he believes illegal immigrants have become such a hot issue in Arizona because of the educational disparities. "If they were more educated, I think it would be less of an issue," he said. "The differences between the two groups (immigrants and native-born) are so big it creates enormous social distance."

The Center for Immigration Studies is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that examines and critiques the impact of immigration and favors a tighter rein on immigration.

"High rates of welfare use and poverty point to the fact that it's not enough to say that all that matters is a willing worker and a willing employee," Camarota said.

"Workers are people, and they have families and needs, and this has implications for social services in Arizona and schools in Arizona," he said.

The study found that median annual income in Arizona for those without a high school diploma is $15,600 for immigrants and $15,000 for native-born residents. It is $20,000 for immigrants and $24,000 for natives with a high school degree, while the median income for college-educated immigrants is $42,000 versus $45,000 for natives, the center said.

Meanwhile, nearly 47 percent of immigrants and 40 percent of natives without a high school diploma are on a welfare program as opposed to under 13 percent of college-educated immigrants and just 6 percent of natives.

And 58 percent of Arizona's immigrants - legal and illegal - live in or near poverty, with 28 percent actually in poverty.

ONE THE NET:

Center for Immigration Studies: www.cis.org

george bush does not have the Honesty to listen to the American People
george bush lives as a Roach would live,in the dark under the house.
I can not believe the polls.How could george bush look good to anyone when he has forsaken the Americans that live along our boarder with mexico.
These Americans,some Veterans of some WAR, are affraid to let thier children out to play, for fear of being Murdered or Raped or somehow Intimidated by the "Illegal Aliens/Terrorist".
Of course, the Media is no more than a tool to divert our attention and misslead the American People.
No TRUTH ever come from the mouh of "george bush"......never!
How many of you have ever wondered why Reporters do not ask the RIGHT Questions.Why are these Reporters running interference for john mccain when we all know he lied to "F.A.I.R."Who would want a lier like that to run this country?
Why are we letting gb ruin this Great Country?
Jerry Alexander