Thread: Study Findings Contradict Sterotypes /Illegal Aliens

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/politics/ar ... 62,00.html

Study findings contradict stereotypes about illegal immigrants
By MICHAEL DOYLE and VANESSA COLON
June 13, 2005

Illegal immigrants are now entering the United States faster than legal immigrants, a new study finds.
But while famously abundant, the illegal population also challenges some common stereotypes.

"The population is now intertwined with American society," Roberto Suro, director of the Pew Hispanic Center, said Tuesday. "It is not only a larger population (than earlier), but it's one that is also more widespread geographically and in terms of occupations."

The number of undocumented immigrants entering the country annually has averaged 700,000 since the mid-1990s. This outpaces the roughly 610,000 legal immigrants entering annually, the study by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center found.

The report estimates there are 10.3 million unauthorized migrants in the United States, amounting to about one-third of the total foreign-born population.

These are people like Angel Rivera, a 29-year-old Fresno County, Calif., stableman.

Rivera left Colima, Mexico, three months ago, leaving behind his wife and two children. He said it was too hard to move up the economic ladder in Mexico, even with a job. So he trekked across the border near San Diego at night with the help of a "coyote," an immigrant smuggler to whom he paid $1,500.

He currently works cleaning horse stables and makes $500 every two weeks. Rivera sends about $400 a month to support his family.

"There's work in Mexico but you earn very little money," Rivera said.

Nor is the illegal immigrant impact limited to those, like Rivera, who cross borders themselves. An additional 3 million children of unauthorized migrants were born in the United States and hence enjoy U.S. citizenship, the report estimates.

Half of all the unauthorized migrant youth - those not born in the United States - have dropped out of high school. By contrast, 21 percent of legal immigrant youth and 11 percent of native-born Americans have dropped out. Adult illegal immigrants are considerably less likely to have finished college.

Evelyn Franco, who is in the process of becoming a legal immigrant, said she entered the United States illegally from her native Mexico six years ago. She was hoping to go to college in her home country and study business administration, but she couldn't afford it.

Now 26, Franco cleans business offices in Fresno County.

"If I got work, I had to do it full time so I couldn't pursue my studies. And it's difficult to find a job," Franco said in Spanish. "I had to make a decision."

At the same time, one-quarter of the unauthorized migrants have finished some college. Many of these entered the country on work visas and then stayed put.

"Not all of the unauthorized population fits the stereotype of a poorly educated manual laborer," study author Jeffrey Passel stated.

Noe Hernandez, with the San Joaquin Valley immigrant advocacy group Centro Azteca de Informacion, said big companies from the United States and elsewhere have displaced many small businesses in Mexico. Even if someone is college educated, he said, it's difficult to find good work.

"There are college graduates driving taxis and selling tacos on the street in Mexico," Hernandez said.

Though their role in agriculture is well documented, illegal immigrants are actually more likely to be found working out of the fields. One-third of the nation's unauthorized workers are employed in the service industry and another third work in construction, installation and repair. Only 3 percent do farm work, the study estimates.

"For example, more than one out of every four drywall/ceiling installer in the United States is an unauthorized migrant," the report notes.

The new study was prepared for a private commission, led by former members of Congress, that hopes to influence the immigration policy debate. While some findings are predictable, such as the low incomes earned by unauthorized migrants, others may surprise.

Many migrant families, for instance, are found to combine a mix of U.S.-born and foreign-born children. Over 80 percent of the children of unauthorized migrants are in such "mixed status" families, which can lead to familial and legal complications. In another family twist on expectations, fewer than half of the adult men are unmarried.

"One of the stereotypes that doesn't hold is that of the young, single male setting off on his own," Passel said, adding that this stereotype arises from the well-known but relatively small farm-worker population.

California's illegal migrant population has consistently topped other states, last year reaching an estimated 2.4 million. At the same time, regions like the Southeast are starting to get more than their fair share.

"The migrants are scattered across the country much more than they used to be," Passel said.

Duuuuuh!


Well....PEW.....here are some facts you might want to bother with:

1) 1,000,000 legal immigrants enter the US every year for the past 9 years, not 610,000! It used to be 500,000 but Congress changed that under Clinton

2) In addition to this 1,000,000--several hundred thousand more enter under the H1 and H2 and Hb...blah blah blah....VISA program every year!!

3) There are not 10,300,000 illegal immigrants in the US....there are 50,000,000 illegal aliens including those that were amnestied and their "spawn". Amnestied does change the fact that you are an illegal alien. You were just "amnestied" by a bunch of idiots who didn't have the legal authority to "amnesty" you. Therefore, your "amnesty" is "moot".

4) PEW....you stink at counting aliens.

5) SUN OIL COMPANY that sponsors your little charade through the family endowment should keep their money or feed the poor in Africa. Wasting that money on your PEWEY illiterate "counting" is a scam of monumental mind-boggling proportion begging the question: WHY??

6) Answer: SUN OIL COMPANY IS A GLOBALIST COMPANY USING A 501 C 3 "public charity" to lie to the American People about how many aliens are "intertwined with the American People" and exactly how many "occupations" by these foreign enemies are in our midst.

7) SUNOCO--you'll NEVER SEE ANOTHER DIME FROM MOI!!

For example, more than one out of every four drywall/ceiling installer in the United States is an unauthorized migrant," the report notes.

This simply means that 25% of legal citizen drywallers have had their jobs stolen by illegals.

California's illegal migrant population has consistently topped other states, last year reaching an estimated 2.4 million. At the same time, regions like the Southeast are starting to get more than their fair share.

Fair Share? So California's 2.4 million is its "fair share"? When did we agree to this?

According to another article posted this evening about Congresswoman Miller, the US Census says there are 5.4 million illegals in California.

2.4 mm - Lying Pew Center

5.4 mm - Understated/Undercounted US Census Bureau

There's 10,000,000 illegal aliens in California and 40,000,000 in the rest of the US Mainland...otherwise known as the Continental US.

CountFloyd--you pose the PERFECT CITIZEN QUESTION:

When did WE agree to this?