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Q&A: Immigrants

By TIMES WIRES
Published May 16, 2006

Who is illegal?

In general, anyone who enters the United States without a valid document or someone who entered legally but violated his or her visa by, for example, staying longer than allowed. Currently, it is a civil violation and the immigrant can be deported.

How many illegal immigrants are in the United States?

The 2000 census estimated there were 8.4-million in the United States and the rate of growth is believed to be 500,000 a year. Other estimates range upward to 20-million. The most generally accepted figure is 11-million to 12-million, a figure larger than the populations of Cuba (11.3-million), Portugal (10.6-million) and Michigan (10.1-million).

How many are working?

More than 7-million unauthorized immigrants were employed in March 2005. The number accounts for nearly 5 percent of the civilian labor force, the Pew Center estimates. These immigrants make up 36 percent of insulation workers, 29 percent of roofers, 27 percent of butchers and food processing workers, 22 percent of maids and housekeepers and 19 percent of parking lot attendants.

How many people are arrested at the border?

The U.S. Border Patrol arrested nearly 1.2-million people last year - the vast majority of them Mexicans who were returned across the border - and estimates that 500,000 others evaded capture. However, the number of other nationalities has soared: 25,000 in 1997 and more than 100,000 in 2005, according to the Congressional Research Service.

What technology is in use?

The Border Patrol relies on more than 250 remote video camera sites and 10,500 ground sensors. But as of August 2005, it covered just 4 percent of the combined northern and southern borders.

How many seek asylum?

More than 75,000 people applied for entry under asylum or refugee status in 2004. Between 1996 and 2000, 608,000 applied; 76 percent were approved.

How many legal immigrants have family ties?

Of the more than 946,000 immigrants legally admitted in 2004, 406,000 had relatives already in the United States.

Where do most of the legal immigrants come from?

Mexico, followed by India, China and the Philippines. Mexico accounts for about 20 percent; the next three around 6 percent each. They are followed, at 3 percent or less, by Vietnam, El Salvador, Cuba, Haiti, Bosnia, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Ukraine, Korea, Russia and Nicaragua. These top 15 account for 60 percent of legal immigrants.

Where do most of the illegal migrants come from?

Most come from Mexico, about 6.2-million, or 56 percent of the unauthorized population in 2005. About 2.5-million, or 22 percent, are from the rest of Latin America.

Do unauthorized migrants take away jobs from U.S. citizens?

Research is mixed. Undocumented workers do take unskilled jobs, but immigration rights advocates argue that the jobs are at the lower end of the wage scale and are in areas where the work is poorly paid or so hazardous that there are labor shortages. They do help depress wage scales, especially for lower-paying jobs, although the extent is a matter of debate. Some critics suggest the failure of Congress to raise the minimum wage is also a factor.

Sources: Newhouse News Service, Los Angeles Times, Iowa City Press-Citizen, Associated Press, Pew Hispanic Center.

[Last modified May 16, 2006, 07:12:04]