Over 61 Million Immigrants & Their Children Now Living in USA

a reply to: ManFromEurope
From the movie: Bury my Heart in Wounded Knee

-What precisely
are your lands?

-These are the lands
where my people lived
before you whites first came.

-l don't understand. We whites
were not your first enemies.
Why don't you demand back
the land in Minnesota
where the Chippewa and others
forced you from years before

-The Black Hills
are a sacred land
given to my people
by Wakan Tanka.

-How very convenient
to cloak your claims
in spiritualism.
And what would you say
to the Mormons and others
who believe that their god has given
to them Indian lands in the West?

-l would say they should listen
to Wakan Tanka.

-No matter what your legends say,
you didn't sprout from the plains
like the spring grasses.
And you didn't coalesce
out of the ether.
You came out of the Minnesota
woodlands armed to the teeth
and set upon your fellow man.
You massacred
the Kiowa, the Omaha,
the Ponca, the Oto
and the Pawnee without mercy.
And yet you claim the Black Hills
as a private preserve
bequeathed to you
by the Great Spirit.

a reply to: onequestion

I'm with you...it's a tough call, but in the end, if we can't even fix or better manage our homelessness issues in America, our Veteran care, and our jobs issues, we should not be accepting other people into this country in such massive numbers.

Of course, your claim that 60M people are added to the job market because of this is false, as those under 15 or so generally don't have jobs. Of course, when it comes to illegal immigrants and their families, often times everyone works a hard job for hardly any pay--that's a scenario that sucks in and of itself.

But I digress--this should not be happening in such numbers right now, and maybe even ever, considering the birth-to-death ratio in the U.S. We can't sustain such additional "outside" population growth forever, and that number doesn't even really include the future births from their families added into the equation.

It sounds harsh, but immigration numbers should really be limited. I know it sounds mean and many will say it goes against the spirit of the Statue of Liberty, but so be it, as I'm trying to base my opinion by living in our current reality.

originally posted by: MrSpad
Immigration is the only reason the US is not having the Japanese problem of negative population growth and a graying population. All those new tax payers are keeping us afloat.

IIlegal aliens working under the table for cash aren't paying any taxes.
While they're here they buy some cheap Chinese made crap and pay sales tax.
Many actually file income tax simply to add multiple imaginary dependents back home.
The IRS gave away over $30 billion that way in one year alone and Congress has yet to fix that loophole.
Not to mention all the money they send back home to relatives in Central America.
They drive labor costs down and housing prices up, that's why the elites want them here.

The laws are not reciprocal between the US and Mexico.
They send us their indigents and criminals and were sending them the rest of our industry (Ford, Carrier and Nabisco are all moving factories there).
This isn't immigration, it's slow motion invasion.

Nations all share 3 things: laws, borders and language.
Each of those are ignored or disappearing.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

As topics go.....this one pretty much sucks because there's so much misinformation about what's really going on.

First.......Mexico, i.e., the Mexican government doesn't "send" anyone to the US. The Mexicans that come to the US are typically people who already have relatives in the US.
Second.....as things stand right now, there's very little Immigration, (legal or otherwise) OF MEXICAN nationals to the US. What's coming across the border, (I live on the border) are Central Americans, Salvadorans, Costa Ricans, etc.
Third.......this is an entirely lost cause. US politicians have "talked" about Immigration reform since the last Immigration Reform under Reagan in which he issued an amnesty. Trump won't touch it....he and his Big Business pals LOVE cheap labor provided by unregulated Immigration into the US. Hilary, Cruz and Rubio would set up Welcome Centers on private lands at favored Coyote smuggling routes with free water, maps and T-Shirts with their pictures on them.

SO! I encourage BIUSA (Born in the USA), i.e. "native born" US citizens with long term roots in the US and US history to think about this issue PRACTICALLY! To help you with that, I have some questions for you to consider!
First: if your employed, paying Federal Income Tax...........why are you paying fat taxes to a Federal Government that has surrendered its sovereignty of the Nations borders? You're paying taxes to support a Government that doesn't even vet or keep track of who is in the country! Why not chose to pay taxes to the Government of Turkey or Burma? They've got as much control over US Borders and who is in the US as the US Government does!
Second You know how every year, your local public school district comes hat in hand to seek approval for another $500 Million School Bond issue? That's because your local school district is busting at the seams with Immigrant kids the Federal Government isn't paying for. WHY ARE YOU PAYING TO EDUCATE THESE PEOPLE?
Third So, lets suppose you have an 18 year old child, male/female and the Local Army Navy Air Force recruiter shows up to recruit your kid into Military Service. Really? They're being asked to serve in a military that's directed by the likes of Bush and Clinton or Trump or only God knows who to fight proxy wars for the Oil Companies or the Banks or both and then they come home, some broken, and can't find jobs because the very same Government has an open borders policy!

This is OVER. This issue is DONE! You can stick a fork in it! Instead of whining on about how awful it is that your Government is doing this.............Think Critically, think Practically and make the necessary adjustments!

This is not your grandma and grandpa's immigrants.

Legal immigration, common sense control, secure borders....yes!
Illegal immigration, out of control, porous borders....no!

We need a Common Sense Non-Politician leader to solve this problem.

a reply to: TonyS

You mean learn Spanish?
I failed that in 6th grade.
You're pretty much right, I am kicking a dead horse.
I just cant find the wherewithal to give up completely on what the United States and it's Constitution mean. Among the greatest of documents ever penned by man, guaranteeing our rights even if those guarantees have been broken time and again. I have grandchildren, what shall I tell them? This isn't your country anymore, just follow the directions given on television and by your schools and maybe you'll have a place in the New World Order?

Nope.
I just can't do it.

The OP source article is based on an interview with Steve Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) where he references a report that he authored. There is some interesting information that should be taken into consideration when viewing this CIS report on immigration:

1. CIS advocates for immigration reduction in the United States. I have no problem with that aim. However, I think this fact should be understood, and their reports viewed in that context.

2. CIS increased the estimate of illegal immigrants in the US by approximately 5 million from the generally accepted 11 million figure. However, their estimate of illegals includes the US-born children with at least one illegal alien parent:

Taken together, the best available evidence indicates that there were a total of 15.7 million illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children in the adjusted December 2015 CPS

(emphasis mine)
As many have argued in this thread, being born is the US makes one a US citizen. So their estimate is at least misleading.

3. When the term immigrant is used, many people immediately think about the large number of immigrants from Mexico and South and Central America. However the following chart from the Pew Research Center indicates that while Mexico is the largest source of foreign nationals, South and East Asia represent a close second with Europe and Canada filling out the rest of the trifecta.


4. Approximately 650,000 of the legal immigrants in the US are here on H-1B Visas. These are high tech workers such as scientists and engineers. There is some controversy concerning these Visas. Some believe that these legal immigrants take high-tech jobs from American Citizens. Others see these as a necessary evil required to fill high-tech positions that remain vacant due to a lack of available human resources in the US.

5. Immigrants currently entering the US are better educated than the average American. According to this Pew Research report, 41% of newly arrived immigrants in 2013 had Bachelor degrees or better. While the general educational level of attainment of US residents is about 32%. However, it should be noted that the percentage of new immigrants living in poverty is 28%, while the general US population poverty level for the same time period is about 19%.

In summary, I must say that, like the OP, I have mixed feelings about the number of immigrants living in the US. For me there are a number of unanswered questions. The actual national impact of immigrants, both legal and illegal, is a complex issue. There are short term issues, like the impact of immigrants on the economy, particularly with respect to employment. And there are long term issues, such as the impact on infrastructure, education, and the environment.

I have presented the information in this post in an attempt to provide a more rounded view of the impact of immigration on the United States. As I have stated, I have mixed feelings about the issue. However, I strongly believe in our motto of "Deny Ignorance." The only way I believe this can be done is by looking at both sides of the debate.

-dex

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus


Legal immigration is good for the United States as has been pointed out by other posters. They create more demand which creates more jobs and opportunities.

Your assuming they come with purchasing power and skills or knowledge that demand higher wages and don't drag the labor market value and skilled labor market value down.

Which isn't happening.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

If you're old enough to have grandchildren, its basically too late for you.....(or me for that matter).

But lets just be a bit more pragmatic here and a lot less pessimistic. What do you tell your grandchildren? This isn't "your" country anymore? IT'S NOBODIES COUNTRY ANYMORE! It hasn't been anyone's country since the "Immigration and Naturalization Reform Act of 1965"! Ted Kennedy and his cronies gave the country away in that piece of legislative work. Look it up!

You tell you're children....LEARN SPANISH; learn French.....learn Mandarin Chinese or Russian. HELP your grandchildren become productive "Global" citizens, employable anywhere and MOST of all, teach them to not become too very emotionally invested in any one "Country". That's a terrible mistake and particularly so in the case of the US which, without borders, has genuinely morphed into a No Man's Land. Get pragmatic about "where" you are! The US is less a "country" or Nation State than it is a gargantuan Grand Central Station with travelers moving in and through it, working at one job or another, then moving on, and on........and on, collecting money wherever they can and then moving on to greener pastures. Look at this from a realistic perspective: Look at American Major League Baseball! A Huge percentge of Major League Baseball players are from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic.

originally posted by: onequestion
Your assuming they come with purchasing power and skills or knowledge that demand higher wages and don't drag the labor market value and skilled labor market value down.

Which isn't happening.

Legal immigration creates an inherent demand based on the necessities of the immigrees. They need food, housing, clothing, etcetera, these are produced by the remainder of the populace.