Maryland Study Reveals Staggering Increase of Illegal Immigration Costs and Voter Dissatisfaction
PRNewswire-USNewswire November 30, 2009
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Simultaneous studies, released this week by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), document the true costs of illegal immigration in Maryland and demonstrate strong voter objections to the burdens placed on them by illegal immigration. The price tag associated with providing education, health care and incarceration of criminal illegal aliens is at least $1.3 billion a year, finds The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Marylanders. The impact is clearly recognized by Maryland voters. A new Pulse Opinion Research poll of 1,000 likely voters across the state found that, by a large margin, Marylanders believe that illegal immigration is harming their state.
The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Marylanders found that taxpayers spend:
-- $1.1 billion a year to educate illegal immigrant children and the U.S. born children of illegal immigrants. -- $167 million a year on unreimbursed health care for illegal aliens. -- $29 million a year to incarcerate criminal illegal aliens. -- The total represents an annual cost to each of Maryland's native-born headed households of $625.
The cost study is based on an estimate that the illegal alien population in Maryland is now 250,000 persons. The illegal alien population of Maryland has grown exponentially during this decade, nearly quadrupling since 2000.
In a separate report English Learners and Immigration: A Case Study in Prince George's County, Maryland, FAIR examines the impact of mass immigration in local schools in Prince George's County. Because of large-scale legal and illegal immigration, the county has seen its non-English proficient student population grow from 7,064 in 2004 to 13,825 today. Programs to teach immigrant students English cost the county more than $66 million a year.
The Pulse Opinion Research poll found that: -- 73% of Maryland voters say illegal immigration has a negative impact on the state. Only 20% believe it has a positive impact on Maryland. -- 77% of Maryland voters believe illegal aliens have a negative impact on the state budget, versus only 15% who believe their impact is positive. -- 65% of Maryland voters believe that illegal immigration harms the state's schools. Only 18% believe illegal immigration has had a beneficial effect on education. -- 55% believe illegal immigration should be reduced through better enforcement of immigration laws. Only 36% of Maryland voters favor amnesty or legalization for current illegal aliens.
"Voters in Maryland, like voters everywhere, want their elected officials in Washington and Annapolis to protect their interests, their jobs, and their tax dollars from the impact of mass illegal immigration," said Dan Stein, President of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). "The failure of government at all levels to institute and enforce sensible immigration policies is costing Marylanders jobs, billions in tax dollars, and their children the opportunity to get the quality education they need and deserve. At a time when state lawmakers are slashing budgets, spending on illegal immigrants in Maryland continues to rise over the strong objection of voters."
The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Marylanders, English Learners and Immigration: A Case Study in Prince George's County, Maryland and a summary of the Pulse Opinion Research results are available at http://www.fairus.org/.
About FAIR
Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country's largest immigration reform group. With over 250,000 members nationwide, FAIR fights for immigration policies that serve national interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.
FAIR
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
HOUSTON - I.C.E. AUDIT TARGETS 42 HOUSTON-AREA BUSINESSES
ICE audit targeting 1,000 companies: 42 Houston-area businesses among firms that must prove they comply with immigration law
Houston Chronicle November 20, 2009
By Susan Carroll, Houston Chronicle
Nov. 20--U.S. immigration officials put an unprecedented 1,000 businesses -- including 42 in the Houston metro area -- on notice Thursday that their paperwork would be inspected to make sure they don't employ illegal immigrants.
The announcement marks the largest round of immigration-related business audits ever, and the latest in an ongoing Department of Home¬land Security campaign to create a "culture of compliance" with immigration law among employers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Secretary John Morton said Thursday.
The audits will target businesses ICE has identified as being associated with the nation's "critical infrastructure," which includes some industries key to Texas -- oil, transportation, medicine, public health and finance. During an audit, ICE reviews the I-9 forms that all employers must use to document the eligibility of new workers.
ICE officials declined to identify the companies being targeted, but a total of 161 Texas businesses were served with notices that they will be audited. More than half of the Houston-area companies targeted employ more than 50 people, and 28 percent have more than 100 on their payrolls, ICE officials said.
This spring, ICE announced a shift in focus away from sweeping up illegal immigrants in high-profile work site enforcement raids, which were a hallmark of the final years of the Bush administration. Instead, ICE has forced thousands of U.S. businesses to open up their books to investigators.
Morton said the audits could lay the groundwork for possible civil penalties or criminal prosecution. "It's just not acceptable for there to be a perverse incentive to hire people who are not here lawfully," he said.
While ICE's new strategy has been praised by many immigrant advocates, a group of Republicans this week sharply criticized ICE for a steep decline -- about 60 percent -- in criminal arrests related to workplace enforcement during the past fiscal year.
"It is hard to conceive of a worse time to cut work site enforcement efforts by more than half," U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, said in a statement. "There are 16 million Americans out of work. And yet, the administration has chosen to ignore the fact that there are nearly 8 million illegal immigrants in the work force. Those stolen jobs should be returned to out-of-work citizens and legal immigrants."
Major increase in fines
Immigrant advocates, however, dismiss such arguments as simplistic.
Wendy Sefsaf, a spokeswoman with the Immigration Policy Center in Washington, said there is not a direct correlation between the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. workforce and the native-born unemployment rate.
"It doesn't really make any kind of real economic sense," Sefsaf said. "It's just a really neat sound bite to say, 'Remove 8 million (illegal immigrants) and you have 8 million (jobs).' "
Matt Chandler, a spokesman for Homeland Security, said just looking at the decline in criminal or administrative work site enforcement arrests -- without considering ICE's new strategy -- reflects a "myopic, outdated and distorted view of effective enforcement."
In addition to targeting employers, Chandler said, the agency has dedicated its resources to going after "hardened criminals" in the nation's jails and prisons.
Since April 30, ICE has filed 142 notices of an intention to fine companies nearly $16 million, up from about $2.4 million in 2008.
Audits called effective
In 2008, ICE conducted more than 500 I-9 audits. In July alone, it announced audits of more than 650 companies. So far, agents have reviewed more than 85,000 I-9 forms in connection with those audits and have identified more than 14,000 suspect documents -- about 16 percent of the total number scrutinized, according to ICE data.
Gordon Quan, a Houston immigration attorney and co-chairman of the firm Foster Quan, said the audits have been effective at getting some local employers to ensure that they're complying with the law.
"I think it's a serious measure by the government to establish credibility," he said. "It shows that they're not just taking people at their word."
Just hours before announcing the audits, Morton and top Homeland Security officials launched a kind of public relations campaign to get more companies to voluntarily sign up for its electronic employment verification system, dubbed "E-Verify."
The "I E-Verify" campaign will supply signs to participating businesses so they can show they are enrolled in the program.
E-Verify has been criticized by some big-business organizations for being inefficient at detecting fraud and burdensome for smaller employers, but Homeland Security officials said the system has significantly improved in recent years, and now has nearly 170,000 participants.
"At the end of the day, we want to promote widespread, voluntary compliance with the law," Morton said. "It's that simple. And if we can do that without sending agents to knock on people's doors, all the better."
Houston Chronicle November 20, 2009
By Susan Carroll, Houston Chronicle
Nov. 20--U.S. immigration officials put an unprecedented 1,000 businesses -- including 42 in the Houston metro area -- on notice Thursday that their paperwork would be inspected to make sure they don't employ illegal immigrants.
The announcement marks the largest round of immigration-related business audits ever, and the latest in an ongoing Department of Home¬land Security campaign to create a "culture of compliance" with immigration law among employers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Secretary John Morton said Thursday.
The audits will target businesses ICE has identified as being associated with the nation's "critical infrastructure," which includes some industries key to Texas -- oil, transportation, medicine, public health and finance. During an audit, ICE reviews the I-9 forms that all employers must use to document the eligibility of new workers.
ICE officials declined to identify the companies being targeted, but a total of 161 Texas businesses were served with notices that they will be audited. More than half of the Houston-area companies targeted employ more than 50 people, and 28 percent have more than 100 on their payrolls, ICE officials said.
This spring, ICE announced a shift in focus away from sweeping up illegal immigrants in high-profile work site enforcement raids, which were a hallmark of the final years of the Bush administration. Instead, ICE has forced thousands of U.S. businesses to open up their books to investigators.
Morton said the audits could lay the groundwork for possible civil penalties or criminal prosecution. "It's just not acceptable for there to be a perverse incentive to hire people who are not here lawfully," he said.
While ICE's new strategy has been praised by many immigrant advocates, a group of Republicans this week sharply criticized ICE for a steep decline -- about 60 percent -- in criminal arrests related to workplace enforcement during the past fiscal year.
"It is hard to conceive of a worse time to cut work site enforcement efforts by more than half," U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, said in a statement. "There are 16 million Americans out of work. And yet, the administration has chosen to ignore the fact that there are nearly 8 million illegal immigrants in the work force. Those stolen jobs should be returned to out-of-work citizens and legal immigrants."
Major increase in fines
Immigrant advocates, however, dismiss such arguments as simplistic.
Wendy Sefsaf, a spokeswoman with the Immigration Policy Center in Washington, said there is not a direct correlation between the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. workforce and the native-born unemployment rate.
"It doesn't really make any kind of real economic sense," Sefsaf said. "It's just a really neat sound bite to say, 'Remove 8 million (illegal immigrants) and you have 8 million (jobs).' "
Matt Chandler, a spokesman for Homeland Security, said just looking at the decline in criminal or administrative work site enforcement arrests -- without considering ICE's new strategy -- reflects a "myopic, outdated and distorted view of effective enforcement."
In addition to targeting employers, Chandler said, the agency has dedicated its resources to going after "hardened criminals" in the nation's jails and prisons.
Since April 30, ICE has filed 142 notices of an intention to fine companies nearly $16 million, up from about $2.4 million in 2008.
Audits called effective
In 2008, ICE conducted more than 500 I-9 audits. In July alone, it announced audits of more than 650 companies. So far, agents have reviewed more than 85,000 I-9 forms in connection with those audits and have identified more than 14,000 suspect documents -- about 16 percent of the total number scrutinized, according to ICE data.
Gordon Quan, a Houston immigration attorney and co-chairman of the firm Foster Quan, said the audits have been effective at getting some local employers to ensure that they're complying with the law.
"I think it's a serious measure by the government to establish credibility," he said. "It shows that they're not just taking people at their word."
Just hours before announcing the audits, Morton and top Homeland Security officials launched a kind of public relations campaign to get more companies to voluntarily sign up for its electronic employment verification system, dubbed "E-Verify."
The "I E-Verify" campaign will supply signs to participating businesses so they can show they are enrolled in the program.
E-Verify has been criticized by some big-business organizations for being inefficient at detecting fraud and burdensome for smaller employers, but Homeland Security officials said the system has significantly improved in recent years, and now has nearly 170,000 participants.
"At the end of the day, we want to promote widespread, voluntary compliance with the law," Morton said. "It's that simple. And if we can do that without sending agents to knock on people's doors, all the better."
SEATTLE - 100 ILLEGALS LET GO = 100 JOBS FOR AMERICANS!..... I.C.E. DOES THEIR JOB
Illegal workers quietly let go
The Seattle Times November 23, 2009
By Lornet Turnbull, Seattle Times
Nov. 23--A janitorial company owned by a local conservative talk-radio host is among the early targets of a new strategy by the Obama administration to thin the ranks of illegal immigrants by going after the companies that hire them.
Seattle Building Maintenance, owned by KVI talk-radio host Peter Weissbach and his wife, provides janitorial services in buildings throughout the Puget Sound region, including such Seattle landmarks as the Seattle Art Institute, Pacific Place, Metropolitan Park and the Dexter Horton and Westin buildings.
The subject of an ongoing immigration audit by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, the company has been clearing its books by firing some of its janitorial staff -- about 100 people so far -- believed to be working illegally.
The probe of Seattle Building Maintenance offers an early glimpse into ICE's approach to worksite enforcement -- stealthily targeting employers rather than workers.
It's a departure from the big splashy raids that used to play out on the evening news, with large numbers of immigrants being rounded up and carted off to detention, where many faced removal.
Now, workers are quietly let go by their employers, without the direct contact with immigration agents that might lead to deportation.
Immigrant advocates who initially lauded the shift in strategy as more humane are now seeing the impact it has on workers unable to find new jobs in a slow economy, while their employers appear to escape largely unscathed, much as they did under the old policy.
And those who support enforcement say the new policy is shortsighted, that along with not really punishing employers it does nothing to remove illegal immigrants, instead leaving them free to move to the next willing employer.
Service Employees International Union Local 6, which represents about 280 of Seattle Building's workers, said as many as 150 of them might be undocumented. The company has an estimated workforce of up to 300 people.
The workers are being released not all at once, but in waves, to make it easier for managers to find their replacements, the union said.
Company officials did not return telephone calls seeking comment but in a statement said that the terminations were necessary to comply with federal immigration law and that the company "encourages development and implementation of a rational national immigration policy."
ICE did not confirm the investigation.
Immigration audit
The agency's new enforcement approach was showcased in Los Angeles last month when American Apparel fired 1,800 immigrant employees -- more than a quarter of its workforce -- after an immigration audit.
And a janitorial company in Minnesota quietly fired 1,200 workers around the same time after an investigation found they were working there illegally.
A year ago, those would have been major worksite raids -- visible, public and splashy.
"From an advocate perspective it's an improvement on some level over what was happening before," said Jorge Baron, executive director of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.
"But it still doesn't resolve the ultimate issue: we [in this country] need this workforce, and we don't have a path for companies to hire them legally."
Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said the cases in Minnesota and California suggest that employers are escaping penalty and that the administration's new policy appears to deter neither employers nor the illegal-immigrant workers they hire.
"This does nothing to address the millions of people in the country illegally" who have an incentive to remain here as long as possible in the hopes of eventually winning amnesty, Mehlman said.
"As long as that's on the table," Mehlman said, "they will stick it out because there's a good chance of being rewarded."
In a recent speech, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano acknowledged that immigration laws now lack teeth in successfully prosecuting employers who knowingly hire illegally immigrants and said fines are so low dishonest businesses often ignore them.
Reform being planned in Congress should increase the civil and criminal penalties for employers who violate immigration laws as well as extend "earned legal status" to many of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, she said.
Verifying eligibility
In a letter to workers, Seattle Building said immigration investigators were looking into statements regarding its compliance with immigration laws that were made by a former executive who left the company in May.
In August the firm signed up for E-Verify, a free federal online service that allows employers to compare information provided by new hires against government social security and immigration records.
In September, Seattle Building told its union it had received an audit notice. It then began notifying workers whose Social Security numbers did not match their names, giving them about a month to verify their work eligibility or lose their jobs.
Sergio Salinas, SEIU Local 6's president, said the union has filed grievances against Seattle Building over the firings but admitted there's nothing it can do to stop them.
He said unlike other immigration investigations elsewhere, Seattle Building used E-Verify to ferret out those on its payroll who might be illegal -- something a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security, which administers the program, call an "inappropriate" use of E-Verify. The system is intended to be used for new hires -- not to check existing employees.
Seattle Building informed workers in a recent letter that as part of ICE's investigation, agents have been contacting current and former employees for interviews.
It offered for free the services of an attorney for the company -- to be used not for the workers' personal immigration cases but in advance of any interviews workers might have with government investigators. Some workers see that move as forcing them to choose between cooperating with the feds or remaining loyal to their employer, the union said.
The offer is especially tricky coming after the closely watched ICE investigation at an engine remanufacturing plant in Bellingham, Yamato Engine Specialists, which became the first -- and only -- worksite raid of this administration. Agents apprehended 28 illegal immigrants during that raid.
Saying the administration had not been informed of the bust beforehand -- and considering Obama's pledge to focus enforcement more on employers -- Napolitano asked agents to explain their actions.
As a result, her department established new guidelines for worksite enforcement.
Because ICE needed the assistance of workers as it built its case against Yamato, it granted many of them work permits -- a perk the Seattle Building workers are hoping they might get, as well.
In the end, Yamato was fined $100,000 and two of its owners, who pleaded guilty to knowingly hiring illegal immigrants, were sentenced to a year probation -- punishment Mehlman of FAIR, calls a "slap on the wrist."
Seattle Times researchers David Turim and Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report.
The Seattle Times November 23, 2009
By Lornet Turnbull, Seattle Times
Nov. 23--A janitorial company owned by a local conservative talk-radio host is among the early targets of a new strategy by the Obama administration to thin the ranks of illegal immigrants by going after the companies that hire them.
Seattle Building Maintenance, owned by KVI talk-radio host Peter Weissbach and his wife, provides janitorial services in buildings throughout the Puget Sound region, including such Seattle landmarks as the Seattle Art Institute, Pacific Place, Metropolitan Park and the Dexter Horton and Westin buildings.
The subject of an ongoing immigration audit by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, the company has been clearing its books by firing some of its janitorial staff -- about 100 people so far -- believed to be working illegally.
The probe of Seattle Building Maintenance offers an early glimpse into ICE's approach to worksite enforcement -- stealthily targeting employers rather than workers.
It's a departure from the big splashy raids that used to play out on the evening news, with large numbers of immigrants being rounded up and carted off to detention, where many faced removal.
Now, workers are quietly let go by their employers, without the direct contact with immigration agents that might lead to deportation.
Immigrant advocates who initially lauded the shift in strategy as more humane are now seeing the impact it has on workers unable to find new jobs in a slow economy, while their employers appear to escape largely unscathed, much as they did under the old policy.
And those who support enforcement say the new policy is shortsighted, that along with not really punishing employers it does nothing to remove illegal immigrants, instead leaving them free to move to the next willing employer.
Service Employees International Union Local 6, which represents about 280 of Seattle Building's workers, said as many as 150 of them might be undocumented. The company has an estimated workforce of up to 300 people.
The workers are being released not all at once, but in waves, to make it easier for managers to find their replacements, the union said.
Company officials did not return telephone calls seeking comment but in a statement said that the terminations were necessary to comply with federal immigration law and that the company "encourages development and implementation of a rational national immigration policy."
ICE did not confirm the investigation.
Immigration audit
The agency's new enforcement approach was showcased in Los Angeles last month when American Apparel fired 1,800 immigrant employees -- more than a quarter of its workforce -- after an immigration audit.
And a janitorial company in Minnesota quietly fired 1,200 workers around the same time after an investigation found they were working there illegally.
A year ago, those would have been major worksite raids -- visible, public and splashy.
"From an advocate perspective it's an improvement on some level over what was happening before," said Jorge Baron, executive director of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.
"But it still doesn't resolve the ultimate issue: we [in this country] need this workforce, and we don't have a path for companies to hire them legally."
Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said the cases in Minnesota and California suggest that employers are escaping penalty and that the administration's new policy appears to deter neither employers nor the illegal-immigrant workers they hire.
"This does nothing to address the millions of people in the country illegally" who have an incentive to remain here as long as possible in the hopes of eventually winning amnesty, Mehlman said.
"As long as that's on the table," Mehlman said, "they will stick it out because there's a good chance of being rewarded."
In a recent speech, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano acknowledged that immigration laws now lack teeth in successfully prosecuting employers who knowingly hire illegally immigrants and said fines are so low dishonest businesses often ignore them.
Reform being planned in Congress should increase the civil and criminal penalties for employers who violate immigration laws as well as extend "earned legal status" to many of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, she said.
Verifying eligibility
In a letter to workers, Seattle Building said immigration investigators were looking into statements regarding its compliance with immigration laws that were made by a former executive who left the company in May.
In August the firm signed up for E-Verify, a free federal online service that allows employers to compare information provided by new hires against government social security and immigration records.
In September, Seattle Building told its union it had received an audit notice. It then began notifying workers whose Social Security numbers did not match their names, giving them about a month to verify their work eligibility or lose their jobs.
Sergio Salinas, SEIU Local 6's president, said the union has filed grievances against Seattle Building over the firings but admitted there's nothing it can do to stop them.
He said unlike other immigration investigations elsewhere, Seattle Building used E-Verify to ferret out those on its payroll who might be illegal -- something a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security, which administers the program, call an "inappropriate" use of E-Verify. The system is intended to be used for new hires -- not to check existing employees.
Seattle Building informed workers in a recent letter that as part of ICE's investigation, agents have been contacting current and former employees for interviews.
It offered for free the services of an attorney for the company -- to be used not for the workers' personal immigration cases but in advance of any interviews workers might have with government investigators. Some workers see that move as forcing them to choose between cooperating with the feds or remaining loyal to their employer, the union said.
The offer is especially tricky coming after the closely watched ICE investigation at an engine remanufacturing plant in Bellingham, Yamato Engine Specialists, which became the first -- and only -- worksite raid of this administration. Agents apprehended 28 illegal immigrants during that raid.
Saying the administration had not been informed of the bust beforehand -- and considering Obama's pledge to focus enforcement more on employers -- Napolitano asked agents to explain their actions.
As a result, her department established new guidelines for worksite enforcement.
Because ICE needed the assistance of workers as it built its case against Yamato, it granted many of them work permits -- a perk the Seattle Building workers are hoping they might get, as well.
In the end, Yamato was fined $100,000 and two of its owners, who pleaded guilty to knowingly hiring illegal immigrants, were sentenced to a year probation -- punishment Mehlman of FAIR, calls a "slap on the wrist."
Seattle Times researchers David Turim and Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report.
PENNSYLVANIA'S ILLEGAL POPULATION GROWS BY 34% - American Under Mex Occupation
STATES FOREIGN-BORN GROWN BY 34.5%
HOW MANY JOBS TURNED OVER TO ILLEGALS THEN?
HOW MANY MILLIONS SPEND ON WELFARE FOR ILLEGAL THEN?
HOW MANY AMERICANS MURDERED BY ILLEGALS THEN?
HOW MANY PRISON BEDS FILLED BY ILLEGALS THEN?
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HEARD ENGLISH TODAY?
The fiscal costs of illegal immigration to Pennsylvania’s taxpayers do not end with these three major cost areas. They would be considerably higher if other cost areas such as assistance programs for needy families or welfare benefits for American workers displaced by illegal alien workers or lost or depressed wages were included in the calculation.
*
The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Pennsylvanians
Pennsylvania has a rapidly growing illegal alien population of about 140,000 persons, nearly tripling since 2000.1 Between 2000 and 2008, the state’s foreign-born population has grown by 34.5 percent while its native-born population has decreased by 0.1 percent. Similarly, public school enrollment of students who require special instruction in English has also soared, rising by 187 percent from 1993 to 2006.
Pennsylvania’s illegal alien population represents a major burden on the state’s taxpayers and on the state budget. The costs imposed on law-abiding Pennsylvanians are unfair and unwelcome even in the best of times, but are especially burdensome at a time when the state ended the 2008-09 Fiscal Year with a $3.25 billion revenue deficit which has led to a proposed three-year temporary increase of one-half percent in the state’s personal income tax. In 2008, the foreign-born population in Pennsylvania represented nearly one in every 18 residents (5.5%), and illegal aliens constitute about one-third (34%) of that immigrant population.
Pennsylvania’s illegal immigrant population costs the state’s taxpayers about $728 million per year for education, medical care and incarceration. The annual fiscal burden amounts to about $150 per Pennsylvania household headed by a native-born resident.
In addition to the fiscal cost estimates in this study, there are additional costs associated with illegal immigration that should be kept in mind by policymakers when they focus on this fiscal cost burden. Foreign remittances sent abroad by the illegal alien population also constitute a major drain on the state’s economy. The Inter-American Development Bank estimated that remittances from Pennsylvania just to Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to $517 million in 2006. If this amount had been earned by American workers, it would have been spent locally, and it would have generated sales, production and jobs in the state as well as increased tax collection.
The about $728 million dollars in costs incurred by Pennsylvania taxpayers annually result from outlays in the following areas:
Education
Based on estimates of the illegal immigrant population in Pennsylvania and documented costs of K-12 schooling, Pennsylvanians spend about $660 million annually on education for an estimated 48,500 children of illegal aliens. That amount includes the cost of about $150 million to provide special English instruction to an estimated 34,200 children of illegal aliens. About 2.7 percent of the K-12 public school students in Pennsylvania are children of illegal aliens.
Health Care
Taxpayer-funded, unreimbursed medical outlays for health care provided to the state’s illegal alien population amount to about $50 million a year.
Incarceration
The cost of incarcerating illegal aliens in Pennsylvania’s state, county, and independent city prisons amounts to more than $17.5 million a year — not including related law enforcement and judicial expenses or the monetary costs of the crimes that led to the incarceration.
Some state and local taxes are received from illegal immigrants — even from those working off the books. But, those same tax collections, or more likely an increased amount, would occur if the jobs were done by legal workers. So, unless it is illogically assumed that no legal U.S. or immigrant or foreign guestworker would do the jobs now done by illegal workers, it makes little sense to consider this a true offset to the tax burden. The estimated amount of the taxes currently collected from the illegal workers is about $178 million per year.
The fiscal costs of illegal immigration to Pennsylvania’s taxpayers do not end with these three major cost areas. They would be considerably higher if other cost areas such as assistance programs for needy families or welfare benefits for American workers displaced by illegal alien workers or lost or depressed wages were included in the calculation.
The current proposal to adopt an amnesty for the illegal aliens would not lessen the burden if enacted. Rather, it would increase the access of this population to additional social welfare benefits and allow them to legally apply for the state’s reverse tax benefit known as the Earned Income Tax Credit.
July 2009
HOW MANY JOBS TURNED OVER TO ILLEGALS THEN?
HOW MANY MILLIONS SPEND ON WELFARE FOR ILLEGAL THEN?
HOW MANY AMERICANS MURDERED BY ILLEGALS THEN?
HOW MANY PRISON BEDS FILLED BY ILLEGALS THEN?
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HEARD ENGLISH TODAY?
The fiscal costs of illegal immigration to Pennsylvania’s taxpayers do not end with these three major cost areas. They would be considerably higher if other cost areas such as assistance programs for needy families or welfare benefits for American workers displaced by illegal alien workers or lost or depressed wages were included in the calculation.
*
The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Pennsylvanians
Pennsylvania has a rapidly growing illegal alien population of about 140,000 persons, nearly tripling since 2000.1 Between 2000 and 2008, the state’s foreign-born population has grown by 34.5 percent while its native-born population has decreased by 0.1 percent. Similarly, public school enrollment of students who require special instruction in English has also soared, rising by 187 percent from 1993 to 2006.
Pennsylvania’s illegal alien population represents a major burden on the state’s taxpayers and on the state budget. The costs imposed on law-abiding Pennsylvanians are unfair and unwelcome even in the best of times, but are especially burdensome at a time when the state ended the 2008-09 Fiscal Year with a $3.25 billion revenue deficit which has led to a proposed three-year temporary increase of one-half percent in the state’s personal income tax. In 2008, the foreign-born population in Pennsylvania represented nearly one in every 18 residents (5.5%), and illegal aliens constitute about one-third (34%) of that immigrant population.
Pennsylvania’s illegal immigrant population costs the state’s taxpayers about $728 million per year for education, medical care and incarceration. The annual fiscal burden amounts to about $150 per Pennsylvania household headed by a native-born resident.
In addition to the fiscal cost estimates in this study, there are additional costs associated with illegal immigration that should be kept in mind by policymakers when they focus on this fiscal cost burden. Foreign remittances sent abroad by the illegal alien population also constitute a major drain on the state’s economy. The Inter-American Development Bank estimated that remittances from Pennsylvania just to Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to $517 million in 2006. If this amount had been earned by American workers, it would have been spent locally, and it would have generated sales, production and jobs in the state as well as increased tax collection.
The about $728 million dollars in costs incurred by Pennsylvania taxpayers annually result from outlays in the following areas:
Education
Based on estimates of the illegal immigrant population in Pennsylvania and documented costs of K-12 schooling, Pennsylvanians spend about $660 million annually on education for an estimated 48,500 children of illegal aliens. That amount includes the cost of about $150 million to provide special English instruction to an estimated 34,200 children of illegal aliens. About 2.7 percent of the K-12 public school students in Pennsylvania are children of illegal aliens.
Health Care
Taxpayer-funded, unreimbursed medical outlays for health care provided to the state’s illegal alien population amount to about $50 million a year.
Incarceration
The cost of incarcerating illegal aliens in Pennsylvania’s state, county, and independent city prisons amounts to more than $17.5 million a year — not including related law enforcement and judicial expenses or the monetary costs of the crimes that led to the incarceration.
Some state and local taxes are received from illegal immigrants — even from those working off the books. But, those same tax collections, or more likely an increased amount, would occur if the jobs were done by legal workers. So, unless it is illogically assumed that no legal U.S. or immigrant or foreign guestworker would do the jobs now done by illegal workers, it makes little sense to consider this a true offset to the tax burden. The estimated amount of the taxes currently collected from the illegal workers is about $178 million per year.
The fiscal costs of illegal immigration to Pennsylvania’s taxpayers do not end with these three major cost areas. They would be considerably higher if other cost areas such as assistance programs for needy families or welfare benefits for American workers displaced by illegal alien workers or lost or depressed wages were included in the calculation.
The current proposal to adopt an amnesty for the illegal aliens would not lessen the burden if enacted. Rather, it would increase the access of this population to additional social welfare benefits and allow them to legally apply for the state’s reverse tax benefit known as the Earned Income Tax Credit.
July 2009
OHIO MOVES FOR AMNESTY - EXPANSION OF MEXICAN WELFARE STATE
EXPANDING THE MEXICAN OCCUPATION FOR MORE "CHEAP" LABOR IN OHIO.... The thing is, THERE ARE REALLY 38 MILLION MEX FLAG WAVER IN THIS COUNTRY. HOW MANY JOBS HAS OHIO ALREADY TURNED OVER TO THEM?
Immigration activists start reform push in Ohio
The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio November 20, 2009
By Jeb Phillips, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
Nov. 20--A national campaign for immigration reform announced its presence in Ohio yesterday.
Among the most important goals of the Reform Immigration for America coalition, and perhaps the one getting the most attention, is creating a process for the 12 million illegal immigrants now in the United States to become permanent residents and citizens, said Stephanie Beck-Borden, the group's state director.
A little over 1 percent of Ohio's work force in 2008, or about 65,000 people, was illegal immigrants, according to an estimate by the nonprofit Pew Hispanic Center.
The campaign wants the changes to occur in 2010, and called specifically on Ohio's congressional delegation to help make that happen.
"We're here to talk about workable solutions," Beck-Borden said yesterday at the Ohio campaign's launch in the Riffe Center Downtown.
A workable solution wouldn't be trying to deport 12 million people already in this country, speakers said yesterday. It would be allowing them a way to stay here legally, which would include registration, learning English and paying taxes.
Some critics call that amnesty for illegal immigrants. Beck-Borden said it would be a more of an "earned path" to residency and citizenship.
Representatives from janitorial and food-industry labor unions talked yesterday about immigration reform as a way to keep employers from exploiting workers. Troy Jackson, senior pastor of University Christian Church in Cincinnati, spoke of it in terms of the civil-rights struggles of the 1950s and '60s.
Other goals of the group include issuing work visas based on labor shortages rather than political concerns, keeping immigrant families intact, and creating a "sensible enforcement strategy" that keeps the country safe while protecting human rights and due process of law.
Bill Williams, the organizer of a small Statehouse rally on Saturday against amnesty and for greater border security, said that he agreed with the idea of using immigration policy to help make the country safe. But that means strict enforcement of existing laws, including keeping illegal immigrants from landing jobs in the U.S.
"If we let ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) do its job, they will self-deport," Williams said.
Immigration activists start reform push in Ohio
The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio November 20, 2009
By Jeb Phillips, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
Nov. 20--A national campaign for immigration reform announced its presence in Ohio yesterday.
Among the most important goals of the Reform Immigration for America coalition, and perhaps the one getting the most attention, is creating a process for the 12 million illegal immigrants now in the United States to become permanent residents and citizens, said Stephanie Beck-Borden, the group's state director.
A little over 1 percent of Ohio's work force in 2008, or about 65,000 people, was illegal immigrants, according to an estimate by the nonprofit Pew Hispanic Center.
The campaign wants the changes to occur in 2010, and called specifically on Ohio's congressional delegation to help make that happen.
"We're here to talk about workable solutions," Beck-Borden said yesterday at the Ohio campaign's launch in the Riffe Center Downtown.
A workable solution wouldn't be trying to deport 12 million people already in this country, speakers said yesterday. It would be allowing them a way to stay here legally, which would include registration, learning English and paying taxes.
Some critics call that amnesty for illegal immigrants. Beck-Borden said it would be a more of an "earned path" to residency and citizenship.
Representatives from janitorial and food-industry labor unions talked yesterday about immigration reform as a way to keep employers from exploiting workers. Troy Jackson, senior pastor of University Christian Church in Cincinnati, spoke of it in terms of the civil-rights struggles of the 1950s and '60s.
Other goals of the group include issuing work visas based on labor shortages rather than political concerns, keeping immigrant families intact, and creating a "sensible enforcement strategy" that keeps the country safe while protecting human rights and due process of law.
Bill Williams, the organizer of a small Statehouse rally on Saturday against amnesty and for greater border security, said that he agreed with the idea of using immigration policy to help make the country safe. But that means strict enforcement of existing laws, including keeping illegal immigrants from landing jobs in the U.S.
"If we let ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) do its job, they will self-deport," Williams said.
ILLEGAL IMMGRANTS and UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES - Crossing Our Borders Is Illegal!
Illegal immigrants, unlawful activities
Yakima Herald-Republic November 15, 2009
By Melissa Sanchez, Yakima Herald-Republic, Wash.
Nov. 15--YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Yakima County jail echoes with slamming steel doors and yelling prisoners as a federal agent sits down behind a computer with a list of inmates to interview.
Across the table is Julio Laguna Mendoza, a quiet 54-year-old arrested for drunken driving several days earlier. The computer shows he's no stranger to the system.
Laguna's been arrested a half-dozen times for illegally entering the country. Mug shots provide a time-sequence of Laguna aging after each arrest.
This time, he made it as far as Yakima. But it won't be long before he's deported again.
Few issues are more controversial or emotional than the impact illegal immigrants have on crime -- or how local law enforcement officers deal with illegal immigrants.
Immigrant-rights advocates insist that most are hard workers no more likely to commit crimes than citizens. Others blame illegal immigrants for a large share of the Yakima Valley's serious crime.
But getting an accurate picture has never been easy. To date, authorities say no specific research has been done on the impact of illegal immigration on the criminal justice system in Yakima County.
Local police, deputies and prosecutors say they don't know what percentage of crime immigrants commit because they don't ask suspects about their immigration status. Jailers don't keep statistics on whether inmates are here legally. And to some degree, federal agents seeking to identify immigration violators among the jail population must rely on what suspects say.
But a Yakima Herald-Republic analysis of county jail booking records for the month of October sheds some light on how many in the facility are suspected of violating immigration law and what local charges they face:
--Six percent of the more than 630 people booked into the jail on local charges in October were suspected of breaking immigration law and placed on federal hold.
(Immigrants who are not U.S. citizens account for just under 13 percent of Yakima County residents, according to a 2008 U.S. Census estimate. The census report did not distinguish between illegal immigrants and those here on visas.)
--Citizens and those placed on immigration holds were booked on felony charges at roughly equal rates, 28 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
--More than 60 percent of inmates with immigration holds were booked on traffic violations, such as driving without a license and negligent driving.
--Drunken driving, a gross misdemeanor, was the No. 1 charge against noncitizens.
Without extensive study, it's difficult to tell whether October was a statistically average month at the jail.
But local police officials, while repeatedly emphasizing they don't ask suspects about their immigration status, said the numbers weren't unexpected.
"It's not surprising at all," said Sunnyside deputy police chief Phil Schenck.
Authorities also agreed that jail bookings in October provide a fair snapshot of the Yakima Valley's demographics, which change with the agricultural calendar.
Exact comparisons are difficult, but the local rates are similar to those found in at least one study elsewhere on immigrants and criminality. A 2008 analysis by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California showed that while immigrants make up about 35 percent of that state's population, they account for 17 percent of the adult prison population.
Federal agents have been pulling illegal immigrants from local jails for years.
"We're focusing on the most egregious criminals or threats to the public," said Bryan Wilcox, deputy field office director with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Seattle.
"Anyone we encounter in the jail, regardless of the circumstances of how they got to jail, if they're not a U.S. citizen then were going to look at them."
The federal actions, however, are not without controversy.
Ann Benson, director of the Washington Defenders Association Immigration Project, said the federal program targeting inmates in local jails doesn't seek out the most serious criminal aliens.
It's an indiscriminate dragnet that rounds up as many immigrants as possible, she said.
"The overwhelming majority of the people being rounded up are fathers, sons and brothers who have families that rely on them and who are members of our communities," she said.
Others, however, want to see far more aggressive enforcement.
Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin regularly gets asked why immigration status isn't questioned when deputies are investigating a crime.
"We concentrate on the criminals committing crimes, not those people violating immigration law, because effective law enforcement is based on trust of the community," he said. "And if we have a large segment of the community that does not trust law enforcement, then the community as a whole is less safe because crime is not being reported."
Besides, police agencies have enough trouble keeping up with drug crimes and car thefts, he said.
"I've told so many groups I've talked to that if I could get rid of the stupid white people who are heavily involved in ... methamphetamine -- wow, that's where we'd really see the reduction in crime," he said.
"But the illegal immigrant is an easy target and a little too easy to blame for the ills that we have."
His stance -- echoed by other Yakima Valley law enforcement leaders, including Yakima police Chief Sam Granato -- frustrates people like Bob West.
West is the president of Grassroots of Yakima Valley, an organization that wants local law enforcement agencies to verify the legal status of everybody they encounter -- and to alert federal immigration authorities of possible illegal immigrants.
"Nobody checks up on it because it's not the politically correct thing to do," West said. "I'm not saying all illegal immigrants are criminals. But the illegals have broken at least one law. Who knows what percentage of illegal immigrants break other laws?"
Some of the Valley's most vocal opponents of illegal immigration recognize that immigrants don't commit a disproportionate amount of crime here.
But their U.S.-born children do, said Nick Hughes, a retired hops seller who has stood in front of Yakima City Council meetings to blame Hispanic immigrants for gang violence.
"Most of the gang members are (children of illegal immigrants)," he said. "If we hadn't allowed the illegal parents here, we wouldn't have the children here causing the gang problems."
Few -- including those in law enforcement -- will disagree with Hughes' assessment. Irwin called the trend a breakdown in immigrant families.
"They're hardworking people, for the most part, but the children ... are not being disciplined and parented as they should be," Irwin said.
Illegal immigration brings its share of problems, even if crime is not a major one, Irwin said.
Overburdened schools, social services and hospitals are among reasons why the federal government should find a solution to the nation's immigration problem -- whether it's a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants or mass deportation, he added.
"We've all been a part of this problem," Irwin said. "We're used to the services -- landscapers, construction, hotels, all of that, especially our agriculture industry has benefited from illegal immigration to a certain extent.
"We all need to be a part of a solution, whatever it may be."
Yakima Herald-Republic November 15, 2009
By Melissa Sanchez, Yakima Herald-Republic, Wash.
Nov. 15--YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Yakima County jail echoes with slamming steel doors and yelling prisoners as a federal agent sits down behind a computer with a list of inmates to interview.
Across the table is Julio Laguna Mendoza, a quiet 54-year-old arrested for drunken driving several days earlier. The computer shows he's no stranger to the system.
Laguna's been arrested a half-dozen times for illegally entering the country. Mug shots provide a time-sequence of Laguna aging after each arrest.
This time, he made it as far as Yakima. But it won't be long before he's deported again.
Few issues are more controversial or emotional than the impact illegal immigrants have on crime -- or how local law enforcement officers deal with illegal immigrants.
Immigrant-rights advocates insist that most are hard workers no more likely to commit crimes than citizens. Others blame illegal immigrants for a large share of the Yakima Valley's serious crime.
But getting an accurate picture has never been easy. To date, authorities say no specific research has been done on the impact of illegal immigration on the criminal justice system in Yakima County.
Local police, deputies and prosecutors say they don't know what percentage of crime immigrants commit because they don't ask suspects about their immigration status. Jailers don't keep statistics on whether inmates are here legally. And to some degree, federal agents seeking to identify immigration violators among the jail population must rely on what suspects say.
But a Yakima Herald-Republic analysis of county jail booking records for the month of October sheds some light on how many in the facility are suspected of violating immigration law and what local charges they face:
--Six percent of the more than 630 people booked into the jail on local charges in October were suspected of breaking immigration law and placed on federal hold.
(Immigrants who are not U.S. citizens account for just under 13 percent of Yakima County residents, according to a 2008 U.S. Census estimate. The census report did not distinguish between illegal immigrants and those here on visas.)
--Citizens and those placed on immigration holds were booked on felony charges at roughly equal rates, 28 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
--More than 60 percent of inmates with immigration holds were booked on traffic violations, such as driving without a license and negligent driving.
--Drunken driving, a gross misdemeanor, was the No. 1 charge against noncitizens.
Without extensive study, it's difficult to tell whether October was a statistically average month at the jail.
But local police officials, while repeatedly emphasizing they don't ask suspects about their immigration status, said the numbers weren't unexpected.
"It's not surprising at all," said Sunnyside deputy police chief Phil Schenck.
Authorities also agreed that jail bookings in October provide a fair snapshot of the Yakima Valley's demographics, which change with the agricultural calendar.
Exact comparisons are difficult, but the local rates are similar to those found in at least one study elsewhere on immigrants and criminality. A 2008 analysis by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California showed that while immigrants make up about 35 percent of that state's population, they account for 17 percent of the adult prison population.
Federal agents have been pulling illegal immigrants from local jails for years.
"We're focusing on the most egregious criminals or threats to the public," said Bryan Wilcox, deputy field office director with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Seattle.
"Anyone we encounter in the jail, regardless of the circumstances of how they got to jail, if they're not a U.S. citizen then were going to look at them."
The federal actions, however, are not without controversy.
Ann Benson, director of the Washington Defenders Association Immigration Project, said the federal program targeting inmates in local jails doesn't seek out the most serious criminal aliens.
It's an indiscriminate dragnet that rounds up as many immigrants as possible, she said.
"The overwhelming majority of the people being rounded up are fathers, sons and brothers who have families that rely on them and who are members of our communities," she said.
Others, however, want to see far more aggressive enforcement.
Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin regularly gets asked why immigration status isn't questioned when deputies are investigating a crime.
"We concentrate on the criminals committing crimes, not those people violating immigration law, because effective law enforcement is based on trust of the community," he said. "And if we have a large segment of the community that does not trust law enforcement, then the community as a whole is less safe because crime is not being reported."
Besides, police agencies have enough trouble keeping up with drug crimes and car thefts, he said.
"I've told so many groups I've talked to that if I could get rid of the stupid white people who are heavily involved in ... methamphetamine -- wow, that's where we'd really see the reduction in crime," he said.
"But the illegal immigrant is an easy target and a little too easy to blame for the ills that we have."
His stance -- echoed by other Yakima Valley law enforcement leaders, including Yakima police Chief Sam Granato -- frustrates people like Bob West.
West is the president of Grassroots of Yakima Valley, an organization that wants local law enforcement agencies to verify the legal status of everybody they encounter -- and to alert federal immigration authorities of possible illegal immigrants.
"Nobody checks up on it because it's not the politically correct thing to do," West said. "I'm not saying all illegal immigrants are criminals. But the illegals have broken at least one law. Who knows what percentage of illegal immigrants break other laws?"
Some of the Valley's most vocal opponents of illegal immigration recognize that immigrants don't commit a disproportionate amount of crime here.
But their U.S.-born children do, said Nick Hughes, a retired hops seller who has stood in front of Yakima City Council meetings to blame Hispanic immigrants for gang violence.
"Most of the gang members are (children of illegal immigrants)," he said. "If we hadn't allowed the illegal parents here, we wouldn't have the children here causing the gang problems."
Few -- including those in law enforcement -- will disagree with Hughes' assessment. Irwin called the trend a breakdown in immigrant families.
"They're hardworking people, for the most part, but the children ... are not being disciplined and parented as they should be," Irwin said.
Illegal immigration brings its share of problems, even if crime is not a major one, Irwin said.
Overburdened schools, social services and hospitals are among reasons why the federal government should find a solution to the nation's immigration problem -- whether it's a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants or mass deportation, he added.
"We've all been a part of this problem," Irwin said. "We're used to the services -- landscapers, construction, hotels, all of that, especially our agriculture industry has benefited from illegal immigration to a certain extent.
"We all need to be a part of a solution, whatever it may be."
GOVERNMENT DATA IMPLY HIGH IMMIGRATION CRIME RATES - So, why OPEN BORDERS & AMNESTY???
Government Data Imply High Immigrant Crime Rates; Findings Contradict Older Research Showing Low Rates
PRNewswire November 19, 2009
WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Center for Immigration Studies has published a detailed report on immigration and crime based on a variety of recently released data, including some obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. The newer government data implies that immigrants have relatively high rates of crime. This contradicts older academic research that generally found low rates of crime. The overall picture of immigrants and crime remains confused due to conflicting information and a lack of good data.
The report, "Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Conflicted Issue," by Steven Camarota and Jessica Vaughan, is online at http:// cis.org/ImmigrantCrime
Among the findings:
-- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates that immigrants
(legal and illegal) comprise 20 percent of inmates in prisons and jails.
The foreign-born are 15.4 percent of the nation's adult population.
However, DHS has not provided a detailed explanation of how the
estimates were generated.
-- Under contract to DHS in 2004, Fentress, Inc. reviewed 8.1 million
inmate records from state prison systems and 45 large county jails. They
found that 22 percent of inmates were foreign-born. But the report did
not cover all of the nation's jails.
-- The 287(g) program and related efforts have found high rates of
illegal-alien incarceration in some communities. But it is unclear if
the communities are representative of the country:
-- Maricopa County, Ariz.: 22 percent of felons are illegal aliens;
-- Lake County, Ill.: 19 percent of jail inmates are illegal aliens;
-- Collier County, Fla.: 20 to 22 percent of jail inmates and arrestees
are illegal aliens;
-- Weld County, Colo.: 12.8 to 15.2 percent of those jailed are illegal
aliens.
-- DHS states that it has identified 221,000 non-citizens in the nation's
jails. This equals 11 to 15 percent of the jail population. Non- citizens
are 8.6 percent of the nation's total adult population.
-- The Federal Bureau of Prisons reports that 26.4 percent of inmates in
federal prisons are non-citizens. However, federal prisons are not
representative of prisons generally or local jails.
-- Recent reports by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) and
Immigration Policy Center (IPC) showing low rates of immigrant
incarceration highlight the data problems in many studies. The 2000
Census data they used are not reliable.
-- An analysis of the data used in the PPIC and IPC studies by the National
Research Council found that 53 percent of the time the Census Bureau had
to make an educated guess whether a prisoner was an immigrant. The
studies are essentially measuring these guesses, not actual immigrant
incarceration.
-- The poor quality of data used in the PPIC and IPC studies is illustrated
by wild and implausible swings. It shows a 28 percent decline in
incarcerated immigrants 1990 to 2000 -- yet the overall immigrant
population grew 59 percent. Newer Census data from 2007 show a 146
percent increase in immigrant incarceration 2000 to 2007 -- yet, the
overall immigrant population grew only 22 percent.
-- The "Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities"
shows that 8.1 percent of prisoners in state prisons are immigrants
(legal and illegal). However, the survey excludes jails and relies on
inmate self-identification, which is likely to understate the number of
immigrants.
-- In 2009, 57 percent of the 76 fugitive murderers most wanted by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were foreign-born. It is likely
however that because immigrants can more readily flee to other
countries, they comprise a disproportionate share of fugitives.
-- Most studies comparing crime rates and immigration levels across cities
show no clear correlation between the immigrant share of a city's
population and its level of crime. This is one of the strongest
arguments that immigrants do not have high crime rates. However, such
studies generally measure only overall crime, not crimes specifically
committed by immigrants. Also, a 2009 analysis by DHS' Office of
Immigration Statistics found that crime rates were higher in
metropolitan areas that received large numbers of legal immigrants.
-- From 1998 to 2007, 816,000 criminal aliens were removed from the United
States because of a criminal charge or conviction. This is equal to
about one-fifth of the nation's total jail and prison population. These
figures do not include those removed for the lesser offense of living or
working in the country illegally. The removal and deportation of large
numbers of criminal aliens may reduce immigrant incarceration rates
because many will not return and re-offend, as is the case with many
native-born criminals.
-- Some have argued that the fall in overall national crime rates since the
early 1990s is evidence that immigration actually reduces crime.
However, overall crime rates are affected by many factors. Moreover, the
1970s and 1980s saw crime rates rise along with immigration levels.
-- Overall incarceration rates are also a poor means of examining the link
between immigration and crime. Since the 1970s, the share of the U.S.
population that is incarcerated has grown almost exactly in proportion
to the share of the population that is immigrant. But unless inmates can
be identified as immigrant or native-born this information sheds little
light on the issue of immigrant criminality.
The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution that examines the impact of immigration on the United States.
SOURCE Center for Immigration Studies
Originally published by Center for Immigration Studies.
PRNewswire November 19, 2009
WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Center for Immigration Studies has published a detailed report on immigration and crime based on a variety of recently released data, including some obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. The newer government data implies that immigrants have relatively high rates of crime. This contradicts older academic research that generally found low rates of crime. The overall picture of immigrants and crime remains confused due to conflicting information and a lack of good data.
The report, "Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Conflicted Issue," by Steven Camarota and Jessica Vaughan, is online at http:// cis.org/ImmigrantCrime
Among the findings:
-- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates that immigrants
(legal and illegal) comprise 20 percent of inmates in prisons and jails.
The foreign-born are 15.4 percent of the nation's adult population.
However, DHS has not provided a detailed explanation of how the
estimates were generated.
-- Under contract to DHS in 2004, Fentress, Inc. reviewed 8.1 million
inmate records from state prison systems and 45 large county jails. They
found that 22 percent of inmates were foreign-born. But the report did
not cover all of the nation's jails.
-- The 287(g) program and related efforts have found high rates of
illegal-alien incarceration in some communities. But it is unclear if
the communities are representative of the country:
-- Maricopa County, Ariz.: 22 percent of felons are illegal aliens;
-- Lake County, Ill.: 19 percent of jail inmates are illegal aliens;
-- Collier County, Fla.: 20 to 22 percent of jail inmates and arrestees
are illegal aliens;
-- Weld County, Colo.: 12.8 to 15.2 percent of those jailed are illegal
aliens.
-- DHS states that it has identified 221,000 non-citizens in the nation's
jails. This equals 11 to 15 percent of the jail population. Non- citizens
are 8.6 percent of the nation's total adult population.
-- The Federal Bureau of Prisons reports that 26.4 percent of inmates in
federal prisons are non-citizens. However, federal prisons are not
representative of prisons generally or local jails.
-- Recent reports by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) and
Immigration Policy Center (IPC) showing low rates of immigrant
incarceration highlight the data problems in many studies. The 2000
Census data they used are not reliable.
-- An analysis of the data used in the PPIC and IPC studies by the National
Research Council found that 53 percent of the time the Census Bureau had
to make an educated guess whether a prisoner was an immigrant. The
studies are essentially measuring these guesses, not actual immigrant
incarceration.
-- The poor quality of data used in the PPIC and IPC studies is illustrated
by wild and implausible swings. It shows a 28 percent decline in
incarcerated immigrants 1990 to 2000 -- yet the overall immigrant
population grew 59 percent. Newer Census data from 2007 show a 146
percent increase in immigrant incarceration 2000 to 2007 -- yet, the
overall immigrant population grew only 22 percent.
-- The "Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities"
shows that 8.1 percent of prisoners in state prisons are immigrants
(legal and illegal). However, the survey excludes jails and relies on
inmate self-identification, which is likely to understate the number of
immigrants.
-- In 2009, 57 percent of the 76 fugitive murderers most wanted by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were foreign-born. It is likely
however that because immigrants can more readily flee to other
countries, they comprise a disproportionate share of fugitives.
-- Most studies comparing crime rates and immigration levels across cities
show no clear correlation between the immigrant share of a city's
population and its level of crime. This is one of the strongest
arguments that immigrants do not have high crime rates. However, such
studies generally measure only overall crime, not crimes specifically
committed by immigrants. Also, a 2009 analysis by DHS' Office of
Immigration Statistics found that crime rates were higher in
metropolitan areas that received large numbers of legal immigrants.
-- From 1998 to 2007, 816,000 criminal aliens were removed from the United
States because of a criminal charge or conviction. This is equal to
about one-fifth of the nation's total jail and prison population. These
figures do not include those removed for the lesser offense of living or
working in the country illegally. The removal and deportation of large
numbers of criminal aliens may reduce immigrant incarceration rates
because many will not return and re-offend, as is the case with many
native-born criminals.
-- Some have argued that the fall in overall national crime rates since the
early 1990s is evidence that immigration actually reduces crime.
However, overall crime rates are affected by many factors. Moreover, the
1970s and 1980s saw crime rates rise along with immigration levels.
-- Overall incarceration rates are also a poor means of examining the link
between immigration and crime. Since the 1970s, the share of the U.S.
population that is incarcerated has grown almost exactly in proportion
to the share of the population that is immigrant. But unless inmates can
be identified as immigrant or native-born this information sheds little
light on the issue of immigrant criminality.
The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution that examines the impact of immigration on the United States.
SOURCE Center for Immigration Studies
Originally published by Center for Immigration Studies.
LA RAZA DEMS To Expand Welfare State For ILLEGALS - $31 BILLION HEALTHCARE PLAN
OBAMA AND THE LA RAZA’S EXPANSION OF THE MEXICAN WELFARE STATE
Health Bill Could Benefit 6.6 Million Illegals ; Study: Potential Cost to Taxpayers Up to $31 Billion
PRNewswire September 8, 2009
WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As President Obama addresses the nation on health care reform, a new analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies estimates that 6.6 million uninsured illegal immigrants could receive benefits under the House health reform bill (H.R. 3200). While the bill states that illegal immigrants are not eligible for the new taxpayer-funded affordability credits, there is nothing in the bill to enforce this provision. Congress defeated efforts to require the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. More than 70 other programs of this kind use SAVE.
The report is available at http://www.CIS.org/ IllegalsAndHealthCareHR3200. Among the findings:
-- In 2007, there were an estimated 6.6 million illegal immigrants without
health insurance who had incomes below 400 percent of poverty, which is
the income ceiling for the new affordability premium credits.
-- If all uninsured illegal immigrants with incomes below 400 percent of
poverty received the new credits, the estimated cost to the federal
government would be $30.5 billion annually.
-- The current cost of treating uninsured illegal immigrants at all levels
of government is an estimated $4.3 billion a year, primarily at
emergency rooms and free clinics.
-- On July 16 an amendment by Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) that would have
required the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements
(SAVE) program to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving the
affordability credits was defeated by the House Ways and Means
Committee.
-- At present 71 other means-tested federal programs require use of the
SAVE system to prevent illegal immigrants and other ineligible
non-citizens from accessing them.
-- Even though there is no mechanism to prevent enrollment, it is likely
that many income-eligible illegal immigrants would not enroll out of
fear or lack of knowledge of the new programs. Thus the actual costs
would be less than the maximum estimate of $30.5 billion. However, if
illegal immigrants are legalized and could receive affordability
credits, a much larger percentage would be expected to enroll, with a
corresponding increase in costs.
-- Uninsured illegal immigrants tend to use less in health care on average
than others without health insurance because they tend to be young. This
fact is incorporated into the current cost estimate of $4.3 billion.
However, government-provided affordability credits paid to insurance
companies are the same for everyone regardless of age or preexisting
conditions. Therefore, the younger age of illegals does not result in
lower average costs for taxpayers for this program.
-- It is also worth noting that the report estimates that 38 percent of
illegal immigrants had health insurance in 2007. Additionally, the
report estimates that there are at least 360,000 uninsured illegal
immigrants with incomes above 400 percent of poverty who would not
qualify for benefits under H.R. 3200.
-- It is also possible that illegal immigrants could benefit from the
expansion of Medicaid under H.R. 3200. The bill does not require
identity verification for those claiming U.S. birth. Of illegal
immigrants with incomes under 400 percent of poverty, about half live
under 133 percent of poverty, which is the new ceiling for Medicaid
eligibility.
-- On July 30 an amendment by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) that would have
required identity variation for those claiming U.S. birth was defeated
by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Methodology: To estimate the number of illegal immigrants in the United States this report uses the March 2008 Current Population Survey (CPS) collected by the Census Bureau. While the CPS does not ask the foreign-born if they are legal residents, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), former INS, and other outside researchers have all used socio-demographic characteristics in Census Bureau data to estimate the size of the illegal alien population; this report follows the same approach. The March CPS also asks about income and health insurance coverage and on this basis the report estimates the share of low-income illegal immigrants who are without health insurance coverage. By design these estimates of the size and characteristics of the illegal-immigrant population match those
The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution that examines the impact of immigration on the United States. It has no position on the health reform legislation before Congress or any other matter unrelated to immigration.
SOURCE Center for Immigration Studies
Originally published by Center for Immigration Studies.
Health Bill Could Benefit 6.6 Million Illegals ; Study: Potential Cost to Taxpayers Up to $31 Billion
PRNewswire September 8, 2009
WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As President Obama addresses the nation on health care reform, a new analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies estimates that 6.6 million uninsured illegal immigrants could receive benefits under the House health reform bill (H.R. 3200). While the bill states that illegal immigrants are not eligible for the new taxpayer-funded affordability credits, there is nothing in the bill to enforce this provision. Congress defeated efforts to require the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. More than 70 other programs of this kind use SAVE.
The report is available at http://www.CIS.org/ IllegalsAndHealthCareHR3200. Among the findings:
-- In 2007, there were an estimated 6.6 million illegal immigrants without
health insurance who had incomes below 400 percent of poverty, which is
the income ceiling for the new affordability premium credits.
-- If all uninsured illegal immigrants with incomes below 400 percent of
poverty received the new credits, the estimated cost to the federal
government would be $30.5 billion annually.
-- The current cost of treating uninsured illegal immigrants at all levels
of government is an estimated $4.3 billion a year, primarily at
emergency rooms and free clinics.
-- On July 16 an amendment by Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) that would have
required the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements
(SAVE) program to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving the
affordability credits was defeated by the House Ways and Means
Committee.
-- At present 71 other means-tested federal programs require use of the
SAVE system to prevent illegal immigrants and other ineligible
non-citizens from accessing them.
-- Even though there is no mechanism to prevent enrollment, it is likely
that many income-eligible illegal immigrants would not enroll out of
fear or lack of knowledge of the new programs. Thus the actual costs
would be less than the maximum estimate of $30.5 billion. However, if
illegal immigrants are legalized and could receive affordability
credits, a much larger percentage would be expected to enroll, with a
corresponding increase in costs.
-- Uninsured illegal immigrants tend to use less in health care on average
than others without health insurance because they tend to be young. This
fact is incorporated into the current cost estimate of $4.3 billion.
However, government-provided affordability credits paid to insurance
companies are the same for everyone regardless of age or preexisting
conditions. Therefore, the younger age of illegals does not result in
lower average costs for taxpayers for this program.
-- It is also worth noting that the report estimates that 38 percent of
illegal immigrants had health insurance in 2007. Additionally, the
report estimates that there are at least 360,000 uninsured illegal
immigrants with incomes above 400 percent of poverty who would not
qualify for benefits under H.R. 3200.
-- It is also possible that illegal immigrants could benefit from the
expansion of Medicaid under H.R. 3200. The bill does not require
identity verification for those claiming U.S. birth. Of illegal
immigrants with incomes under 400 percent of poverty, about half live
under 133 percent of poverty, which is the new ceiling for Medicaid
eligibility.
-- On July 30 an amendment by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) that would have
required identity variation for those claiming U.S. birth was defeated
by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Methodology: To estimate the number of illegal immigrants in the United States this report uses the March 2008 Current Population Survey (CPS) collected by the Census Bureau. While the CPS does not ask the foreign-born if they are legal residents, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), former INS, and other outside researchers have all used socio-demographic characteristics in Census Bureau data to estimate the size of the illegal alien population; this report follows the same approach. The March CPS also asks about income and health insurance coverage and on this basis the report estimates the share of low-income illegal immigrants who are without health insurance coverage. By design these estimates of the size and characteristics of the illegal-immigrant population match those
The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution that examines the impact of immigration on the United States. It has no position on the health reform legislation before Congress or any other matter unrelated to immigration.
SOURCE Center for Immigration Studies
Originally published by Center for Immigration Studies.
NEW DATABASE IDENTIFIES 111,000 ILLEGAL CRIMINALS - Where Are the Others Then?
Database identifies criminal immigrants
United Press International November 13, 2009
A new program giving U.S law enforcement agencies access to federal fingerprint files has identified about 111,000 criminal immigrants, the government says.
The federal program allows police departments to search federal immigration records and FBI criminal databases to help remove violent immigrants from the country, The Arizona Republic reported.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Thursday the program, begun in October 2008, helps identify immigrants charged with, or convicted of, crimes so they can be deported if they are here illegally, and legal immigrants can be deported if they have committed a serious crime. The U.S. government fingerprints all legal immigrants, the officials said.
Deporting the most violent criminals is the primary aim of the program. Since it began, 1,911 immigrants charged with, or convicted of, crimes such as murder, rape and kidnapping have been deported, immigration officials said.
"It enables (us) to identify and remove more criminal aliens, and those are the individuals that pose more threat to our communities," Vincent Picard, an immigration spokesman in Phoenix, said.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
United Press International November 13, 2009
A new program giving U.S law enforcement agencies access to federal fingerprint files has identified about 111,000 criminal immigrants, the government says.
The federal program allows police departments to search federal immigration records and FBI criminal databases to help remove violent immigrants from the country, The Arizona Republic reported.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Thursday the program, begun in October 2008, helps identify immigrants charged with, or convicted of, crimes so they can be deported if they are here illegally, and legal immigrants can be deported if they have committed a serious crime. The U.S. government fingerprints all legal immigrants, the officials said.
Deporting the most violent criminals is the primary aim of the program. Since it began, 1,911 immigrants charged with, or convicted of, crimes such as murder, rape and kidnapping have been deported, immigration officials said.
"It enables (us) to identify and remove more criminal aliens, and those are the individuals that pose more threat to our communities," Vincent Picard, an immigration spokesman in Phoenix, said.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
REP. GUTIERREZ of the LA RAZA PARTY - PROPAGANDA ON JOBS FOR.....?
Proponents alter immigration legislation in the face of tough economic climate
By Jared Allen - 11/23/09 06:00 AM ET
House Democrats are making changes to their immigration legislation to reflect the nation’s high unemployment rate.
The move comes as recognition that the 10.2 percent jobless rate – which is expected to rise and remain in double-digits for much of 2010 -- has altered the political landscape for an immigration bill.
“Each bill is reflective of a time. And with unemployment over 10 percent I think we need to have language that is very carefully tailored,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.).
Some supporters of reforming U.S. immigration laws to provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants acknowledge the tough economic times create a difficult climate for legislation.
“There are some things that will make it harder [than in past years],” said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has co-sponsored legislation on immigration with Gutierrez.
“People will look at the unemployment numbers and say; ‘Well, why are we focusing on this?’ So, yeah, I think the hill’s a little steeper.”
The nation’s unemployment rate was 4.5 percent when legislation sponsored by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2007 stalemated in the Senate. Michigan, with 7.1 percent unemployment, was the state with the highest jobless rate at the time.
At the end of last month, 22 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and dozens of metropolitan areas had average unemployment rates above 9 percent. Michigan’s rate is above 15 percent. California’s is 12.2 percent.
Gutierrez said he hopes to keep as much of the framework of the 2007 legislation as possible, but some aspects will clearly have to change.
For example, the 2007 legislation created a “New Worker” program as an early step toward earned citizenship, but allowed the Secretary of Labor to reject new worker visas in areas where the unemployment rate rose above 9 percent.
Gutierrez said his latest bill will have to have much higher unemployment thresholds, and he said the dozen of Democrats he has included in an early immigration reform working group are looking at different policy options.
“We believe that every American should always have first crack at every job,” Gutierrez said. “Having said that, where the opportunities exist, we need to sustain our economy. And so we need workers. Even in this very unstable economic situation we find ourselves in, there are still crabs that need to be picked, there are still onions going un-harvested. It’s just true.”
General anxiety over job security likely will continue to drive Republican opposition against House and Senate immigration bills.
“Americans are conditioned to believe that illegal workers are necessary,” Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), an opponent of granting “amnesty” to illegal immigrants, said Thursday at an immigration forum called: “American Jobs in Peril: The Impact of Uncontrolled Immigration.”’
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who announced the forum with King, argues the reforms advocated by Gutierrez would allow illegal immigrants to take jobs that should go to citizens and legal immigrants. Smith and King argue Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was wrong in suggesting last week that the recession has triggered a significant decline in immigration and the best opportunity to enact reform.
“How can they allow 12 million illegal immigrants to take jobs that should go to citizens and legal immigrants?,” he asked in a statement announcing the forum. “And how can they claim that enforcement is ‘done’ when there are more than 400 open miles of border with Mexico, hundreds of thousands of criminal and fugitive aliens and millions of illegal immigrants taking American jobs?”
Flake said the unified GOP resistance to most Democratic priorities, unemployment and the emerging Democratic approach to immigration reform have made bipartisanship unlikely.
“Given what we’ve seen, I’d be surprised [to see a bipartisan bill],” he said.
Gutierrez and other advocates of a guest worker program are still charging ahead with plans for legislation that would create a pathway to citizenship for some 12 million undocumented immigrants. They hope to see Congress begin a debate this spring, though this will depend on the Senate taking up legislation.
Gutierrez said he will “design language that guarantees that no American citizen, no one born in the United States of America, will ever lose a job opportunity to someone who is foreign born.”
“That has to be central,” he said.
By Jared Allen - 11/23/09 06:00 AM ET
House Democrats are making changes to their immigration legislation to reflect the nation’s high unemployment rate.
The move comes as recognition that the 10.2 percent jobless rate – which is expected to rise and remain in double-digits for much of 2010 -- has altered the political landscape for an immigration bill.
“Each bill is reflective of a time. And with unemployment over 10 percent I think we need to have language that is very carefully tailored,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.).
Some supporters of reforming U.S. immigration laws to provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants acknowledge the tough economic times create a difficult climate for legislation.
“There are some things that will make it harder [than in past years],” said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has co-sponsored legislation on immigration with Gutierrez.
“People will look at the unemployment numbers and say; ‘Well, why are we focusing on this?’ So, yeah, I think the hill’s a little steeper.”
The nation’s unemployment rate was 4.5 percent when legislation sponsored by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2007 stalemated in the Senate. Michigan, with 7.1 percent unemployment, was the state with the highest jobless rate at the time.
At the end of last month, 22 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and dozens of metropolitan areas had average unemployment rates above 9 percent. Michigan’s rate is above 15 percent. California’s is 12.2 percent.
Gutierrez said he hopes to keep as much of the framework of the 2007 legislation as possible, but some aspects will clearly have to change.
For example, the 2007 legislation created a “New Worker” program as an early step toward earned citizenship, but allowed the Secretary of Labor to reject new worker visas in areas where the unemployment rate rose above 9 percent.
Gutierrez said his latest bill will have to have much higher unemployment thresholds, and he said the dozen of Democrats he has included in an early immigration reform working group are looking at different policy options.
“We believe that every American should always have first crack at every job,” Gutierrez said. “Having said that, where the opportunities exist, we need to sustain our economy. And so we need workers. Even in this very unstable economic situation we find ourselves in, there are still crabs that need to be picked, there are still onions going un-harvested. It’s just true.”
General anxiety over job security likely will continue to drive Republican opposition against House and Senate immigration bills.
“Americans are conditioned to believe that illegal workers are necessary,” Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), an opponent of granting “amnesty” to illegal immigrants, said Thursday at an immigration forum called: “American Jobs in Peril: The Impact of Uncontrolled Immigration.”’
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who announced the forum with King, argues the reforms advocated by Gutierrez would allow illegal immigrants to take jobs that should go to citizens and legal immigrants. Smith and King argue Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was wrong in suggesting last week that the recession has triggered a significant decline in immigration and the best opportunity to enact reform.
“How can they allow 12 million illegal immigrants to take jobs that should go to citizens and legal immigrants?,” he asked in a statement announcing the forum. “And how can they claim that enforcement is ‘done’ when there are more than 400 open miles of border with Mexico, hundreds of thousands of criminal and fugitive aliens and millions of illegal immigrants taking American jobs?”
Flake said the unified GOP resistance to most Democratic priorities, unemployment and the emerging Democratic approach to immigration reform have made bipartisanship unlikely.
“Given what we’ve seen, I’d be surprised [to see a bipartisan bill],” he said.
Gutierrez and other advocates of a guest worker program are still charging ahead with plans for legislation that would create a pathway to citizenship for some 12 million undocumented immigrants. They hope to see Congress begin a debate this spring, though this will depend on the Senate taking up legislation.
Gutierrez said he will “design language that guarantees that no American citizen, no one born in the United States of America, will ever lose a job opportunity to someone who is foreign born.”
“That has to be central,” he said.
CENTER for IMMIGRATION STUDIES - High Rates of Crime For Illegals
Government Data Imply High Immigrant Crime Rates; Findings Contradict Older Research Showing Low Rates
PRNewswire November 19, 2009
WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Center for Immigration Studies has published a detailed report on immigration and crime based on a variety of recently released data, including some obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. The newer government data implies that immigrants have relatively high rates of crime. This contradicts older academic research that generally found low rates of crime. The overall picture of immigrants and crime remains confused due to conflicting information and a lack of good data.
The report, "Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Conflicted Issue," by Steven Camarota and Jessica Vaughan, is online at http:// cis.org/ImmigrantCrime
Among the findings:
-- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates that immigrants
(legal and illegal) comprise 20 percent of inmates in prisons and jails.
The foreign-born are 15.4 percent of the nation's adult population.
However, DHS has not provided a detailed explanation of how the
estimates were generated.
-- Under contract to DHS in 2004, Fentress, Inc. reviewed 8.1 million
inmate records from state prison systems and 45 large county jails. They
found that 22 percent of inmates were foreign-born. But the report did
not cover all of the nation's jails.
-- The 287(g) program and related efforts have found high rates of
illegal-alien incarceration in some communities. But it is unclear if
the communities are representative of the country:
-- Maricopa County, Ariz.: 22 percent of felons are illegal aliens;
-- Lake County, Ill.: 19 percent of jail inmates are illegal aliens;
-- Collier County, Fla.: 20 to 22 percent of jail inmates and arrestees
are illegal aliens;
-- Weld County, Colo.: 12.8 to 15.2 percent of those jailed are illegal
aliens.
-- DHS states that it has identified 221,000 non-citizens in the nation's
jails. This equals 11 to 15 percent of the jail population. Non- citizens
are 8.6 percent of the nation's total adult population.
-- The Federal Bureau of Prisons reports that 26.4 percent of inmates in
federal prisons are non-citizens. However, federal prisons are not
representative of prisons generally or local jails.
-- Recent reports by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) and
Immigration Policy Center (IPC) showing low rates of immigrant
incarceration highlight the data problems in many studies. The 2000
Census data they used are not reliable.
-- An analysis of the data used in the PPIC and IPC studies by the National
Research Council found that 53 percent of the time the Census Bureau had
to make an educated guess whether a prisoner was an immigrant. The
studies are essentially measuring these guesses, not actual immigrant
incarceration.
-- The poor quality of data used in the PPIC and IPC studies is illustrated
by wild and implausible swings. It shows a 28 percent decline in
incarcerated immigrants 1990 to 2000 -- yet the overall immigrant
population grew 59 percent. Newer Census data from 2007 show a 146
percent increase in immigrant incarceration 2000 to 2007 -- yet, the
overall immigrant population grew only 22 percent.
-- The "Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities"
shows that 8.1 percent of prisoners in state prisons are immigrants
(legal and illegal). However, the survey excludes jails and relies on
inmate self-identification, which is likely to understate the number of
immigrants.
-- In 2009, 57 percent of the 76 fugitive murderers most wanted by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were foreign-born. It is likely
however that because immigrants can more readily flee to other
countries, they comprise a disproportionate share of fugitives.
-- Most studies comparing crime rates and immigration levels across cities
show no clear correlation between the immigrant share of a city's
population and its level of crime. This is one of the strongest
arguments that immigrants do not have high crime rates. However, such
studies generally measure only overall crime, not crimes specifically
committed by immigrants. Also, a 2009 analysis by DHS' Office of
Immigration Statistics found that crime rates were higher in
metropolitan areas that received large numbers of legal immigrants.
-- From 1998 to 2007, 816,000 criminal aliens were removed from the United
States because of a criminal charge or conviction. This is equal to
about one-fifth of the nation's total jail and prison population. These
figures do not include those removed for the lesser offense of living or
working in the country illegally. The removal and deportation of large
numbers of criminal aliens may reduce immigrant incarceration rates
because many will not return and re-offend, as is the case with many
native-born criminals.
-- Some have argued that the fall in overall national crime rates since the
early 1990s is evidence that immigration actually reduces crime.
However, overall crime rates are affected by many factors. Moreover, the
1970s and 1980s saw crime rates rise along with immigration levels.
-- Overall incarceration rates are also a poor means of examining the link
between immigration and crime. Since the 1970s, the share of the U.S.
population that is incarcerated has grown almost exactly in proportion
to the share of the population that is immigrant. But unless inmates can
be identified as immigrant or native-born this information sheds little
light on the issue of immigrant criminality.
The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution that examines the impact of immigration on the United States.
SOURCE Center for Immigration Studies
PRNewswire November 19, 2009
WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Center for Immigration Studies has published a detailed report on immigration and crime based on a variety of recently released data, including some obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. The newer government data implies that immigrants have relatively high rates of crime. This contradicts older academic research that generally found low rates of crime. The overall picture of immigrants and crime remains confused due to conflicting information and a lack of good data.
The report, "Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Conflicted Issue," by Steven Camarota and Jessica Vaughan, is online at http:// cis.org/ImmigrantCrime
Among the findings:
-- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates that immigrants
(legal and illegal) comprise 20 percent of inmates in prisons and jails.
The foreign-born are 15.4 percent of the nation's adult population.
However, DHS has not provided a detailed explanation of how the
estimates were generated.
-- Under contract to DHS in 2004, Fentress, Inc. reviewed 8.1 million
inmate records from state prison systems and 45 large county jails. They
found that 22 percent of inmates were foreign-born. But the report did
not cover all of the nation's jails.
-- The 287(g) program and related efforts have found high rates of
illegal-alien incarceration in some communities. But it is unclear if
the communities are representative of the country:
-- Maricopa County, Ariz.: 22 percent of felons are illegal aliens;
-- Lake County, Ill.: 19 percent of jail inmates are illegal aliens;
-- Collier County, Fla.: 20 to 22 percent of jail inmates and arrestees
are illegal aliens;
-- Weld County, Colo.: 12.8 to 15.2 percent of those jailed are illegal
aliens.
-- DHS states that it has identified 221,000 non-citizens in the nation's
jails. This equals 11 to 15 percent of the jail population. Non- citizens
are 8.6 percent of the nation's total adult population.
-- The Federal Bureau of Prisons reports that 26.4 percent of inmates in
federal prisons are non-citizens. However, federal prisons are not
representative of prisons generally or local jails.
-- Recent reports by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) and
Immigration Policy Center (IPC) showing low rates of immigrant
incarceration highlight the data problems in many studies. The 2000
Census data they used are not reliable.
-- An analysis of the data used in the PPIC and IPC studies by the National
Research Council found that 53 percent of the time the Census Bureau had
to make an educated guess whether a prisoner was an immigrant. The
studies are essentially measuring these guesses, not actual immigrant
incarceration.
-- The poor quality of data used in the PPIC and IPC studies is illustrated
by wild and implausible swings. It shows a 28 percent decline in
incarcerated immigrants 1990 to 2000 -- yet the overall immigrant
population grew 59 percent. Newer Census data from 2007 show a 146
percent increase in immigrant incarceration 2000 to 2007 -- yet, the
overall immigrant population grew only 22 percent.
-- The "Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities"
shows that 8.1 percent of prisoners in state prisons are immigrants
(legal and illegal). However, the survey excludes jails and relies on
inmate self-identification, which is likely to understate the number of
immigrants.
-- In 2009, 57 percent of the 76 fugitive murderers most wanted by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were foreign-born. It is likely
however that because immigrants can more readily flee to other
countries, they comprise a disproportionate share of fugitives.
-- Most studies comparing crime rates and immigration levels across cities
show no clear correlation between the immigrant share of a city's
population and its level of crime. This is one of the strongest
arguments that immigrants do not have high crime rates. However, such
studies generally measure only overall crime, not crimes specifically
committed by immigrants. Also, a 2009 analysis by DHS' Office of
Immigration Statistics found that crime rates were higher in
metropolitan areas that received large numbers of legal immigrants.
-- From 1998 to 2007, 816,000 criminal aliens were removed from the United
States because of a criminal charge or conviction. This is equal to
about one-fifth of the nation's total jail and prison population. These
figures do not include those removed for the lesser offense of living or
working in the country illegally. The removal and deportation of large
numbers of criminal aliens may reduce immigrant incarceration rates
because many will not return and re-offend, as is the case with many
native-born criminals.
-- Some have argued that the fall in overall national crime rates since the
early 1990s is evidence that immigration actually reduces crime.
However, overall crime rates are affected by many factors. Moreover, the
1970s and 1980s saw crime rates rise along with immigration levels.
-- Overall incarceration rates are also a poor means of examining the link
between immigration and crime. Since the 1970s, the share of the U.S.
population that is incarcerated has grown almost exactly in proportion
to the share of the population that is immigrant. But unless inmates can
be identified as immigrant or native-born this information sheds little
light on the issue of immigrant criminality.
The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution that examines the impact of immigration on the United States.
SOURCE Center for Immigration Studies
Los Angeles Under Occupation - MEXICAN CRIME WAVE
REALITY CHECK:
CALIFORNIA IS UNDER MEXICAN OCCUPATION!
THIS INVASION SUBSTANTIALLY BEGAN AFTER THE 1986 “AMNESTY” AND CONTINUES TO THIS DAY. IT IS AN INVASION BY INVITATION. THE LA RAZA LIFER-DEMS, FEINSTEIN, PELOSI, BOXER, WAXMAN, LOFGREN, ESHOO, HONDA, BACA, FARR, BECERRA, SANCHEZ SISTERS, WOULD NOT HAVE THEIR SEATS IF THEY DID NOT SERVICE BIG BUSINESS, AND KEEP WAGES DEPRESS WITH 38 MILLION ILLEGALS.
MEXICANS ARE CULTURALLY THE MOST VICIOUS, AND VIOLENT PEOPLE IN THE HEMISPHERE. MEXICAN GANGS HAVE SPREAD FROM LOS ANGELES, WHICH THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR CHARACTERIZES AS “MEXICAN GANG CAPITAL OF AMERICAN” TO ALL OVER THE STATE AND NOW COUNTRY. OUR BORDERS ARE LEFT OPEN FOR THE FLOW OF “CHEAP” LABOR, MEXICAN DRUGS, AND MEXICAN TERRORIST.
MEXICANS ARE CULTURALLY THE MOST RACIST IN THE HEMISPHERE. THE POLITICAL PART OF THE INVADERS IS LA RAZA…. “THE RACE”. IT FUNDED BY YOUR TAX DOLLARS, MEXICO (WE ARE MEXICO’S WELFARE SYSTEM), AND THE FORTUNE 500. ALL OF THE ABOVE POLITICIANS ARE ENDORSED BY LA RAZA.
IN CALIFORNIA ALONE THERE HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 2,000 AMERICANS MURDERED BY ILLEGALS FROM MEXICO THAT FLED BACK TO MEXICO TO AVOID PROSECUTION. ASK FEINSTEIN, BOXER, PELOSI, WAXMAN AND LOFGREN ABOUT THAT WHEN THEY’RE PUSHING TO KEEP BORDERS OPEN!
Immigration teams arrest more criminal offenders IMMIGRATION TEAMS ARREST MORE CRIMINAL OFFENDERS
Associated Press November 4, 2009
By AMY TAXIN Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES--Immigration agents assigned to track down people who have ignored deportation orders have increasingly arrested immigrants with criminal records during the past year, new data show.
Data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement show a shift from the prior three years, when more than 70 percent of immigrants arrested by fugitive operations teams had no criminal histories.
About 45 percent of the 35,000 immigrants arrested by the teams during the 2009 fiscal year had criminal convictions. The figure is up from 23 percent during the prior year.
ICE has long claimed it focused on arresting immigrants with criminal convictions who ignored orders from immigration judges to leave the country.
But most people arrested had no criminal histories, which prompted outcries from immigrant rights groups.
ICE director John Morton said earlier this year the agency would focus on finding immigrants with criminal records or who have ignored deportation orders. However, he said other illegal immigrants would be arrested if they were present during the operations,
"The goal is to prevent crime rather than simply to respond to it," ICE spokesman Brandon Alvarez-Montgomery said.
One reason for the change is that agents are working more closely with local law enforcement to develop leads, ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.
Immigrants rights advocates were skeptical of the numbers and wondered whether the data marked a real change in a program they have long criticized as a source of fear in immigrant neighborhoods.
It's unclear whether the Obama administration has shifted the program's focus or whether agents in some regions have just been more successful at finding criminals, said Carl Bergquist, a policy advocate for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.
"I think the jury is still out," added Paromita Shah, associate director of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild.
Earlier this year, Morton also announced the fugitive teams would end the use of arrest quotas.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, said agents should have discretion about who they arrest, given what he considers the daunting task of finding more than 500,000 immigrants who have evaded deportation orders.
"They've got to start somewhere, and they look for people obviously that have national security issues as well as serious criminals," said Krikorian, whose organization favors stricter limits on immigration.
"As long as they're not sending the message that other illegal aliens will simply be let go, then I don't have a problem with it." he said.
CALIFORNIA IS UNDER MEXICAN OCCUPATION!
THIS INVASION SUBSTANTIALLY BEGAN AFTER THE 1986 “AMNESTY” AND CONTINUES TO THIS DAY. IT IS AN INVASION BY INVITATION. THE LA RAZA LIFER-DEMS, FEINSTEIN, PELOSI, BOXER, WAXMAN, LOFGREN, ESHOO, HONDA, BACA, FARR, BECERRA, SANCHEZ SISTERS, WOULD NOT HAVE THEIR SEATS IF THEY DID NOT SERVICE BIG BUSINESS, AND KEEP WAGES DEPRESS WITH 38 MILLION ILLEGALS.
MEXICANS ARE CULTURALLY THE MOST VICIOUS, AND VIOLENT PEOPLE IN THE HEMISPHERE. MEXICAN GANGS HAVE SPREAD FROM LOS ANGELES, WHICH THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR CHARACTERIZES AS “MEXICAN GANG CAPITAL OF AMERICAN” TO ALL OVER THE STATE AND NOW COUNTRY. OUR BORDERS ARE LEFT OPEN FOR THE FLOW OF “CHEAP” LABOR, MEXICAN DRUGS, AND MEXICAN TERRORIST.
MEXICANS ARE CULTURALLY THE MOST RACIST IN THE HEMISPHERE. THE POLITICAL PART OF THE INVADERS IS LA RAZA…. “THE RACE”. IT FUNDED BY YOUR TAX DOLLARS, MEXICO (WE ARE MEXICO’S WELFARE SYSTEM), AND THE FORTUNE 500. ALL OF THE ABOVE POLITICIANS ARE ENDORSED BY LA RAZA.
IN CALIFORNIA ALONE THERE HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 2,000 AMERICANS MURDERED BY ILLEGALS FROM MEXICO THAT FLED BACK TO MEXICO TO AVOID PROSECUTION. ASK FEINSTEIN, BOXER, PELOSI, WAXMAN AND LOFGREN ABOUT THAT WHEN THEY’RE PUSHING TO KEEP BORDERS OPEN!
Immigration teams arrest more criminal offenders IMMIGRATION TEAMS ARREST MORE CRIMINAL OFFENDERS
Associated Press November 4, 2009
By AMY TAXIN Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES--Immigration agents assigned to track down people who have ignored deportation orders have increasingly arrested immigrants with criminal records during the past year, new data show.
Data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement show a shift from the prior three years, when more than 70 percent of immigrants arrested by fugitive operations teams had no criminal histories.
About 45 percent of the 35,000 immigrants arrested by the teams during the 2009 fiscal year had criminal convictions. The figure is up from 23 percent during the prior year.
ICE has long claimed it focused on arresting immigrants with criminal convictions who ignored orders from immigration judges to leave the country.
But most people arrested had no criminal histories, which prompted outcries from immigrant rights groups.
ICE director John Morton said earlier this year the agency would focus on finding immigrants with criminal records or who have ignored deportation orders. However, he said other illegal immigrants would be arrested if they were present during the operations,
"The goal is to prevent crime rather than simply to respond to it," ICE spokesman Brandon Alvarez-Montgomery said.
One reason for the change is that agents are working more closely with local law enforcement to develop leads, ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.
Immigrants rights advocates were skeptical of the numbers and wondered whether the data marked a real change in a program they have long criticized as a source of fear in immigrant neighborhoods.
It's unclear whether the Obama administration has shifted the program's focus or whether agents in some regions have just been more successful at finding criminals, said Carl Bergquist, a policy advocate for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.
"I think the jury is still out," added Paromita Shah, associate director of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild.
Earlier this year, Morton also announced the fugitive teams would end the use of arrest quotas.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, said agents should have discretion about who they arrest, given what he considers the daunting task of finding more than 500,000 immigrants who have evaded deportation orders.
"They've got to start somewhere, and they look for people obviously that have national security issues as well as serious criminals," said Krikorian, whose organization favors stricter limits on immigration.
"As long as they're not sending the message that other illegal aliens will simply be let go, then I don't have a problem with it." he said.
U.S. GOVERNMENT PROMISES ILLEGALS: No Enforcement of LAWS PROHIBITING EMPLOYMENT OF ILLEGALS
WHY SHOULD EMPLOYERS HIRE AMERICANS WHEN THEY CAN HIRE ILLEGALS ON THE CHEAP, AND THEN SEND THE ACTUAL BILLS FOR THIS “CHEAP” LABOR TO THE VERY PEOPLE THAT ARE PUT OUT OF A JOB? THE AMERICAN!
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS “CHEAP” MEXICAN LABOR! THERE’S FREE EMERGENCY ROOM HEALTHCARE, FREE BIRTHING OF ILLEGALS CHILDREN, FREE PRISON COSTS, FREE WELFARE AND FOOD STAMPS AND A MASSIVE TAX-FREE MEXICAN UNDERGROUND ECONOMY, WHICH IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY ALONE, IS CALCULATED TO BE $2 BILLION! LOS ANGELES COUNTY ALSO PAYS OUT $50 MILLION PER MONTH IN WELFARE TO ILLEGALS, AND HAS 500-1,000 MURDERS BY ILLEGALS, AND MEXICAN GANGS YEARLY!
THE MEXICAN INVASION AND OCCUPATION IS FOR ONE REASON ONLY: CHEAP LABOR, AND HIGHER CORPORATE PROFITS. THERE IS A REASON WHY MOST OF THE FORTUNE 500 ARE GENEROUS DONORS TO THE MEXICAN SUPREMACIST PARTY OF LA RAZA…. “THE RACE”!
IMMIGRATION AUDITS TAKE PLACE OF RAIDS ON PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT (TRANSLATION – THERE AIN’T GONNA BE ANY ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS PROHIBITING THE ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT OF ILLEGALS! LA RAZA DIANNE FEINSTEIN HAS LONG HIRED ILLEGALS AT HER S.F. HOTEL. LA RAZA NANCY PELOSI HAS LONG HIRED ILLEGALS AT HER NAPA WINERY! BARACK OBAMA HAS FROM THE GET GO PUT BLACK AMERICAN BEHIND THE ILLEGALS IN JOBS AND HISPANDERING FOR THE ILLEGALS’ ILLEGAL VOTES!
Immigration audits take place of raids on places of employment
The Commercial Appeal November 29, 2009
By Daniel Connolly, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
Nov. 29--In August 2008, federal agents arrested about 600 suspected illegal immigrants at Howard Industries Inc., a maker of electrical transformers in Laurel, Miss.
Today, the government might take a different approach.
Instead of making mass arrests, the government is reviewing employment records at hundreds of companies nationwide in an effort to keep illegal immigrants out of the workplace. The actions mean unauthorized workers are more likely to face job loss than prison and deportation.
The policy change may already be affecting companies and workers in Memphis, though the agency in charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, wouldn't confirm that.
The situation is the latest twist in a decades-old struggle over immigration policy. It's very difficult for low-skilled workers from Latin America to enter the United States legally. Yet there has historically been tremendous business demand for their labor, and the government has often tolerated their illegal employment.
Enforcement picked up in the last years of the Bush administration, but it's still not consistent.
For instance, current law says employers have to ask job applicants for ID, but don't have to confirm it's real, and fraud is common. And the Internal Revenue Service encourages illegal immigrants to pay income taxes without fear of punishment.
President Barack Obama supports an overhaul of immigration law that would give illegal immigrants a shot at legal status, but such a measure might never get through Congress.
In the meantime, ICE is pursuing its audits. It announced earlier this month that it will review employment records at 1,000 companies nationwide to determine if employers are properly checking identification and filling out the form I-9, a document meant to ensure that only people with work authorizations get jobs.
The government says it's using investigative leads to target companies that have a connection to "critical infrastructure," such as airports and utilities.
An employer who hires someone not authorized to work in the United States is breaking the law, "whether they do it by mistake or knowingly," ICE spokesman Ivan L. Ortiz-Delgado said. Audits can lead to fines or even criminal charges for employers.
He wouldn't name the companies targeted in the audits or say if any are in Memphis. But he did say there are seven in Tennessee, seven in Arkansas, and two in Mississippi.
Earlier this year, the agency said it was auditing more than 650 other companies. It's imposed fines in 45 cases so far and may do so in others.
The audits come as the nation's unemployment rate has risen to 10.2 percent, the highest since 1983.
Mark Krikorian, a critic of illegal immigration, said he'd like to see the illegal immigrants arrested, not simply fired and allowed to find another job.
"On the other hand, this kind of policy can do some good if it's widespread enough and sustained for a long time," said Krikorian, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies. Illegal immigrants might decide to go home, and others might not come at all, he said. And employers might work harder to screen employees, for instance, by enrolling in the government's E-Verify program, he said.
Some have criticized the audits. After an audit led to the firings of about 1,800 workers at the Los Angeles operations of garment maker American Apparel, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called the action "devastating."
The audits and workplace raids are "two arms of the same flawed strategy," said Stephen Fotopulos, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition."It is a very poor substitute for realistic reform of our outdated immigration system," he said. The audits will simply drive immigrants out of on-the-books jobs and into the black market economy, depriving the government of tax revenue and oversight, he said.
In Memphis, immigration attorney Greg Siskind says the audits are more effective than mass arrests.
"In terms of resources, I think they can probably do a lot more in terms of changing employer behavior by going this route," said Siskind.
-- Daniel Connolly: 529-5296
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS “CHEAP” MEXICAN LABOR! THERE’S FREE EMERGENCY ROOM HEALTHCARE, FREE BIRTHING OF ILLEGALS CHILDREN, FREE PRISON COSTS, FREE WELFARE AND FOOD STAMPS AND A MASSIVE TAX-FREE MEXICAN UNDERGROUND ECONOMY, WHICH IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY ALONE, IS CALCULATED TO BE $2 BILLION! LOS ANGELES COUNTY ALSO PAYS OUT $50 MILLION PER MONTH IN WELFARE TO ILLEGALS, AND HAS 500-1,000 MURDERS BY ILLEGALS, AND MEXICAN GANGS YEARLY!
THE MEXICAN INVASION AND OCCUPATION IS FOR ONE REASON ONLY: CHEAP LABOR, AND HIGHER CORPORATE PROFITS. THERE IS A REASON WHY MOST OF THE FORTUNE 500 ARE GENEROUS DONORS TO THE MEXICAN SUPREMACIST PARTY OF LA RAZA…. “THE RACE”!
IMMIGRATION AUDITS TAKE PLACE OF RAIDS ON PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT (TRANSLATION – THERE AIN’T GONNA BE ANY ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS PROHIBITING THE ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT OF ILLEGALS! LA RAZA DIANNE FEINSTEIN HAS LONG HIRED ILLEGALS AT HER S.F. HOTEL. LA RAZA NANCY PELOSI HAS LONG HIRED ILLEGALS AT HER NAPA WINERY! BARACK OBAMA HAS FROM THE GET GO PUT BLACK AMERICAN BEHIND THE ILLEGALS IN JOBS AND HISPANDERING FOR THE ILLEGALS’ ILLEGAL VOTES!
Immigration audits take place of raids on places of employment
The Commercial Appeal November 29, 2009
By Daniel Connolly, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
Nov. 29--In August 2008, federal agents arrested about 600 suspected illegal immigrants at Howard Industries Inc., a maker of electrical transformers in Laurel, Miss.
Today, the government might take a different approach.
Instead of making mass arrests, the government is reviewing employment records at hundreds of companies nationwide in an effort to keep illegal immigrants out of the workplace. The actions mean unauthorized workers are more likely to face job loss than prison and deportation.
The policy change may already be affecting companies and workers in Memphis, though the agency in charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, wouldn't confirm that.
The situation is the latest twist in a decades-old struggle over immigration policy. It's very difficult for low-skilled workers from Latin America to enter the United States legally. Yet there has historically been tremendous business demand for their labor, and the government has often tolerated their illegal employment.
Enforcement picked up in the last years of the Bush administration, but it's still not consistent.
For instance, current law says employers have to ask job applicants for ID, but don't have to confirm it's real, and fraud is common. And the Internal Revenue Service encourages illegal immigrants to pay income taxes without fear of punishment.
President Barack Obama supports an overhaul of immigration law that would give illegal immigrants a shot at legal status, but such a measure might never get through Congress.
In the meantime, ICE is pursuing its audits. It announced earlier this month that it will review employment records at 1,000 companies nationwide to determine if employers are properly checking identification and filling out the form I-9, a document meant to ensure that only people with work authorizations get jobs.
The government says it's using investigative leads to target companies that have a connection to "critical infrastructure," such as airports and utilities.
An employer who hires someone not authorized to work in the United States is breaking the law, "whether they do it by mistake or knowingly," ICE spokesman Ivan L. Ortiz-Delgado said. Audits can lead to fines or even criminal charges for employers.
He wouldn't name the companies targeted in the audits or say if any are in Memphis. But he did say there are seven in Tennessee, seven in Arkansas, and two in Mississippi.
Earlier this year, the agency said it was auditing more than 650 other companies. It's imposed fines in 45 cases so far and may do so in others.
The audits come as the nation's unemployment rate has risen to 10.2 percent, the highest since 1983.
Mark Krikorian, a critic of illegal immigration, said he'd like to see the illegal immigrants arrested, not simply fired and allowed to find another job.
"On the other hand, this kind of policy can do some good if it's widespread enough and sustained for a long time," said Krikorian, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies. Illegal immigrants might decide to go home, and others might not come at all, he said. And employers might work harder to screen employees, for instance, by enrolling in the government's E-Verify program, he said.
Some have criticized the audits. After an audit led to the firings of about 1,800 workers at the Los Angeles operations of garment maker American Apparel, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called the action "devastating."
The audits and workplace raids are "two arms of the same flawed strategy," said Stephen Fotopulos, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition."It is a very poor substitute for realistic reform of our outdated immigration system," he said. The audits will simply drive immigrants out of on-the-books jobs and into the black market economy, depriving the government of tax revenue and oversight, he said.
In Memphis, immigration attorney Greg Siskind says the audits are more effective than mass arrests.
"In terms of resources, I think they can probably do a lot more in terms of changing employer behavior by going this route," said Siskind.
-- Daniel Connolly: 529-5296
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