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| Over thirty years of working for social, economic, and political justice for all |
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Debunking Immigration Myths
Myth #1: "Immigrants take our jobs"
The Facts:
-The largest wave of immigration to the U.S. since the early 1900s coincided with our lowest
national unemployment rate and fastest economic growth.
-A legal flow of immigrants based on workforce demand strengthens the U.S. economy by
keeping productivity high and countering negative impacts as the U.S. aging population
swells.
-The problem with today's economy is not immigrants; the problem is our broken
immigration laws that allow big business to exploit workers who lack legal status, driving
down wages for all workers.
Myth #2: "Immigrants don't pay taxes"
The Facts:
-On average, undocumented immigrants contribute more in taxes than they consume in
public benefits.
-By legalizing the undocumented workforce we will bring these workers out of the
underground economy while simultaneously increasing social security and tax revenue.
Myth #3: "Immigrants are freeloaders who drain federal and state coffers"
The Facts:
-Study after study shows that undocumented immigrants contribute more to the economy
than they take.
-America's prosperity has long depended on the hard work, commitment, and entrepreneurial
spirit of immigrant workers.
Myth #4: "Enforcement and border security will solve the problem"
The Facts:
-We all want to stop illegal immigration, but this costly strategy of deportation and
enforcement without reform has failed over and over again and cost billions of taxpayer
dollars.
-It is estimated to cost well over $200 billion-more than four times the total Homeland
Security budget for 2008-to deport today's 12 million undocumented immigrants.
-Trying to eliminate the undocumented workforce through "enforcement-only" policies
would only force more workers into the underground economy and decrease tax revenues.
Myth #5: "Immingrants don't want to learn English or become Americans"
The Facts:
-Immigrants today prove what centuries of immigrants have done before them-they have
come here to work hard, succeed, raise the American flag with pride and embrace the
freedoms and opportunity that make America great.
-Despite a drastic fee hike, in 2007 nearly 1.4 million immigrants applied to become U.S.
citizens-almost double the number who applied in 2006.
-High rates of military service among immigrants (2% of U.S. troops deployed in Iraq and
Afghanistan are immigrants) reflects a deep commitment to the American way of life.
Myth #6: "Immigrants are uneducated, low-skilled, and are building a permanent
underclass"
The Facts:
-In 2000 roughly 12.5 million legal immigrants had more than a high school education and
accounted for half of all immigrants living in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) countries.
-Immigrants have had a disproportionate role in innovation and technology and have fueled
growth of new businesses (half of Silicon Valley start-ups were founded by immigrants).
Myth #7: "There are more immigrants today than ever before in U.S. history"
The Facts:
-The percentage of immigrants among U.S. residents was higher at the beginning of the 20th
century than it is today.
-As a proportion of the population, the number of immigrants in the U.S. is close to that of
other advanced, industrialized countries.
Myth #8: "Many immigrants are criminals"
The Facts:
-Immigrants have the lowest crime rate of any other demographic group in the U.S.
-According to a 2008 report from the conservative Americas Majority Foundation, crime
rates are lowest in states with the highest immigration rates.
Myth #1: "Immigrants take our jobs"
The Facts:
-The largest wave of immigration to the U.S. since the early 1900s coincided with our lowest
national unemployment rate and fastest economic growth.
-A legal flow of immigrants based on workforce demand strengthens the U.S. economy by
keeping productivity high and countering negative impacts as the U.S. aging population
swells.
-The problem with today's economy is not immigrants; the problem is our broken
immigration laws that allow big business to exploit workers who lack legal status, driving
down wages for all workers.
Myth #2: "Immigrants don't pay taxes"
The Facts:
-On average, undocumented immigrants contribute more in taxes than they consume in
public benefits.
-By legalizing the undocumented workforce we will bring these workers out of the
underground economy while simultaneously increasing social security and tax revenue.
Myth #3: "Immigrants are freeloaders who drain federal and state coffers"
The Facts:
-Study after study shows that undocumented immigrants contribute more to the economy
than they take.
-America's prosperity has long depended on the hard work, commitment, and entrepreneurial
spirit of immigrant workers.
Myth #4: "Enforcement and border security will solve the problem"
The Facts:
-We all want to stop illegal immigration, but this costly strategy of deportation and
enforcement without reform has failed over and over again and cost billions of taxpayer
dollars.
-It is estimated to cost well over $200 billion-more than four times the total Homeland
Security budget for 2008-to deport today's 12 million undocumented immigrants.
-Trying to eliminate the undocumented workforce through "enforcement-only" policies
would only force more workers into the underground economy and decrease tax revenues.
Myth #5: "Immingrants don't want to learn English or become Americans"
The Facts:
-Immigrants today prove what centuries of immigrants have done before them-they have
come here to work hard, succeed, raise the American flag with pride and embrace the
freedoms and opportunity that make America great.
-Despite a drastic fee hike, in 2007 nearly 1.4 million immigrants applied to become U.S.
citizens-almost double the number who applied in 2006.
-High rates of military service among immigrants (2% of U.S. troops deployed in Iraq and
Afghanistan are immigrants) reflects a deep commitment to the American way of life.
Myth #6: "Immigrants are uneducated, low-skilled, and are building a permanent
underclass"
The Facts:
-In 2000 roughly 12.5 million legal immigrants had more than a high school education and
accounted for half of all immigrants living in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) countries.
-Immigrants have had a disproportionate role in innovation and technology and have fueled
growth of new businesses (half of Silicon Valley start-ups were founded by immigrants).
Myth #7: "There are more immigrants today than ever before in U.S. history"
The Facts:
-The percentage of immigrants among U.S. residents was higher at the beginning of the 20th
century than it is today.
-As a proportion of the population, the number of immigrants in the U.S. is close to that of
other advanced, industrialized countries.
Myth #8: "Many immigrants are criminals"
The Facts:
-Immigrants have the lowest crime rate of any other demographic group in the U.S.
-According to a 2008 report from the conservative Americas Majority Foundation, crime
rates are lowest in states with the highest immigration rates.
| New Hampshire Citizens Alliance 4 Park Street, Suite 304 Concord, NH 03301 603-225-2097 |