http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/mccutcheon032406.html
WASHINGTON -- Immigration is about to sweep aside foreign port ownership and
lobbying scandals as the dominant election year debate on Capitol Hill, with
the Senate preparing to take up a bill on the thorny topic. With that in
mind, we've assembled 10 facts behind the headlines.
Did you know ...
1. That during 2001-2004, the number of entering legal immigrants -- 3.8
million -- eclipsed the 3.7 million who arrived in the decade of the 1890s
during the mass migration from Europe? That's according to the U.S. Office
of Immigration Statistics.
2. That after Mexico, the primary sources of legal U.S. immigrants are
India, China and the Philippines? Mexico accounts for about 20 percent; the
next three around 6 percent each. They are followed, at 3 percent or less,
by Vietnam, El Salvador, Cuba, Haiti, Bosnia, Canada, the Dominican
Republic, Ukraine, Korea, Russia and Nicaragua. These top 15 account for 60
percent of legal immigrants.
3. That there are at least 11.5 million unauthorized U.S. immigrants from
all countries? The estimate, by the Pew Hispanic Center, is a figure larger
than the populations of Cuba (11.3 million), Portugal (10.6 million) and
Michigan (10.1 million).
4. That more than 7 million unauthorized immigrants were employed in March
2005? The number accounts for nearly 5 percent of the civilian labor force,
the Pew Center estimates. These immigrants make up 36 percent of insulation
workers, 29 percent of roofers, 27 percent of butchers and food processing
workers, 22 percent of maids and housekeepers and 19 percent of parking lot
attendants.
5. That the percentage of immigrants -- legal and illegal -- in some of the
nation's biggest cities remains below the era of a century ago, never mind
the recent high numbers? In the early 1900s, the level of immigrants in
cities such as New York and Chicago was in the 12 percent to 14 percent
range, American University history professor Alan Kraut said. Today, Kraut
said, the figure is around 11 percent.
6. That the "green card" is actually dark blue? It has come in a variety of
colors at various times in its history, according to the U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Service. The changes were made to prevent counterfeiting
and, later, to make it easier for machines to read. The first cards enabling
unnaturalized immigrants to live and work indefinitely in the United
States -- a product of the Alien Registration Act of 1940 -- were printed on
white paper. By 1951, the form was green, but in 1964 it was pale blue and a
year later changed to its current color. It also has been issued in pink and
pink-and-blue.
7. That the cost of making one arrest along the U.S.-Mexico border jumped
from $300 in 1992 to $1,700 in 2002? So finds a Cato Institute study by
Princeton University sociologist Douglas Massey, whose measurement is in
constant, year 2000 dollars.
8. That Border Patrol officials rely on more than 250 remote video camera
sites and 10,500 ground sensors? The system uses radar, heat-sensitive,
seismic and magnetic technologies. But as of August 2005, it covered just 4
percent of the combined northern and southern borders, according to
Congress' Government Accountability Office.
9. That the number of foreigners other than Mexicans entering illegally has
soared? The Border Patrol apprehended 25,000 in 1997 and more than 100,000
in 2005, according to the Congressional Research Service. A Senate bill
would authorize the secretaries of state and homeland security to develop
ways to help Mexico tighten its southern border to combat human smuggling
from Guatemala and Belize.
10. That the Homeland Security Department releases non-Mexican illegal
immigrants caught in the United States if they do not have felony
convictions and do not pose a threat to national security? The reason is a
lack of bed space in detention facilities. They are given a notice to appear
in court for deportation proceedings, but most never show up.
The department wants to end the disparity by expanding bed space. Currently
there are around 20,000 beds, and the budget request for next year would add
6,700. Compare that to the MGM Grand Las Vegas, the country's largest hotel,
which has about 8,000 beds.
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" The truth shall set you free "
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