WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2008
Census: Immigration Boom Slowing Down
Struggling Economy, Increased Border Enforcement Behind 1.8M Drop From Previous Year
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The U.S. has added an average of about a million immigrants a year since 1990, including those in the country legally and illegally. (AP Photo/Stefano Paltera)
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The nation added about a half million immigrants in 2007, down from more than 1.8 million the year before, according to estimates being released Tuesday by the Census Bureau.
"The U.S. is still a beacon for many people who want to come here for all kinds of reasons," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution who analyzed the numbers. "But what this shows is that the economy plays a big part in it."
One other obstacle could be the 69 percent increase last summer in citizenship fees, about 281,000 immigrants applied to become U.S. citizens in the first half of 2008 - less than half the number of applicants in the same period last year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services noted two weeks ago.
The decline follows a rush of applications when immigrants hurried to get their paperwork filed before fees shot up at the end of July 2007. In that month alone, more than 460,000 immigrants applied for citizenship.
They paid $400. The new fee is $675 - a price some people believe is a barrier to citizenship.
The U.S. has added an average of about a million immigrants a year since 1990, including those in the country legally and illegally.
At more than 38 million, the number of immigrants in the U.S. is now at an all-time high. Immigrants made up 12.6 percent of the population in 2007, the largest share since 1920, when the U.S. was nearing the end of its last immigration boom, one that brought millions of people from Europe to the United States.
That wave of immigrants ended with the Great Depression and the onset of World War II.
The immigration figures released Tuesday were from the 2007 American Community Survey, the government's annual survey of about 3 million households. The survey, which is replacing the long form from the 10-year census, yields reams of demographic, social and economic data about the nation.
Because the estimates come from a survey, each includes a margin of sampling error that makes year-to-year comparisons inexact. Annual immigration changes for many states and cities were within the margins of error, but the national trend was statistically significant: The nation's immigration boom slowed substantially in 2007.
Fourteen states showed declines in the estimated number of immigrants from 2006 to 2007, including New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont and South Dakota. Several major cities also posted decreases, including Atlanta, Las Vegas and Oakland, Calif.
Other cities continued to show gains, including Phoenix, Boston and Denver.
"Immigrants have always come to the United States for jobs, but before they went to big immigration magnets to be with family or other immigrants," Frey said. "Now the geography of where these people move is much more tied to the economy than ever before."
Much of the nation experienced a housing boom in the first half of the decade, providing jobs that attracted immigrants. The housing bubble burst last year, sending housing markets tumbling and contributing to a slumping economy that some economists believe is in recession.
The Census Bureau's' estimates for immigrants include those in the country legally and illegally because the agency does not ask about legal status. Government and private estimates put the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. at about 12 million.
A little more than half of U.S. immigrants are from Latin America and about a quarter are from Asia. About 13 percent are from Europe and 4 percent from Africa.
In August, the Census Bureau reported that white people will no longer make up a majority of Americans by 2042. The United States has been growing more diverse for decades, but the process has sped up through immigration and higher birth rates among minority residents, especially Hispanics.
The U.S. has nearly 305 million people today. The population is projected to hit 400 million in 2039 and 439 million in 2050.
The latest immigration boom has sparked political and social turmoil in many communities unaccustomed to large influxes of foreigners. About one in five U.S. residents spoke a language other than English at home in 2007, about the same share as a year before.
The issue, however, has been muted in this year's presidential election in part because both Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama support comprehensive immigration packages that include increased enforcement and an eventual path to citizenship for many illegal immigrants.
Obama and McCain aren't talking much about immigration reform - at least not in English. Both, however, are running Spanish-language TV ads accusing the other of derailing comprehensive immigration packages supported by many Hispanics.
Voters say other issues are more important to them than immigration policy, including the economy, gas prices and education, according to the latest AP-Yahoo News poll.
In many communities, though, immigration is an important issue.
Federal agents started conducting more high-profile immigration raids the past several years. The effects on local immigration levels have been mixed.
For example, a leather goods manufacturer in New Bedford, Mass., was raided in March 2007, and the number of immigrants living there dropped for the year. At the same time number of immigrants in Boston, about 50 miles away, jumped.
A temporary employment agency in Baltimore was raided in March 2007, and the number of immigrants in the city dropped slightly for the year. But a meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colo., was raided in late 2006 and the number of immigrants increased in 2007.
Some communities have tried to get tough on illegal immigration with local ordinances.
In Northern Virginia's Prince William County, officials debated a crackdown for months before directing local police to check the immigration status of everyone they arrest. The county experienced a small drop the number of immigrants last year despite overall population gains.
"In our county there is a tremendous amount of fear," said Nancy Lyall, legal coordinator for Mexicans Without Borders, an immigrant advocacy group. "The people who can leave Prince William County have."
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Posted by onemoretim at 07:27 AM : Sep 23, 2008
No, no, no, America doesn''t suck, it''s a great country with very bad leadership. We are about to remedy that. Welcome my friends from around the world!
Hopefully, this trend will continue. We have enough of our own needy citizens to take care of.
Please, come visit, work legally on a visa if you like. But also take the time to learn and respect our laws.
is kinda like watching the WWF. Great entertainment, but all fake.
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Posted by Hacker11001 at 07:38 AM : Sep 23, 2008
Our nation is a liberal society. We have freedom of speech, religion and the press(media). We care for those in need. I know that for some this is a terrible thing for some, but this is why people risk their lives to come to this country. The Bush Administration, the administration of ''compassionate conservatism'' the culmination of the so-called conservative movement for the past thirty years, is the most Anti-American Administration this country has ever seen.
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Wrong, for one of two reasons. They are still crossing the border but either they don''t know how to read (or read English)so they don''t recognize the forms or they recognize the forms but are afraid the INS will find them if they fill them out.
The problem here is that the census, to a great degree, defines what area the government handouts are going. If they start cutting back on funding while we still have illegal families using up all the welfare dollars, then the local economy has to pick up the difference.
Posted by onemoretim at 07:27 AM : Sep 23, 2008
You are free to leave anytime you want if you think it sucks so much.
Posted by pollroller1 at 09:05 AM : Sep 23, 2008
It''s not all fake; just Oblama.
Couldn''''''''t be that nobody wants to live in America anymore because it sucks, could it? Don''t like IT move out, no one well miss you.
But, unfortunately both illegal immigrants and the businesses that hire them have no reason to visit, work here, or respect the laws of the U. S. These parties know they can break the law, and laugh all the way to the bank.
Posted by jamesm12341
I don''t know, seems like too many neo-CONs to me!! You know war mongers who''ve never been to war themselves. Like 95% of our current admin.
We have plenty of the illegal immigrant''s select breeding stock here now to sustain corporate greed, clog prisons, and beautify neighborhoods for decades to come....
You said it & I agree with you 1000%.
That way, illegal immigrants will enter the country and not stop here but run straight up to Canada where the Canadians can have problems with them!
Another problem SOLVED(???!!!) by the simple mind of the Great Emperor Bush II and his stupidly-loyal neocon Fascist National Socialist Nazi allies!!!!
It''s all a part of the "legacy" which the Great Emperor Bush II and all his stupidly-loyal "Bushies" want to leave behind for us and all our descendants for the next 200 years to remember him by!
I HOPE WE NEVER FORGET TO NEVER, EVER ELECT ANOTHER BUSH FOR ANY JOB!!!!!!
SIG HEIL, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED(???!!!), BUSH!!!
sig heil, WE ARE VICTORIOUS ON THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT PROBLEM!!!, McCain!!!!
sig heil, DO THEY HAVE MOOSE IN CANADA???, Palin!!!!
Posted by redbds at 09:36 AM : Sep 23, 2008
Another candidate for Adult Education (Reading)Program. Read more, watch TV less. Then, you may not get confused so easily.
PFO aims to not only put Obama in the White House, but to build a huge united "progressive" movement that can force the new President to move America massively to the left.
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Posted by jaxsterling5 at 11:57 AM : Sep 23, 2008
Just wondering: What does this entry have to do with immigration? So many posts go off on so many quirky ways, so far away from the subject of the story. Now, the webpage master seems to the offended when someone writes s.e.x. or even c.r.a.p, but allows endless posts that stray from the subject and filled with liabile. Why is that?
Massive illegal invasion, slowing down.
More deportations expected,...
[Posted by zgomer at 11:48 AM : Sep 23, 2008]
those are some debating skills there, gomer.
those wishing to come to this country legally represent an important contribution to our overall skilled worker base, the employer contributed tax base, and the image of the united states from the perspective of their friends, family, and other expatriates.
many of those coming here legally have advanced degrees, are extremely bright, and have a strong work ethic.
our country''s history is filled with stories of tremendous adversity, overwhelming odds, and sensational breakthrus from those coming to america for economic stability, opportunity, or a better life.
so much for all that ... as we build walls around oursleves in fear of those who don''t look or talk like we do.
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Posted by bobnjersey at 01:34 PM : Sep 23, 2008
The above statement has nothing to do with opposition to illegal immigration. What it does have to do with is, knowing who is coming in here, respecting our laws, which means do not use phony I.D''s to get a job, and the control of diseases.
We don''t care they look like us, or talk like us. What we do care about is that they are legal.
And to say anything other than that is just plain wrong, and bordering on being racist.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, LEGAL Hispanics
have a very High Positive birth rate and Anglo-Saxon Whites have a High Negative birth rate. Assuming constant current birth rates, LEGAL Hispanics will become the Majority race in the entire USA by 2042.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/13/national/main4349428.shtml
After the Hispanics become the Majority in America by 2042, there will be no Immigration laws to break. By 2042, several new laws will be passed by the U.S. Congress and Signed by the U.S. President:
-No more Raids.
-Amnesty for all Undocumented Aliens.
-Elimination of the Quota system in the Immigration laws.
-Return of all U.S. Stolen Territories back to Mexico.
-Tear down all Border Walls.
-Eliminate the Border Patrol Agency.
-Spanish as the Official Language.
-Outlaw the Republican Party.
-Named the Minuteman Project a Terrorist Organization.
-Not add Whites to the Endanger Species Act.
See the Anglo-Saxon White worker in America around the year 2042:
-Surf to http://www.joke-portal.com/d_jokes.htm
-Click the ''Day Laborers'' link in the middle of your screen.
"Mission Accomplished"
I think it''s going to change though. Arizona has the right law on illegal immigration now. If other states follow, illegal immigration can be nearly eliminated.
Please read the fine print. Go ahead and kill all Undocumented Aliens, Legal Hispanics will accomplish the mission.
Please read the fine print. Go ahead and kill all Undocumented Aliens, LEGAL Hispanics will accomplish the mission.
Legal Hispanics are already the Majority in California, New Mexico and Florida. Just to analyze one state.
In California, Undocumented Aliens have Save Havens in the cities of Los Angeles, parts of San Diego and San Francisco by local Ordinances. The same will happened with the other upcoming States where Hispanics will become the Majority race soon such as New York, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona and Texas.
I will help you Eliminate Social Welfare if you agree to help me Eliminate Corporate Welfare.
Both McCain and Obama favor Legalizing all 13 Millions Immigrants. Therefore, the Hispanics Majority status will take place much sooner than 2042.
Viva La Condoms, Divorces and the Professional Career Gringos and Gringas.
You have a dilemma. OutSource to China or India or InSource (H1B Visas) for cheap labor or hire Undocumented Aliens already here. Either way, Legal American''s salaries will be depressed.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, LEGAL Hispanics have a very High Positive birth rate and Anglo-Saxon Whites have a High Negative birth rate. Assuming constant current birth rates, LEGAL Hispanics will become the Majority race in the entire USA by 2042.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/13/national/main4349428.shtml
After the Hispanics become the Majority in America by 2042, there will be no Immigration laws to break. By 2042, several new laws will be passed by the U.S. Congress and Signed by the U.S. President:
-No more Raids.
-Amnesty for all Undocumented Aliens.
-Elimination of the Quota system in the Immigration laws.
-Return of all U.S. Stolen Territories back to Mexico.
-Tear down all Border Walls.
-Eliminate the Border Patrol Agency.
-Spanish as the Official Language.
-Outlaw the Republican Party.
-Named the Minuteman Project a Terrorist Organization.
-Not add Whites to the Endanger Species Act.
See the Anglo-Saxon White worker in America around the year 2042:
-Surf to http://www.joke-portal.com/d_jokes.htm
-Click the ''''Day Laborers'''' link in the middle of your screen.
"Mission Accomplished"
Thank you for keeping Inflation under control and for eliminating any hope for a better future with lower salaries.
Examine how you got to where you are and you will see many kind and helpful people assisted you get where you are now.
Capitalism works best under Communism where workers have almost no rights and where Greed and Speculation are under the Firm Control of a Central Government. See China and Vietnam.
Thank you Selfish person for not giving me a helping hand.
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Posted by lovegetpeace at 04:14 PM : Sep 23, 2008
If you had less of your illegal brothers here,, you wouldn''t need a helping hand.
Get off this schtick you are on, nobody is buying into it.
[Posted by SusanHelit at 03:22 PM : Sep 23, 2008]
not sure where the $675 dollar number comes from ... but I know many foreign nationals with advanced degrees that have spent thousands ... some more than ten thousand ... trying to navigate an ever increasingly complicated process to attain us citizenship.
some have already left the country ... they no longer contribute to the employment tax base with their good paying job ... and have taken their great skills with them ... to another country where it isn''t a hastle to become a citizen.
I know Capitalism got no Heart but where is your heart for a Wall Street Financial CEO who just lost his job?
These people left their country because they couldn''t provide opertunities for themselves. They now want to tell us what we should do. "You can''t even run your oen life, I''ll be damed if you will run mine, sunshine" come to mind.
This article is talking about illegal aliens, not immigrants, there is a difference. There is a difference between law breakers and people who follow the law. Increased border security does not stop people who follow the law. It is a shame that respectful, law abiding immigrants are now afraid to come here because we have been forced to get so tough on the illegals.
i wonder why and how the Ancestors of all the Anti-Immigrant came to America.
[Posted by vet999999 at 05:47 PM : Sep 23, 2008]
wow ... the word ''immigrant'' is used over 20 times in the article.
you need to read it again ... because it''s talking about ''all'' immigrants ... all 38 million of them currently living here ... with an estimate of 12 million being illegal.
they''re not afraid to come here ... it''s now too much of a hassle to come here ... it''s too expensive ... the rules are petty ... and they''re treated like cr@p from everyone already here.
i wonder why and how the Ancestors of all the Anti-Immigrants came to America.
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