May Day Myth-Busting
Like couples who renew wedding vows or costumed history nerds who re-fight Revolutionary War battles, immigration protestors will mark the anniversary of a major march by reenacting it. Hundreds of thousands of marchers are expected to show up in downtown Los Angeles tomorrow to repeat the call for immigrant rights. In the spirit of reenactment, we'd like to do some reposting.
The power of the Internet (and the compulsion of many Internet users to forward anything marked "forward" that lands in their inboxes) has kept a list of mostly incorrect immigration myths in circulation for over a year. Because many of these myths had been attributed to The Times, this blog debunked them in two earlier posts. Now we present them again below, hopefully preempting any flurry of email-forwarding that may follow tomorrow's protest.
Here's what we posted on Feb. 5:
"Fact" 1: Less than two percent of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 29% are on welfare.
Factual basis? Pew Hispanic Center found last year that four percent of illegal immigrants work in farming (compared to 0.5% of the native population). Most illegal immigrants work in services (31%) or construction (19%). Illegal immigrants are generally barred from receiving welfare (they can access emergency medical care and a K-12 education). The tough-on-illegal-immigration think tank Center for Immigration Studies reports in 2004:
In terms of welfare use, receipt of cash assistance programs tends to be very low, while Medicaid use, though significant, is still less than for other households. Only use of food assistance programs is significantly higher than that of the rest of the population.
CIS goes on to state that, on balance, illegal immigrants take more in services than they pay in taxes, but that is disputed.
"Fact" 2: Over 70% of the U.S. annual population growth and over 90% in CA, FL, and NY results from immigration.
Factual Basis? The Census Bureau estimates that from July 2005 to July 2006, population increased by 2,891,423 in the U.S. Immigration accounts for 1,204,167 people, or 42%.
California's population increased by 303,402 people; 266,295 or 88% were immigrants.
Florida saw an increase of 321,697 people, including 99,754 immigrants, who make 31% of the total. New York's total population decreased by 9,538.
"Fact" 3: The cost of immigration to the American taxpayer in 1997 was (after subtracting taxes immigrants pay) a net $70 billion a year (Professor Donald Huddle, Rice University). The lifetime fiscal impact (taxes paid minus services used) for the average adult Mexican immigrant is a negative number.
Factual Basis? Huddle has conducted several such studies, though we can't confirm a $70 billion cost. Huddle does, however, estimate that immigrants cost the U.S. tens of billions of dollars a year. In his 1997 study he estimates that the 1996 cost was $24.44 billion. Huddle's figures are disputed, and other organizations, notably the Urban Institute, claim immigrants are a net benefit to the country. The discrepancy -- which would also arise in any discussion of lifetime fiscal impact -- comes from cherry-picking data. The Urban Institute, for example, includes Social Security taxes paid; Huddle includes estimates for native-born children of immigrants. (For a side-by-side comparison of an early Huddle study and Urban Institute research, see here.)
"Fact" 4: 29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens.
Factual Basis? Thirty seven percent of inmates in federal prisons are noncitizens, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The number of them that are illegal immigrants isn't offered by the Bureau, though they do note that 10% of the offenses are immigration-related. [UPDATE: A new study (pdf) points out that immigrants -- legal and illegal -- have lower incarceration rates than native-born residents.]
"Fact" 5: According to the Los Angeles Times, Orange County, California is home to 275 gangs with 17,000 members, 98% of which are Mexican and Asian.
Factual Basis? The Times has not printed these figures. On June 8, 1994, a Times story did state that Orange County had 275 gangs with 17,000 members, of which 85% were Latino. It did not specify how many of that group were Mexican, nor how many were Asian.
And what we posted last year, shortly after the first May 1 protests (some of these links may no longer be in working order):
"Fact" 1: 40% of all workers in L.A. County (L.A. County has 10 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes. This was because they are predominantly illegal immigrants, working without a green card.
LAT citations: None.
Factual basis: The Economic Roundtable, a research outfit affiliated with the Los Angeles County government, concluded in a December 2005 report [PDF] that the low-end estimate for LA County workers working for cash is 322,400 and the high end is 972,500 in 2000. From this, the Economic Roundtable paper extrapolates a mid-range 2004 estimate of 679,000, or 15% of the workforce. (Note that the total workforce of Los Angeles County is about 4.5 million, while the total population is closer to 10 million.)
"Fact" 2: 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.
LAT citations: May 15, 2005 — "According to Heather MacDonald of the Manhattan Institute, 95% of the hundreds of outstanding homicide warrants (and 60% of outstanding felony warrants) in L.A. are for illegal immigrants."
Similar citations: January 19, 2004
Factual basis: An outstanding warrant is quite a different beast than a regular warrant, so this "fact" left out the key word. We did some more checking on the outstanding warrants point itself. MacDonald stated this in a 2004 City Journal article, and in testimony before the House of Representatives in spring 2005, noting that this came to 1,200-1,500 warrants. One LAPD officer cited the same factoid in the National Review earlier this year, saying that it's specific to "the first half of 2004". But Jane Robison, press secretary for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, told us that the D.A. does not keep track of this number; a representative with Detective Headquarters said the same.
"Fact" 3: 75% of people on the Most Wanted List in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.
LAT citations: None.
Factual basis: We can't locate such a fact anywhere. The Los Angeles Police Department's most wanted list contains a number of people with unknown or obscured identities, suggesting that tallying the legal status of everyone on the list would be very difficult if not impossible. Ditto for the FBI's most-wanted list.
"Fact" 4: Over 2/3's of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal whose births were paid for by taxpayers.
LAT citations: Jan. 15, 1999 — "As many as 70,000 illegal immigrants a year use state-funded prenatal services." (Similar citations: Jan. 14, 1999, June 12, 1998, March 6, 1998, Jan. 30, 1998, Jan. 4, 1998, Dec. 18, 1997, Aug. 26, 1997, July 10, 1997, Feb. 6, 1997, Nov. 13, 1996, Nov. 5, 1996, Nov. 2, 1996, OCt. 24, 1996, Oct. 17, 1996)
Feb. 14, 1999 — "Two-thirds of all births here are to foreign-born mothers." (Similar citation: July 25, 2004 — "40% of the births in California are to foreign-born women.")
July 7, 1998 — "[Rep. Elton] Gallegly [(R-Simi Valley)] cited a 1990-91 Los Angeles County study that showed that two-thirds of the women giving birth in public hospitals were undocumented." (Similar citations: Oct. 2, 1995, July 19, 1995, June 11, 1995, Jan. 27, 1995, Nov. 21, 1993, Sept. 13, 1993, Aug. 17, 1993, Aug. 1, 1993, May 28, 1992, Apr. 2, 1992, Oct. 26, 1991, Oct. 24, 1991)
Factual basis: None of these citations establishes the "fact" above. According to the California Department of Health Services, 158,782 babies were born in L.A. County in 2001 (these are the most recent statistics available online). Of these, 99,089 were to Hispanic mothers. That's just under 2/3 — 62.4% for all Hispanic moms, which would include legal and undocumented mothers from Mexico as well as other countries.
"Fact" 5: Nearly 25% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.
LAT citations: May 1, 2005, in an op-ed by Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Col.) — "More than 10% of the inmates in U.S. jails and prisons are illegal aliens, and in California it is more than 20%."
July 11, 2004 — "Each year, the [Los Angeles] County Jail system processes about 170,000 inmates, and federal officials estimate that a fourth of them are illegal immigrants. But with just a fraction of the foreign-born being questioned, officials say it is impossible to know exactly how many illegal immigrants are in the system and how much the county should receive in federal compensation." (Similar citations for Riverside County, Apr. 12, 2006; Anaheim city, Nov. 5, 1997, June 27, 1996; Los Angeles County, Jan. 25, 1996, Jan. 15, 1996, July 10, 1995, May 23, 1995; state and county, Nov. 27, 1993, June 1, 1993, Oct. 19, 1992, Oct. 6, 1992, Aug. 4, 1992, Aug. 18, 1991, Dec. 16, 1990, Dec. 4, 1985)
Factual basis: The 25% figure could be approximately correct for state and federal prisons in California, or correct for county, at least as of 2004. But "detention centers" is an extremely broad term that could include all juvenile detention facilities, federal prisons, state prisons, and county jails in California's 58 counties — making this figure very tough to come by. The San Francisco Chronicle offered a lower figure for state prisons on May 4: "Of the nearly 171,000 inmates crowding state prisons, 22,478, or about 13 percent as of March 31, are undocumented immigrants or are suspected of being undocumented." The Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group in favor of reducing immigration, offers a lower figure for L.A. County jails: "Deportable aliens comprise 11% of the Los Angeles County jail population costing the county an estimated $75 million a year."
"Fact" 6: Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.
LAT citations: Jan. 31, 1994 — "As many as 100,000 families in Los Angeles County are believed to be living in bootlegged apartments or illegally converted garages."
May 24, 1987 — "A systematic survey by The Times indicates that about 42,000 garages are sheltering about 200,000 people in Los Angeles County." (Similar citations: Apr. 3, 1989)
Factual basis: None of these estimates makes clear who among those taking shelter in garages are in the country illegally. No comment so far from county offices. One City of Los Angeles representative said that the last tally was done over five years ago, and found 50,000 to 70,000 illegally converted units in the city of Los Angeles, out of about 800,000 residences.
"Fact" 7: The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border.
LAT citations: May 15, 2005, in an op-ed by attorney Carol Platt Liebau — "Of the membership of the notorious 18th Street gang, estimated at 20,000, fully 60% are illegal aliens, according to a 1995 report by the state Department of Justice." (Similar citations: Jan. 19, 2004, March 25, 2000, June 11, 1997, Dec. 17, 1996, Nov. 21, 1996, Nov. 17, 1996)
Factual basis: Heather MacDonald of Manhattan Institute stated that "No one knows for certain the percentage of illegals in gangs, thanks in large part to sanctuary laws themselves." She does offer some statistics in the City Journal:
A confidential California Department of Justice study reported in 1995 that 60 percent of the 20,000-strong 18th Street Gang in southern California is illegal; police officers say the proportion is actually much greater. [...]
The leadership of the Columbia Lil’ Cycos gang, which uses murder and racketeering to control the drug market around L.A.’s MacArthur Park, was about 60 percent illegal in 2002, says former assistant U.S. attorney Luis Li.
Even if you accept the 18th Street Gang estimates, which would be notoriously difficult to determine with accuracy, that's just one gang in a city where several prominent gangs — including the Crips, Bloods and Aryan Nation — are not largely comprised of immigrants, at least not from "south of the border."
"Fact" 8: Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.
LAT citations: None.
Factual basis: No comment yet from HUD, and the only statistic we found online is at FAIR, and it is for only the state of California:
The state Housing and Community Development department has prepared new screening rules based on the welfare reform legislation adopted by Congress in 1996 that would ban illegal aliens from public housing programs. The HCD estimates that as many as 5 percent of 25,000 housing units could be affected.
"Fact" 9: 21 radio stations in L.A. are Spanish speaking.
LAT citations: None in the last 10 years.
Factual basis: Estimates vary by source: one website lists 15 Spanish stations out of 78, another lists 18 out of 83.
"Fact" 10: In L.A. County, 5.1 million people speak English. 3.9 million speak Spanish (10.2 million people in L.A.County).
LAT citations: None.
Factual basis: The Census reports that as of the year 2004, 3.9 million people in L.A. County speak only English at home; 3.7 million speak primarily Spanish at home.
Well, then maybe we should give them citizenship, help them become legal...(that's what they want and L.A. as well as all the rest of California was there's anyway)...So they have jobs legally and pay taxes, get off of welfare and be law abiding contributing citizens! If you were in thier shoes you would probably flee to America too and do what you have to to feed your children and yourself. (Being hungry isn't fun folks! It's a slow death that will make you do crazy things!) I don't know about the inmates, gangs or murders and I don't think that kind of behavior should be tolorated, but, I am not totally convinced(just because L.A. Times wrote it or anyone else for that matter) that all that's true. You really should take any mainstream media with a grain of salt and consider that there is always a hidden agenda in what is being sold to you in writing. Please people!...consider the fact that these "MEXICANS" are people/human beings too and they deserve to be treated humanly, with respect and given a fair chance to make better for themselves. Just because they weren't born in a more desirable location on the globe as you does not give you the right to be mean, slanderous or judge. No ones better than anyone. Really, All Americans...especially Californians are sitting on stolen land! Have some compassion and find it in your heart to think and say..."What can I do to help California's economic crisis and help my fellow human being?". The answer, I think, Certainly isn't to write articles making a culture look like the devil and the enemy. What we need to do now is embrace the differences of each other and come with some kind solutions instead of breed fear and hatred into an already fear based society. That dishwasher, food prep, gardener, or seamstress(making $1 per article of clothing for places like Forever 21, Rave or Charlotte Russe) is someones Momma or Grandma, or daughter or son or daddy or grandpa. Thank you lucky stars it's not your Grandma and with that being said, help someone else's grandma become a contributing and proud member of this society...isn't that what America is all about? Isn't that what we boost about being..."the land of the free and the brave"? Let's put our mouth(and hearts) where our money isn't anymore and make this situation work in all of our favors! You know the saying..."When you have lemons...make lemonade!" Don't just let the fruit of our beautiful state and country rot with ugliness and contempt for our neighbor! That does not serve anyone!
You go try living in a third world country where Wal Mart and Taco Bell aren't on every corner waiting for your $4 for a meal. Or where drinking out of the tap is truly a Kamikaze move! Or where your laundry is only going to get done if you clean it in a sink by hand or worse yet a polluted river.
I think in times of crisis hysteria sets in and fingers start to point. "It's someones fault BUT, It's not mine...that's for sure!"...this way of being doesn't work and shouldn't we already know this? History's repeating! Look in the mirror and ask yourself "Am I doing good for my Country by blaming others and denying responsibility? Should I do something productive to help? Will my actions be important and make a difference? And what kind of difference will it make..one I can feel good living with?". Have this conversation with yourself and see what happens in your heart.
When the Realtors sold houses to people who couldn't afford their mortgage's do you think they cared so much as the put their commission in the bank. Now I am not pointing fingers here but I am merely trying to make a point that there are many of us(if not all) who played a part in our economic crisis becoming today's reality.
So L.A. Times...shame on you! I only hope you understand or care how these kind of articles only pull our nation apart. If you must feel the need to report such information maybe you could bring a little more balance to the readers and your statistics. Who's perception is this anyways and where did these figures even come from...Who specifically gathered these figures and decided that this is fact? And most importantly, what are you, the reader, going to do with this information? How does this article serve you and/or make you feel? Are you going to walk around with this in the back of your head beleiving every word with a chip on your shoulder or worry in your heart? Maybe there is a better way....You have the freedom and the right to make better for yourself ...how are you going to do that? I hope if you chose to make a better day for yourself you included kindness for others to your agenda. In the wise words of Sai Baba, "Love all, serve all"...had we integrated that motto into our daily lives and hearts we wouldn't be in any crisis!
With The People, For The People Who Love The People,
Windean Dahleen
Peace and Love to You and Yours!
Posted by: windean | July 24, 2009 at 11:31 AM
You people just don’t get it. I employed many Mexican workers at the last business I owned, and I’m sure that some were illegal. Employers may pay a few people under the table, but can’t afford to pay everyone this way because they can’t claim the deduction for labor at the end of the year. Thus, the employees have federal tax, state tax, and Medicare taken from their check, so yes, they do pay taxes just like everyone else. When your grandmother goes to get her pills, remember that illegals are paying into Medicare and will never be able to use it. I’m sure all of you, at some point, have accepted money for something under the table or worked for cash to avoid Uncle Sam…you’re no better. I am a Caucasian American and I am ashamed of the American workers that I have employed in the past. American workers have failed me tremendously because they just don’t care and they become lazy and whinny over time. I just started a new business and I’m sure you will all be happy to know that I do not have a single Mexican working for me. Due to the new law, requiring employers to verify legal status, I now purchase about $300,000 worth of artificial stone from China every month, that’s right CHINA. Now, instead of having Mexican workers here in the USA, paying taxes, renting homes, buying food, and all the other things that make the economy come full circle, I just pick up the phone and place an order to China. Now, instead of keeping all of the money here in the U.S. where it will be spent, it all goes to China. Mexicans are good hard working people with strong values and a will to survive. Please let go of the hatred for these people, they are no different than us and they actually benefit the U.S. by being here. The next time you are at a store, pick anything up and look at where it came from, I can almost guarantee you, it came from China. We need the Mexican workers, and they need us. Also, we were attacked by Al Qaida, not the Mexicans, so relax about the damn southern border. Our security is not in danger, they are here to work, not to bomb anything up or steal babies. I really don’t care what any of you think about me. Stop believing every email you get with statistics in it, as you can see, they are usually just made up to make everyone hate the Mexicans. If you’re that interested, then check the facts before you forward it to everyone in your address book.
Posted by: Brian | May 10, 2008 at 01:35 AM
Apparently Mark is too stupid to see that amnesty is going to weaken the security of the United States even more.
Posted by: Caryn | April 16, 2008 at 02:44 AM
What are illegal imigrants costing us... Well the supposad 70B net is likely completely wrong. Medicade is a huge drain on the governmet, likely costing more than what illegal imigrants pay alone. Not only that, but medicaid does not come close to coving the medical bills so the hospitals suffer dearly. In areas with high densities of imegrants the hospitals are failing.
Well they are getting schooling. The school of choice programs make available $5000 per child for transfering to a non religous school and this is not the full amount the public schools get. How much is this costing... Likely billions. Not only that, but these students likely need more help as they are low income and likely do not speak any English... taking away from other students.
Well what about food assistance programs... well here in Michigan my ex with 4 kids and no job gets roughly $730 on her bridge card every month. For those that do not know about this... it is basically a credit card for buying ANY food items but hot prepared items. This includes soda, candy, prepackaded diners, diet foods... This does not include the roughly $100 worth of food stamps she is elligible for. That is $830 a month or almost $10,000. If she was an illegal imegrant then her 4 kids would cost the schools $15,000 (only 3 are in school) and probably over $5000 a year in medical (2 kids spent weeks in neo-natal care when born). That is $30,000 a year... for one family. This is not all of the government benifits she gets, but these are the "small ones" listed in this article.
I personally think it should be a lot easier to become a legal citizen... assuming you can keep a legal job and learn the language. I at the same time think that they should be elligible for $0 benifits and services here. Pull them from schools, hospitals, housing, work sites, traffic stops and deport them imediately. let in 10x the current legal imegrats, but stop the illegals and start enforcing the imegration laws!
Posted by: Todd | April 13, 2008 at 05:05 PM
It's not about amnesty.It's about basic human rights.
Posted by: Whipping Boy | March 10, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Americans are sick and tired of illegal immigrants ruining this country. Please, e-mail your senators and congressman, sign petitions and join in the NO AMNESTY march on June 14th, 15th, and 16th. We need to take action!
Posted by: John | May 24, 2007 at 09:40 PM
Johnny dollar claims he's selfish but not stupid, I think he kind of got that backwards. To be selfish, means to be concerned about one's own well-being. Buying goods made in the USA is certainly in the long term best interests of the citizens of the USA. The ridiculously low priced Chinese goods are a form of economic warfare and our country is being financially pillaged.
Immigrants who wish to adopt the English language and who are willing to fit into our society are no problem. Those who come here insisting they can retain their native language and culture - demanding that we adapt to them aren't immigrants, they are invaders. If the language and way of life from their native land is superior/better - why come here? Stay where you are, where it was/is so delightful.
I've considered migrating to Costa Rica - for various reasons. If I actually do it - I assure you, I will learn the language and I will learn the customs and culture, assimilating as best I can. I will either become a 'real' Costa Rican or I will say, "Oop's, this was a mistake, and leave."
Love it or leave it isn't just a slogan, it's good advice for anybody.
Posted by: david B | May 21, 2007 at 12:19 PM
Sheryl, what is your point about just less than 50% of illegal aliens being Mexican (so stop picking on Mexicans)? One of 177 countries around the
world is responsible for nearly 50% of illegals in the US. A little Mexican
top-heavy! Personally, when I go to the store and shop for merchandise,
I check the label to see the product country of origin. If it reads Pakistan,
China, Japan, Korea or Mexico, I buy it (sometimes two of them). This assures me that the person(s) who made this product stays working in their country; not a burden on my country.
If this label reads "Made in USA," I put the product back on the shelf, fast.
"Made in USA" label only tells me that some illegal alien(s) made this product in some factory/sweat shop somewhere in the Los Angeles garment district while her (his) seven children are sitting in a LAUSD school demanding that they be spoken to in Spanish, in the Emergency Room demanding free health care, in the supermarket line in front of me using free food stamps. Furthermore, their parents are demanding in Spanish that I conserve energy. Why conserve energy? So, illegal aliens can consume it? Never happen. I'm selfish; not stupid.
Godfrey Daniels.
Posted by: yours truly, johnny dollar | May 09, 2007 at 11:28 AM
Let's then divide these people: a) US citizens; b) non-US citizens. Everyone who claims "residence" in the US should be a US citizen.
If the non-US citizens are so valuable, then please go home and make your country a better place to live.
And, if there are no jobs in your country, why is that?
Posted by: yours truly, johnny dollar | May 08, 2007 at 04:39 PM
No, in fact we DON'T want to give illegal aliens in this country a path to legality!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE WANT THEM TO GO HOME and obey the existing bloody laws in order to come back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND JUST SHUT UP ABOUT MEXICANS.
Mexicans are NOT THE DAMN POINT.
Oh, My God! I wish I could nail every person who utters the word Mexican or Latino in an illegal alien debate with a Louisville Slugger--pow! Right in the kisser!
It wasn't illegal Mexicans who attacked the World Trade Center, either time. I feel confident that when Disneyland is blown up by terrorists, it won't be Mexicans who do it. Odds are, it will be some half-wit, miseducated, idiot blond/blue-eyed Muslim who shows up here on a student visa from France or Denmark.
I'm so sick and tired of you idiots and your stupid MEXICANS. THE ARGUMENT is about illegal aliens.
Barely half the illegals in this country are Mexicans. Stop acting like this is about most of American not wanting any more Mexicans.
This is about ILLEGAL ALIENS.
Americans don't care where your skanky, law-breaking, tax-evading, identity-stealing asses come from. IF YOU CAN'T OBEY OUR LAWS (immigration, traffic, etc!) YOU AREN'T WELCOME.
And that includes the ILLEGAL Mexicans--despite the fact Americans love Mexicans as a general rule. Most of us are perfectly happy to have Mexican neighbors, Mexican co-workers, Mexican lovers/husbands/wives, even half Mexican children and grandchildren. I'm certainly very fond of the Mexicans in my circle of friends and family. BUT ALL OF THEM ARE LEGAL.
Nobody who is here illegally--FROM ANYWHERE--should get any path to any kind of 'legalized' status without going back where they came from to do the paperwork. Period, end of story, NO COMPROMISES.
Posted by: Sheryl | May 08, 2007 at 02:21 PM
The anti-immigrant voices are becoming more shrill and more reliant on misinformation as the tide of public opinion turns against them. This is a good thing, because it reveals the hatred underlying their cause, a hatred manipulated by politicians like Tancredo.
Most Americans want secure borders *and* fair treatment for the poorest and most vulnerable people in our country. We want to give the undocumented immigrant a path to legality, whether that be a worker program, residency, or eventual citizenship. We'd rather see more border agents than money spent on a fence of questionable effectiveness.
Posted by: Mark | May 08, 2007 at 02:17 AM
All your "facts" make the point that illegal immigrants use services and are incarcarated at rates similar to the general population. Ok, they use more food stamps and speak languages other than English more than general population. Question: Who cares? The problem is they constitute 12 to 20 million people, depending on whose numbers you use. The influx is still continuing so we may be discussing 20 to 30 million in 10 years. The US cannot continue to absorb this mass of people putting additional strain on our services, schools, infrastructure, and housing. The fact that they cut in front of the persons waiting patiently for their rightful turn to reside in the US only adds insult to injury. Increase penalties on employers for hiring illegals and ensure employers are prosecuted. Problem will solve itself.
Posted by: Ingrid Roberts | May 07, 2007 at 12:09 AM
These "facts" are quite misleading as it does not differentiate between legal immigrants and illegal immigrants. Clearly, our (citizens) concern is the overwhelming numbers of "illegal" immigrants who essentially break into our country and then taunt us in the streets demanding what they have no right to in the first place. Oh, and many of those cited by these "facts" as legal are probably "Anchor Babies" born here to illegals. I owe them NOTHING. It is a bad choice made by their own parents.
Please check out the statistics at NumbersUSA.
Posted by: Stop the Invasion | May 06, 2007 at 05:07 PM
What's the mantra? The illegals only will do the jobs that Americans will not do.
Construction? There are unemployed carpenters, framers, roofers, painters, plumbers and electricians out of work because illegals are doing these jobs (that Americans will not do).
A Pennsylvania company had cried for a federal grant to train illegals to drive big-rig Over the Road trucks (a job that Americans will not do).
Godfrey Daniels!
If you are allowed to lock your doors, then the United States is allowed to lock its doors.
Do not buy the products/services of any company that advertises in a language other than English. If you listen to a radio station, watch a television station, read a newspaper/magazine that has an agenda that offends your values, document each and every advertisement/commercial on that station/newspaper/magazine/billboard. List those companies in your e-mails to help others from buying those products/services.
Nothing happens until someone sells something.
Posted by: yours truly, johnny dollar | May 02, 2007 at 03:27 PM
They are here ILLEGALLY
Posted by: Linda | May 01, 2007 at 12:12 PM
Today's parade would be a perfect time for ICE to round these criminals up & mass deport them !!!!
Posted by: james sheret | May 01, 2007 at 09:01 AM