Quiz
on Immigration
Write “True” or “False” on the line next to each statement below:
1)______There are over 30 million immigrants in the United States,
the highest number in its history.
2)______One in five children in the U.S. is the native-or foreign-born
child of an immigrant.
3)______Educators and other school personnel do not have to report
undocumented students and their families.
4)______ Immigrants from the following 10 countries constitute 50%
of documented people coming to the U.S.: Mexico, India, Philippines, China, El
Salvador, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Colombia, Guatemala, and Russia.
5)______Six states (New Jersey, New York, California, Illinois,
Florida, and Texas) have been the major destinations for immigrants.
6)______Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington, Nevada,
and Mississippi are among several other states that are seeing growth in the immigrant population.
7)______The United States takes in only 1% of the world’s
immigrants.
8)______ Immigrants are three times as likely as U.S.-born
residents to start small businesses and small businesses account for up to 80% of new jobs
in the U.S.
9)______Immigrants contribute more than $400 billion to the U.S.
economy every year.
10)______Undocumented immigrants pay more than $300 million in
federal taxes.
11)______Documented and undocumented immigrants are entitled to
constitutional rights under the law.
12)______Immigrant families use benefits at lower rates than
citizen families.
13)______Immigrants fill labor shortages in essential segments of
the society.
14)______The proportion of immigrants with bachelor’s or
postgraduate degrees is higher than the proportion of the native
labor force.
True/False
Quiz on Immigration: Answers and References
Note: All statements are True.
1) There are over 30 million
immigrants in the United States, the highest number in its history. Immigrant numbers are at a peak, yet
immigrants as a percentage of the U.S. population are not. The number of
immigrants is larger than ever before in U.S. history — and the whole
population is also much bigger than it used to be. The percentage of immigrants
was highest around the turn of the 20th century. During the peak immigration
period from 1870 to 1920, nearly 15% of the U.S. population was foreign-born;
today that figure is around 12% (Immigration Policy Institute, 2004; Simon, 1995).
2) One in five children in
the U.S. is the native- or foreign-born child of an immigrant. One in five children
enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) has at least one parent born
outside the United States. The “children of immigrants” population (the
second-generation) has increased rapidly, tripling from 6% in 1970 to 19% in
2000. By the year 2010, children of immigrants will represent 25% of the K-12
student population. Between 1970 and 2000, the number of children in K-12 who
speak Spanish at home doubled from 3.5 to 7 million, while the number of
children speaking the numerous Asian languages tripled from 0.5 to 1.5 million (Capps & Passell, 2004).
3) Educators and
school-personnel do not have to report undocumented students and their
families. School officials
have no duty to report people even if they know they are undocumented. It is
the job of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office to
investigate and find immigrants who are here illegally. Schools cannot report
children unless they are required to by subpoena or have parental permission
(Plyler v. Doe , 457 U.S. 202 [1982].
4) Immigrants from the following 10
countries constitute 50% of documented people coming to the United States:
Mexico, India, Philippines, China, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Vietnam,
Colombia, Guatemala, and Russia. Over half of all new legal immigrants arrived from just 10
countries. The 10 countries of origin were Mexico (116,000), India (50,000),
the Philippines (45,000), China (41,000), El Salvador (28,000), the Dominican
Republic (26,000), Vietnam (22,000), Colombia (15,000), Guatemala (14,000), and
Russia (14,000). The last three countries were newcomers to the top 10 list in
2003, while Cuba, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Ukraine fell out of the top 10
(Immigration Policy Institute, 2004).
5) Six states (New Jersey, New York,
California, Illinois, Florida, and Texas) have been the major destinations for
immigrants. Six states
remain key destinations for many new legal immigrants. Sixty three percent of
immigrants live in six states — California, New York, Texas, Florida, New
Jersey, and Illinois. There was a slight decline in the percentage of
immigrants heading to California, Texas, and Florida, with increases
for other states (Capps & Passell, 2004).
6) Georgia, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, Washington, Nevada and Mississippi are seeing growth in the
immigrant population in their state.
Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington, Nevada
and Mississippi are among the
several other states that are seeing growth in the immigrant population. New growth states are defined as those where
the immigrant population grew faster
than in Texas during the 1990s (At 91 percent,
Texas was the fastest growing of the six major destination states). Despite rapid growth, many of these
states still have relatively small, total immigrant populations. Unlike the
major destination states, the immigrant population in the new growth states is
disproportionately made up of recent arrivals—almost 60 percent arrived in the
1990s, most since 1995 (Capps & Passell, 2004).
7) The United States takes in only 1%
of the world’s immigrants.
While the United States numerically has the largest immigrant population
of any country in the world, it is not even among the top 10 countries when
immigrant population is counted as a percentage of total population. The U.S. takes in fewer than 1% of the
world’s immigrants each year. North America and Western Europe combined take in
55% of the world’s
immigrants and fewer than one third of the world’s refugees. In 2000, the United States had an
immigrant population of about 35 million, or about 12% of the country’s total
population. The top 10 countries range from 25% to 74% composed of immigrants
(Capps & Passell, 2004).
8) Immigrants are three times as likely
as U.S.-born residents to start small businesses, and small businesses account
for up to 80% of new jobs in the U.S. Immigrants have to prove they can provide for themselves
before entering the country, and statistics show they are more likely than
U.S.-born citizens to be employed, to save, and to start businesses. Immigrants
do not cause native unemployment, even among low-paid or minority groups. Many studies, using different
methodologies show there is no empirical data to support the idea that
immigrants are taking jobs from native-born Americans (Hate-free Zone).
9) Immigrants contribute more than $400
billion to the U.S. economy every year.
See
answer for 10.
10) Undocumented migrants contribute
significantly to the U.S. economy. While undocumented immigrants pay more than $300 million in
federal taxes, they rarely receive refunds because many are afraid to file.
Documented immigrants account for nearly 15% of the total civilian work force.
Additionally, the total net benefit to the Social Security system, if immigration
levels remain the same, will be nearly $500 billion for the 1998–2022
period. Most studies have shown that immigrants pay at least $28
million more in taxes than they receive in services. Over their lifetimes, an
average immigrant and his or her children are estimated to pay about $80,000
more in taxes than they receive in services (Hate-free Zone; Justice for Immigrants
websites – see below).
11) Documented and undocumented
immigrants are entitled to constitutional rights
under the law. The Supreme Court has ruled that
everyone in the United States regardless of immigration status—is entitled to
the fundamental constitutional rights. However, these principles are not always
upheld by the executive and legislative branches of the federal government. For
example, if an undocumented immigrant is facing deportation, he/she is entitled
to constitutional rights such as a hearing before a judge with federal review,
representation by a lawyer (although the government
may
not pay for one), the opportunity to examine the evidence against them and
language interpretation, among other things (Simon, 1995.)
12) Immigrant families use benefits at
lower rates than citizen families. Since the 1970s when immigration was finally opened up to
all parts of the world with the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act,
immigrants have contributed more to the public coffers in taxes than they have withdrawn
in welfare services. Low-income immigrant families with children have lower use
rates for Temporary Assistance as compared to low income citizen families with
children (8.7% versus 11.6% ). It is a myth that most want to come to the U.S.
because of our public assistance. In
reality, welfare does not drive migration patterns. Between 1995 and 2000, the
number of immigrant families with children grew four times faster in states
with the least generous “safety nets” for immigrants (such as Arkansas and
Texas) than it did in states with more generous safety nets (such as California
and Massachusetts). The most recent available data (for 1995) show that each
year, an average immigrant family put about $2,500 (1995 dollars) into the
pockets of natives from this excess of taxes over public costs (Simon, 1995).
13) Immigrants fill labor shortages in
essential segments of the economy, rather than taking jobs away from Americans. Foreign-born workers tend to complement
the needs of the native-born workforce, filling niches at both the high and low
ends of the labor market. At the
high end, certain industries recruit foreign workers who have qualifications
that are in low supply in the American economy, such as highly developed skills
and training in the technology field. At the low end of the spectrum,
immigrants do essential work in jobs that are undesirable to the native-born
for reasons of low wages and demanding working conditions. Immigrant workers
are especially highly represented
in the
fields of private household services and farming, forestry, and fishing.
Workers in these two occupational groups are the least well paid of all major
groups tracked in the U.S. census, and since 1994, the native-born population
attracted to such low-skill jobs has declined from 9 million to 7.6 million.
14) The proportion of immigrants with
bachelor’s or postgraduate degrees is higher than the proportion of the native
labor force. Immigrants
also have increased rapidly as a proportion of the pool of U.S. scientists and
engineers. Scientific professionals are especially valuable for promoting the
increased productivity and growth of the economy (PBS, (n.d.) Simon, 1995).
Sources
Capps, R., & Passell, J. (2004). Describing immigrant
communities. Foundation
of Child Development and Urban Institute: Washington DC:
Foundation of Child Development and Urban Institute.
Simon, J. (1995). Immigration: The demographic and economic facts.
http://www.cato.
org/pubs/policy_report/pr-immig.html
Immigration Policy Institute. (2004). Immigration facts. October
2004, no.9 www.
migrationpolicy.org/pubs/fact_sheets.php
PBS. (n.d.). The City - La Ciudad, myths and realities
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/thecity/
immigration1.html
Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982).
Hate-free Zone. (n.d.)
http://www.hatefreezone.org/index.asp?name=immigrationmyths
© Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, Second Edition,
Routledge, 2007
