Unless you’reNative American , if you live in the U.S. then you have an immigrant narrative woven into the tapestry of your life . The nation has seen several waves of in-migration over its more than 250 age of existence .
There were the former pilgrim fleeing religious persecution , those seeking economic opportunities during the colonial era and the great immigration earned run average of 1880 - 1920 , when more than 20 million people arrived , mainly from easterly , southerly and central Europe . More recently , in the 2000s and beyond , immigrants are come mainly from Asia and Latin America .
So have Americans always opened their coat of arms to anyone and everyone bid to hold up there and take a stab at achieving the American Dream ? Despite what ’s written on theStatue of Liberty(“Give me your tired , your hapless , Your huddled deal yearning to breathe free … " ) in-migration to the U.S. has had a retentive and fraught account , with each unexampled arriving group encountering enmity from the folks already there . Part of the trouble may be the many misconception concerning immigrant and the immigration process . Here are 10 of the more prevalent misunderstanding .
10: Most Immigration is Illegal Immigration
Much of what you hear in the news today regarding immigrant centers around illegal in-migration , but it ’s couched under the very broad term of " immigration . " So you might be left mean that most immigrants today must have arrived in some illegal way . In reality , the huge absolute majority of today ’s immigrants enter the U.S. legally .
In 2013 , there were 41.3 million immigrant be in America , the eminent numeral since recordkeeping start in 1850 . Those 41.3 million people compose 13 percent of America ’s 316 million house physician . about 47 percent of those immigrants , or 19.4 million people , are already naturalized U.S. citizen , a process that takes five long time .
That does n’t mean the rest 53 percent are here lawlessly , though . Some are lawful lasting house physician ( people with green cards , awaiting the probability to become naturalized ) or people holding legal , temporary visas , such as students and temporary workers . The number of people illegally in the U.S. was estimated to be 11.4 million in 2012 [ sources : Zong and Batalova , Department of Homeland Security ] . Do the math , and that means approximately three - poop of the country ’s immigrant are here legally , and just one - tail are unauthorised residents .
9: Most Undocumented Immigrants Snuck Across the Border
For old age now , " illegal in-migration " has been nearly synonymous with " Mexico . " You do n’t see Canadians sneaking over the northerly border into the U.S. , say some folks , but boy , oh boy , are there loads of Mexicans storming the southern one .
It ’s true that Mexico is the country of origin for most of America ’s unauthorized immigrants ; in 2014 , 49 percent of all undocumentedresidentshailed from that country . But the identification number of Mexican immigrant in the U.S. illegally has turn down from 6.9 million in 2007 to 5.6 million in 2014 . And a first : In 2014 , more non - Mexicans were nabbed at the southern delimitation than Mexicans , according to the Pew Research Center [ sources : Gonzalez - Barrera and Krogstad , Krogstad and Passel ] .
Which other countries are represent ? After Mexico , the next top four countries of parentage for wildcat immigrants were Guatemala , El Salvador , Honduras and China . Overall , from 2008 to 2012 , 3.3 million immigrants came into the U.S. illicitly — 13 percent from Asia ; 7 per centum from South America ; 4 percent from Europe , Canada ( yes , Canada ! ) and Oceania ; 3 percent from Africa ; and 2 percent from the Caribbean [ origin : Zong and Batalova ] . And many people who are here illicitly overstayedtouristor student visas .
8: Most Immigrants Come for the Benefits
The U.S. has great benefits . There ’s Medicaid , food stamp , Supplemental Security Income ( SSI ) , trapping aid , and well-being . One reason people are so anxious to get into the land is certainly to tap into this rich feast of free bennies . Or so coarse intellection goes .
But here ’s the thing — undocumented immigrant are bar by law from accessing any of these benefits . Furthermore , evenlegalimmigrants ca n’t roll up these benefits for at least five geezerhood , until they become established U.S. citizens . It ’s been the law since the 1996 Welfare Reform Act passed [ rootage : Equal Rights Center ] .
That does n’t think of that immigrants living in the U.S. illegally receive no benefit whatsoever . All immigrants may receive emergency Medicaid , public wellness immunizations , K-12 public education and some forms of parking brake tragedy sculptural relief . And any children of illegal immigrants who are effectual U.S. citizen because they were born here measure up for social benefits .
But interestingly , a 2001 RAND Corporation study showed undocumented immigrants and legal foreign - bear residents used few aesculapian benefits than native - bear Americans . Native - born Americans ( 87 percent of the universe ) used 91.5 percentage of America ’s $ 430 billion in internal medical spending in 2000 , while undocumented immigrants ( 3.2 percent of the universe ) accounted for just 1.5 per centum [ source : Goldman , Smith and Sood ] .
7: Terrorists Will Enter the U.S. Through Its Refugee Program
After the November 2015 terrorist blast in Paris , which killed 130 , many Americans are wary of not just immigrant , but those coming into the body politic as refugees . After all , two of the terrorist are conceive to have entered France via Greece , and may have vex as Syrian refugee [ source : BBC News ] . It ’s a good reason to clamp down on in-migration , right ?
Taking a closer flavor at that catastrophe , though , reveals that the three gunmen who storm the Bataclan music venue were all French nationals . Several of the other attacker were tagged as French and Belgian citizen [ author : BBC News ] . Whether or not one of the other Paris terrorists posed as a refugee so as to accede the country , that tactics is not one likely to be used by terrorist hoping to pass through the U.S.
Before a refugee can enter the U.S. , he or she has to go through a vetting process via theUnited Nationsthat takes a minimum of 18 to 24 months . The vetting process includes background checks , several interviews , retinal scans and fingerprinting . After that , the U.S. comport additional viewing measures . Why would a terrorist go through all of that when he could instead lend oneself for a tourer visa , a much less intensive and clip - consume process ? Further , if a terrorist hails from one of 38 countries such as France , Belgium , Greece and Chile , he can enter the U.S. without a visa . All that ’s postulate is a plane slate [ sources : Diamond , U.S. Department of State ] .
6: Immigrants Commit More Crimes than U.S. Citizens
Listen to the newsworthiness these days , and you ’ll quickly learn there are an fearful lot of foreigners getting busted for burglary , violation , drunk drivingand even murder . Clearly , the citizenry immigrate into the country are uncollectible seed who wish to go against the law . So why do we keep rent " these kinds of people " in ?
In world , immigrants are far less likely than U.S. citizens to give acrime . you’re able to take care at this in several ways . First , from 2003 to 2012 , criminal offence charge per unit fell crisply across the board : violent crimes fell by 18.7 percent ; execution and non - negligent manslaughter by 16.9 pct ; and robbery by 20.7 percent , to name just a few [ rootage : Federal Bureau of Investigation ] . Yet from 2000 - 2010 , nearly 14 million immigrant accede America — the most pop decennary for immigration in American chronicle [ source : Camarota ] .
Further , an analysis of 2000 Census data showed native - bear American work force age 18 - 39 are thrown in the gaol at five time the charge per unit of immigrants : a 3.5 percentincarcerationrate for natives versus a 0.7 percentage for immigrants . In 2010 , the rate was 3.3 percent for natives and 1.6 pct for immigrants [ source : Rumbaut and Ewing , American Immigration Council ]
Ironically , when " immigrant " do dedicate crimes , it ’s more likely to be second- and third - generation descendants of immigrants who have perhaps picked up reprehensible habits from native - born Americans [ source : Rumbaut and Ewing ] .
5: Until Now, the U.S. Has Always Been Very Welcoming to Immigrants
Many Americans trust the U.S. has always receive immigrant with open arms until the last decade or so . They ’ll point to the masses of immigrant flood into the country at the turning of the 20th C , and assume that alone meant everyone was being happily greeted . Not so . It seems every newethnic groupentering the U.S. was greeted with some level ofxenophobiaand suspicion . But affair were the bad in the late 19th and early 20th hundred .
In 1882 , for illustration , all Formosan citizenry were banned from insert via the Chinese Exclusion Act . In 1907 - 08 , under the Gentleman ’s Agreement with Japan , the Japanese agreed to deny passports to its labourer wishing to manoeuvre to the U.S. , where hostility against Nipponese immigrants was growing . Congress also voted to restrict access to those who were mentally ill , criminals , declaration workers , alky and anarchists . The government also raised taxes on immigrant and instituted a literacy test in 1917 [ source : U.S. History ] .
Then , in 1924 , President Calvin Coolidge sign the Immigration Act of 1924 ( aka the Johnson - Reed Act ) , crest in-migration . Specifically , only 2 percent of the full routine of citizenry from each nationality — who were in the U.S. as of the 1890 census — could now enter . This act favored ethnic groups already in the commonwealth , and efficaciously leave off all Asians [ sources : Foner and Garraty , U.S. Department of State ] .
The antagonism was n’t just in the corridor of power either . In the 19th C , many native - hold Americans were fearful that big number of Irish and Italian immigrants would add criminal offence and disease . Even back in 1751 , Benjamin Franklin denounced the large numbers of Germans inundate in to Pennsylvania [ source : Schrag ] .
4: It’s Easy to Legally Immigrate to the U.S.
Many Americans are complicate when they hear about immigrants come up to the country lawlessly . Why , they wonder , do n’t they but apply for residency and get in the logical way of life — just like so many of their ascendent did 100 days ago ? As we said originally , the immense majority of immigrants do enter legally , but it ’s an arduous cognitive operation today .
During the United States ' first 100 years as a fresh minted country , any able - bodied immigrant was allow in . They just had to physically get here ( though that was often elusive ) . Today , there are many rules about who can and can not enter the country .
If someone was essay to escape fierceness in his or her own country , or to reunite with crime syndicate members , they may reluctantly opt for an illegal entry rather than waiting for years or decennium .
3: Widespread Green Card Marriage Fraud is Occurring
One agency an immigrant can quickly obtain a unripened card is to marry a U.S. citizen . So course a lot of immature card wedding faker occurs each year , say some people . You ’ve likely heard of " post - parliamentary law Saint Bridget . " Well , now there are loads of websites that avail people in other countries hook up with Americans willing to marry them for money just so the foreigners can enter the U.S. legally .
It ’s rightful such websites exist . And it ’s true thatmarriagefraud occurs . But not as much as you might call back . Between 2007 and 2009 , U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services discovered about 600 fraudulent light-green identity card applications , but that was among 700,000 postulation for foreign spouses , which is only about .0009 percent [ informant : Dwyer ] .
2: Immigrants Refuse to Learn English
One complaint native - comport Americans often make about today ’s immigrant is that they do n’t want to learn English . Instead , they want everyone to learn theirlanguage . Or have interpreters available everywhere they go . When citizenry come into this country years ago , they were only too eager to study the mother clapper of their adopted land .
There may be a wealthiness of foreign - language radio and TV station , or uncounted interpretation serving , but that does n’t mean immigrants are spurning English . Au contraire .
Today ’s immigrants do seek to learn English , as do their kid ; the demand for English as a Second Language ( ESL ) class is far higher than the useable supply [ origin : Nevarez ] . Only a simple 7 percent of second - coevals Latinos preserve to mouth Spanish as their independent spoken communication [ origin : Equal Rights Center ] . With the preponderance of English across the orb today , there are really more immigrant coming to the country already fluent in thelanguagethan in the yesteryear — 48 percent of late effectual immigrants are skilful in English before get in in the U.S. [ source : Guo ] .
Interestingly , many native - born Americans do n’t substantiate that their ancestor actually clung to their roots for a long time after emigrating there . In 1917 , nearly 50 age after German immigration had peak , there were still more than 700 German - linguistic communication newspaper publisher being publish in the U.S. [ reservoir : teach Tolerance ] .
1: Immigrants Take American Jobs
One of the more persistent misconceptions about immigration today is that immigrant arestealing jobsfrom Americans . Yet if you take a well aspect , you ’ll promptly see that immigrant are often working at line such as dishwasher , gardener , housekeeper , maid — low - paying oink jobs , typically without benefit , that many American citizen spurn . immigrant take these jobs because they really want to act upon .
A study by the National Academies of Sciences , Engineering , and Medicine found 86 pct of first - generation male immigrants were employed , a higher pace than that of native - Max Born ( 83 percent ) . Even 84 per centum of male immigrant without a eminent schooling education had jobs , compared with just 58 percent of aborigine - give birth Americans [ author : Guo ] .
In plus , infinite study good refute this impression of immigrant stealing line of work . A 2012 field of study by The Brookings Institution found immigrant really better the earnings of aboriginal - born Americans because the two groups run to be use in complementary field of honor . For case , immigrant roofers and gardeners can help American builders and landscapers land more business and expand their company [ reservoir : Greenstone and Looney ] . And the U.S. Small Business Administration found immigrant are more entrepreneurial than native . One in 10 immigrants is a line owner , and 620 of every 100,000 immigrants starts a business sector each month [ source : Fairlie ] .
Lots More Information
Immigration is a loaded topic in America today , and in many other countries around the world . I do n’t know exactly how my great - grandparents got to America in the late 1800s / early 1900s from Eastern Europe . Nor do I know if they were greeted with open arms , suspicion or hostility . I experience several of them borrowed money from family and booster to pay for a ticket in steerage , which was the cheapest way to get to America from Europe ( by boat ) . Steerage was a middling dingy place at that stop in chronicle . People were cram together in fuddled place . Toilets were commode and pans . camp bed were line up one next to the other , and mattresses were fill with seaweed or shuck . meal were sparse . Illness was rampant . Once they get here , they went directly to work on at some pretty menial jobs . But they sleep with it in America . And every successive genesis prosper a little bit more . I ’m so thankful my ancestor were able-bodied to relocate to a country that helped them better their lives and lay a instauration for increasing prosperity for their child , grandchildren and groovy - grandchild ( me ! ) . Today , I hope citizenry around the globe are consecrate the same opportunity .
