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Background on Immigration


Immigration
  • The US admits about 660,000 legal immigrants per year (1998 figures).
  • The Immigration Act of 1990 allows for 480,000 immigrants with family in the US; 140,000 immigrants in needed employment fields; and the rest under per-country limits and diversity limits.
  • Foreign-born people accounted for 8% of the US population in the 1990 census; in the decades prior to 1930, the figure was 13%.
  • About 5 million illegal aliens reside in the US (1996 figures).
  • 55% of all illegal aliens come from Mexico. (Other Latin American countries account for another 20%).
  • 40% of all illegal aliens live in California. (TX, NY, FL, and IL account for the next 40%).
  • The illegal alien population is growing by about 275,000 each year.
  • The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) runs the Border Patrol as well as interior enforcement.
    Arizona Law
  • In April 2010, the state legislature of Arizona passed a law, S.B. 1070, which allowed state police to check for legal papers of people suspected of being illegl immigrants.
  • Proponents say that the AZ law only enforces federal law in a circumstance where the federal government has failed to enforce its own law.
  • Opponents say that the AZ law constitutes "racial profiling", and targets Latinos and especially Mexicans.
  • The author of the AZ law, State Senate President Russell Pearce, was subjected by the people of his legislative district to a recall vote as a result of the AZ law, and lost his seat in Nov. 2011.
    Immigration Advocacy
  • Pro-immigration advocates sometimes accuse anti-immigration advocates of racism, because of the large Hispanic component of current immigration. In that view, immigration restrictions are seen as limiting growth of the Hispanic population.
  • Anti-immigration advocates often seek Official English status (the US has no official language), which would enforce assimilation of non-English speaking immigrants. Similarly, anti-immigration advocates seek to terminate Bilingual Education, which is currently funded in school systems with large non-English-speaking populations.
    Immigration Buzzwords
  • The biggest components of the immigration debate is how many legal immigrants to allow, and how to prevent illegal immigration.
  • Liberals and libertarians generally oppose restricting immigration. Look for buzzwords like "promote diversity" to define the liberal attitude, or "we're a nation of immigrants" to define the libertarian attitude. Any reference to providing illegal immigrants with services beyond emergency medical treatment, or any reference to "clemency" for illegal immigration, implies a strong pro-immigrant stance.
  • Moderate liberals and libertarians will oppose restricting immigration while paying lip-service to restrictions on illegal immigration. Look for buzz-phrases like "promote immigration, block illegal immigration" and "separate the functions of the INS and the Border Patrol," which mean the same thing.
  • Conservatives and populists generally favor restricting immigration. Look for buzzwords like "protect our borders" or "strengthen the INS". A call for "Official English" is a strongly anti-immigration stance, because most immigrants are from non-English speaking countries. That's the same attitude as "End bilingual education," which focuses primarily on Spanish-speaking immigrants.
  • Moderate conservatives and populists will favor restricting illegal immigration while paying lip-service to allowing legal immigration. The result is the same as moderates in favor of immigration: calls for separating out legal immigration from illegal, but with a focus on enforcement against illegals instead of a focus on respecting immigrant rights.

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    Other candidates on Immigration: Background on other issues:
    Democratic Incumbents:
    Pres.Barack Obama
    V.P.Joe Biden
    Secy.Hillary Clinton

    Republican Challengers:
    Rep.Michele Bachmann(MN)
    Herman Cain(GA)
    Rep.Newt Gingrich(GA)
    Gov.Jon Huntsman(UT)
    Gov.Gary Johnson(NM)
    Rep.Thaddeus McCotter(MI)
    Rep.Ron Paul(TX)
    Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
    Gov.Buddy Roemer(LA)
    Gov.Mitt Romney(MA)
    Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
    GOP Withdrawals:
    Gov.Haley Barbour(MS)
    Gov.Chris Cristie(NJ)
    Mayor Rudy Giuliani(NYC)
    Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
    Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
    Gov.Tim Pawlenty(MN)
    Donald Trump(NY)     		Abortion
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