The following presents a few facts on unauthorized immigrants and immigration in the US. Many of these facts have been noted on divers threads here, but two Wikipedia articles conveniently collect and cite references for them.
Research shows that illegal immigrants increase the
size of the U.S. economy, contribute to
economic growth, enhance the welfare of natives, contribute more in tax revenue than they collect, reduce American firms' incentives to offshore jobs and import foreign-produced goods, and benefit consumers by reducing the prices of goods and services.
[3][4][5][6][7] Economists estimate that legalization of the illegal immigrant population would increase the immigrants' earnings and consumption considerably, and increase U.S. gross domestic product.
[8][9][10][11] There is scholarly consensus that illegal immigrants commit less crime than natives.
[12][13] Sanctuary cities – which adopt policies designed to avoid prosecuting people solely for being in the country illegally – have no statistically meaningful impact on crime, and may reduce the crime rate.
[14][15] Research suggests that immigration enforcement has no impact on crime rates.
[16][17][14]
[. . . ]
The
illegal immigrant population of the United States peaked in 2007, when it was at 12.2 million and 4% of the total U.S. population.
[18][3] Since the
Great Recession, more illegal undocumented immigrants have left the United States than entered it, and illegal border crossings are at the lowest levels they have been in decades.
[19][20][21][22]
From 2005 to 2009, the number of people entering the U.S. illegally declined by nearly 67%, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, from 850,000 yearly average in the early 2000s to 300,000.
[41]
The 2008 global financial crisis has had a large impact on the United States. The construction sector and other areas illegal immigrants traditionally seek employment shrunk. The recession also led to a surplus of American labor, driving down the benefit of hiring illegal immigrants.
[13] According to the Pew Research Center, in 2007 the number of unauthorized Mexican immigrants peaked at 6.9 million and has dropped by more than 1 million to an estimated 5.6 million in 2014.
[14]
After the
Great Recession, more immigrants actually returned to Mexico rather than migrated to the United States.
[3] From 2009 to 2014, 1 million Mexicans and their families left the U.S. for Mexico. U.S. census data for the same period show an estimated 870,000 Mexican nationals left Mexico to return to the U.S.
[3]
[. . . ]
Since about 2014, most illegal immigrants living in the U.S. have been long-term residents. In 2014, about two-thirds (66%) had been in the U.S. for ten years or more, while just 14% had been in the U.S. for less than five years.
[4][3]
Just as the total population of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has declined since 2007, the proportion of illegal immigrants in the workforce has also declined; in 2012, illegal immigrants made up 5.1% of the
U.S.'s civilian labor force. Unauthorized immigrant workers are over-represented in certain. economic
sectors, making up 26% of farming, fisheries, and forest workers; 17% of cleaning, maintenance, and groundskeeping workers; 14% of construction workers; and 11% of food preparation workers.
[15]
From the above, one can readily deduce that the primary factor motivating illegal immigration can be summarized as "It's the economy, stupid." Further, the above facts demonstrate that there is a highly effective
humanitarian way to reduce illegal immigration by way of traffic across the Southern border, namely, by supporting the labor markets and economic policies in Mexico and Central American countries. This is obviously easier said than done, and requires expertise beyond that of a delusional 70-year-old man who has lived all his life off the gift of hundreds of millions of dollars from his father and stealing from others through corporations.
Similarly obvious is the fact that not every labor-intensive job that Americans do not want to perform can be exported to Mexico and Central America. Facilitating temporary visas for such workers is necessary -- which is currently done to a degree now (apparently Trump hires them as dishwashers, servers and/or maids in his businesses). Naturally a certain percentage of such workers will overstay their visas. There is no rational reason to fearmonger about these illegal immigrants.
But the xenophobic and racist bigotry that motivates Trump and his sycophants to squeal for a border wall has largely diverted attention from truly effective humanitarian policies. The despicable squealing about rapists and murderers coming across the Southern border has largely diverted attention from appreciating the value of our neighbors to the South. Anyone who is ignorant of the value generally of persons who have entered by way of the Southern border and stayed here should seek out some of these "illegal aliens" and get to know them. I don't really expect that to be worthwhile or heeded advice for those who have their nose stuck in Trump's butt crack.
Nevertheless, yesterday at least Senator Schumer's attention was not sp diverted that he overlooked the fact that it isn't miles of border wall that should stand as the symbol of the US, but the Statue of Liberty. I couldn't help but finish out his sentence by remembering those last lines of Emma Lazarus' poem that always bring a lump to my throat:
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
