Illegal immigration (MADNESS) in US ‘grows by 500,000 annually’

FT ^ | March 7 2006 | Edward Alden in Washington

[VU4G10]

The number of illegal immigrants in the US has continued to grow by nearly half a million each year in spite of US efforts to increase security at the country’s borders, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

The study, by the Pew Hispanic Center, said that the population of unauthorised migrants reached between 11.5m and 12m last year, accounting for nearly a third of the foreign-born population in the US. That number is up from roughly 8.4m in 2000.

The continued rise was driven primarily by the strong demand for low-skilled work in the US. “What we’re seeing is a labour migration that is tied to employment opportunities,” said Jeffrey Passel, the study’s author.

The findings come as the Senate is set to take up on Wednesday legislation aimed at stemming the flow of illegal immigrants coming to the US. The Senate judiciary committee is launching a three-week effort to produce a bill that the committee’s chairman, Republican Arlen Specter, hopes will create new legal channels for foreign workers in the US.

The proposal, outlined by committee staff on Monday, would allow those illegally in the US to apply for renewable two-year work visas, and would create a new guest worker programme to allow new workers to come to the US legally.

That contrasts with legislation that passed the House of Representatives late last year and would toughen enforcement against illegal aliens but would not allow for new guest workers. Differences between the House bill and the Senate version would have to be resolved later this year.

The Pew survey underscored the substantial presence of illegal workers in the US labour market. It estimated about 4.9 per cent of the US labour force, or 7.2m workers, was composed of unauthorised migrants.

Nearly a third of those work in service occupations, 19 per cent in construction and 15 per cent in production, installation and repair jobs. Illegal workers are especially prevalent in farming, where they make up nearly a quarter of all workers, as well as cleaning, residential home construction and food processing.

Despite beefing up border patrols and constructing fences along the southern US border with Mexico, the US has so far been unable to reverse the flow of illegal migrants there. The study found that the southern border remains the gateway to the US, with Mexican migrants making up 56 per cent of the unauthorised population, and another 22 per cent coming from the rest of Latin America, particularly Central American countries such as Guatemala and El Salvador.

[TomGuy]

It is an invasion, and GW Bush is allowing it to happen.

[AZRepublican]

Coyotes and smugglars would laugh at this figure. The actual number is more likely 3-5 million.

[Hill of Tara]

I have one word: Deportations.

I have another 2 words: Wall (NOT FENCE)and Minefield.

deport ALL illegals, build the wall (concrete, extending 20 feet below ground and 15 feet above) , electrify it, top it with razor wire, build guard towers with machine gun posts along the wall, lots of sensors, camera, guards, etc, and a minefield in front of the wall.

let's see if THAT decreases illegal immigration.

[RS]

"The actual number is more likely 3-5 million"

LOL - so in the last 20 years we added 60 to 100 million to the low end workforce, maids gardeners and hotel workers ?

Gee, our economy must be doing just fine to absorb all those extra workers and still have less then 5% of American workers out of work.


ALL illegals should be deported, but giving out wildly inflated numbers dosen't help the credibility of the problem.

[Hill of Tara]

"It is an invasion, and GW Bush is allowing it to happen."

Darn right he is, but Shhh, don't say that, the Bush-bots will read it and attack you with a fusillade of profanity, vulgar words, and rediculous accusations.

After all, the dear leader is ALWAYS right, isnt he? Who are we, mere mortals, to question him?

[RS]

Sure...

Living inside a bunker is a much better idea then simply punishing the American traitors who line their pockets hiring the illegals ...

[chris1]

I agree, those numbers are way off.

[RS]

"INS has admitted that they only make contact with about 1 in 5 coming across the border. That puts the number (conservatively) at 2.5 MILLION."

??? Just where do you get your numbers from - they are not in the article ?

[Hill of Tara]

The American traitors should be punished as well, but the main problem is that the illegals are here. No illegals here, no illegals to employ.

But as long as we let them in, people will hire them. The first thing is to throw out the ones who are here, and keep any more from arriving.

[RS]

"But as long as we let them in, people will hire them."

Obviously you have never been to the border - we don't just "let them in" .

Your line of reasoning is the same as the rapist saying " but she had a short skirt".

It is illegal to hire them, it is harmfull for our national security for them to know that they WILL be hired by Americans IF they can sneak in. Harshly punish the employers here, and the draw will disappear.

If you have ants in your kitchen, you get rid of what is attracting them - if you kill the entire line of them, but you do not get rid of the draw you simply start a new line.

[freeangel]

My, my. Exactly how many jobs do we really have that Americans don't want to do? We really do need to start cutting off employers at the knees for hiring them.

[Hill of Tara]

"If you have ants in your kitchen, you get rid of what is attracting them - if you kill the entire line of them, but you do not get rid of the draw you simply start a new line."


Or, you could just seal off the hole in the wall that they are coming through, and make sure there are no other holes or cracks, and keep your can of RAID ready just in case a few do manage to slip in.

"It is illegal to hire them, it is harmfull for our national security for them to know that they WILL be hired by Americans IF they can sneak in. Harshly punish the employers here, and the draw will disappear. "

I agree that we should harshly punish the employers. But we should ALSO harshly punish the illegals.

[AmusedBystander]

The actual number is more likely 3-5 million.

Where are they working at? In Tucson, nearly every retail outfit in town has a now hiring sign up.

[RS]

Nice of you to pull out old numbers to support your statements on a current thread, but I don't intend to chase them down, since you neglected to provide links, and your only listed url APBNews.com seems to be non-existant.

BTW, has anyone ever come across the method used to guess at how many "got through" ?

[NeverForgetBataan]

Would we be better off if Mexico was a hard line Marxist/Communist county?

Think of it.... THEY would build a wall at their own expense and save us the trouble.

THEY would stop everybody trying to get into the US, saving us the trouble.

I'm NOT a commie, please don't flame!!!

[RS]

"Or, you could just seal off the hole in the wall that they are coming through, and make sure there are no other holes or cracks, and keep your can of RAID ready just in case a few do manage to slip in."

Yep, just can't stand to pick up that food that dropped on the ground ... that would be just too easy ...

Hey, why not just burn the house down ?


"But we should ALSO harshly punish the illegals"

If you think that would be fun, fine ... but it's no deterent to the others, and would cost a bundle.

Oh - the ones we catch go NOW - no " but I've got kids here" no " just let me get my coat" every one of them out NOW.