Did You Know? - Illegal Immigration

Illegal Immigration

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Last updated on: 7/16/2010 11:28:54 AM PST

Did You Know?

Little Known Facts in the Immigration Debate

As of 2008, the population of immigrants in the United States illegally was estimated to be approximately 11.6 million.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported more than 186,600 immigrants in the United States illegally in 2006.
61% of the population of immigrants in the United States illegally in 2008 was from Mexico; 14% from El Salvador, Guatemala, Brazil, Honduras, and Ecuador; 8% from India, Korea, China, and the Philippines; while 17% were from all other countries.
As of 2008, California had 25% of the total population of immigrants in the United States illegally. Texas had 14%, Florida 7%, New York 6%, and Arizona 5%.
2008 population studies indicated that 40% of all US brickmason, blockmason, and stonemason positions are held by immigrants in the United States illegally, as are 31% of roofer positions, 28% of dishwasher positions, and 21% of parking lot attendant positions.
Being an immigrant with an expired visa or residency permit inside the US is a civil offense, while entering illegally or smuggling immigrants across the borders could be classified as a misdemeanor, a felony, or even as a capital crime.
40 tunnels and subterranean passages were discovered under the US-Mexico border from Sep. 11, 2001 to Mar. 16, 2006.
An estimated 3.1 million American citizen children have at least one parent who is in the United States illegally (as of 2005).
A report by the Pew Hispanic Center indicated that a loss of low-wage jobs in the American economy, combined with intensified immigration enforcement at the border and at workplaces resulted in an estimated 800,000 fewer people attempting to enter the United States illegally in 2008 than in 2007.
A Dec. 2007 USA Today poll of 2,981 readers revealed that 86% of those who were asked "Should illegal immigrants be allowed to use public services?" responded with "No," 13% said "Yes" response, and 1% "Do Not Know."
The IRS estimated that from 1996 to 2003 it received "almost $50 billion" in federal income taxes from people using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs). They said that "many illegal aliens" as well as others ineligible to receive Social Security numbers contributed to this figure.
A US Army Corps of Engineers' study estimated that constructing a Mexican border fence would cost over $1.2 million per mile, excluding land acquisition costs, and that the 25-year life cycle cost of the fence would range from $16.4 million to $70 million per mile.
The 1790 Alien Naturalization Act, passed by the US government on Mar. 26, 1790, was the nation's first federal legislation regarding US citizenship rules. The law limited naturalization to immigrants who were 'free white persons,' omitting indentured servants, slaves, and most women.
The first major US immigration curtailment was the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Immigration Act which suspended the admission of Chinese laborers into the US for 10 years.
The Mar. 28, 1898 US Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark ruled that the 14th Amendment, which reads in part that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States," constitutes citizenship to all persons born in the United States.

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