Illegal Immigration Myths Debunked

The MAGA cult has built up the false threat of immigrants as a scapegoat to distract people while Republicans gut Medicaid, expand domestic surveillance, sell $1 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia, have the 2008 financial crash cronies deregulate the swamp, destroy our democratic institutions, and get away with the biggest criminal conspiracy in U.S. history. Let me preface this by stating the most obvious thing ever – being against white supremacist rhetoric and laws does not mean being for illegal immigration. Immigration should be reformed; people who are here legally have paid tons of legal fees among other costs, so going around that process is not fair to anyone.

Trump, actually is against immigration in general not just“illegal immigrants. He proclaimed it loud and clear when he called all Mexicans rapists, proposed a bill curtailing immigration, and labeled African countries “sh*tholes.” “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”  Aside from the hilarious fact that he thinks Mexico is sending these people he pretty much called everyone who got here both legally and illegally a criminal, drug trafficker, and criminal. He’s sure about the overwhelming amount of criminals, but he’s not sure about the good people part.

Like any man of rhetoric, further probing proves his claims baseless. According to a CNN interview with Don Lemon, this is his “evidence.”

Trump: This was an article by Fusion. Somebody said Fusion is owned by Univision. This one says, “80% of Central American women and girls are raped [emphasis by Trump] crossing into the United States.”

Don Lemon, CNN: That’s about women being raped, it’s not about criminals coming across the border or entering the country.

Trump: Somebody’s doing the raping, Don — I mean, you know —

Let’s start off by debunking this ridiculous claim with an excerpt from Politico Magazine:

“A 2011 U.S. Government Accountability Office study “Criminal Alien Statistics: Information on Incarcerations, Arrests and Costs” found that of the three million arrests of immigrants, legal or not, examined by investigators, only two percent were for sex offenses—two percent too many, but hardly an epidemic. It didn’t break down the ethnicity or legal status of the offenders, but the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey breaks down such stats by victims. For 2013 (the most recent year available), it shows that whites accounted for 71 percent of all sexual assaults documented (above their total percentage of 63 percent of the U.S. population), while Latinos accounted for 9 percent, far below their total percentage of 17 percent.”

There is no illegal immigration epidemic.

Net immigration overall from Mexico net negative. That is, we’re experiencing a net outflow of undocumented workers.

Our borders are strong — the Obama administration deported more people than any other U.S. president in history.

There is no correlation between increased immigration and crime.

Nevermind surging homegrown terrorism committed by white males or the rampant crime committed by American citizens, illegal immigrants have lower incarceration rates and crime rates than native-born Americans a

Illegal immigrants overall, do not reside in the US illegally because they are criminals in fear of vetting, they have been vetted – an estimated 66% overstay Visas. (Which to be technical, is not a criminal offense.) Contrary to popular belief, there’s also no path to citizenship much less a “line.”

Illegal immigrants are 44 percent less likely to be incarcerated than natives.

Accordingly, “1.53 percent of all native-born adults (18-54) are incarcerated, compared with 0.85 percent of illegal immigrants in the same age range – including those incarcerated for immigration crimes and in immigration detention.”  That number drops to 0.50 percent when excluding them.  Furthermore, White, native-born Americans are incarcerated at a rate of 0.90 percent, illegal immigrants of every race and ethnicity are still less likely to be incarcerated, at a rate of 0.85 percent. Additionally, American cities with more illegal immigrants do not have a higher crime rate.

Nationally, from 1990 to 2010, the violent crime rate declined almost 45 percent and the property crime rate fell 42 percent, even as the number of undocumented immigrants more than tripled. According to the conservative Americas Majority Foundation, crime rates from 1999 to 2006 were lowest in states with the highest immigration growth rates. During that period, the total crime rate fell 14 percent in the 19 top immigration states, compared to only 7 percent in the other 31.

Goreign-born people in America—whether they are naturalized citizens, permanent residents or undocumented—are incarcerated at a much lower rate than native-born Americans, according to the National Institute of Corrections.

• ”… violence tended to decrease as metropolitan areas experienced gains in their concentration of immigrants..”

People fleeing violence from economically stagnant countries actually come to the US in search of a better life for their families – shocking!

 The Border Wall Wouldn’t Work

As much as 45% of the total unauthorized migrant population entered the country with visas that allowed them to visit or reside in the U.S. for a limited amount of time

This again disproves the criminal myth as overstayers have been screened and found admissible.

 Illegal Immigrants Don’t Take Away Jobs

“If someone can come into your country, learn your language, and do your job better than you, you deserve to have your job stolen” – Louis CK. Jokes aside, this is a myth.

We are already at “full employment with more job openings than at any point in history.”   The idea that there is a fixed amount of jobs available falls under the “lump of labor fallacy.”  As population increases so does total employment; foreign workers do not crowd-out employment.

They aren’t taking anyone’s jobs away. The US economy is actually seeking 6.2 million jobs  at a time when general unemployment is at a 16-year low, which is even lower among college-educated.

–(NPR) reported in March 2006 that: “…overall, illegal immigrants don’t have a big impact on U.S. wage rates. The most respected recent studies show that most Americans would notice little difference in their paychecks if illegal immigrants suddenly disappeared from the United States. That’s because most Americans don’t directly compete with illegal immigrants for jobs. There is one group of Americans that would benefit from a dramatic cut in illegal immigration: high-school dropouts

–According to the Immigration Policy Center, a nonpartisan group, research indicates there is little connection between immigrant labor and unemployment rates of native-born workers. Here in the United States, two trends—better education and an aging population—have resulted in a decrease in the number of Americans willing or available to take low-paying jobs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, close to 26 million foreign-born people, or 17 percent of the country’s labor force, worked in the United States in 2014. These workers are more likely to be employed by the service industry, while native-born workers are more likely to hold jobs in management, professional, sales and office occupations.

Illegal immigrants pay taxes and DON’T get benefits because they’re ILLEGAL

They pay sales and property taxes ( when they buy or rent a house or apartment), and a staggering $13 billion in taxes total. They’re providing a surplus to a system they can’t reap benefits from.

– The U.S. Social Security Administration estimated that in 2013 undocumented immigrants—and their employers—paid $13 billion in payroll taxes alone for benefits they will never get. They can receive schooling and emergency medical care, but not welfare or food stamps

–Illegal immigrants pay social security payroll taxes but are not eligible for benefits. During 2006, Standard & Poor’s analysts wrote: “Each year, for example, the U.S. Social Security Administration maintains roughly $6 billion to $7 billion of Social Security contributions in an “earnings suspense file”—an account for W-2 tax forms that cannot be matched to the correct Social Security number. The vast majority of these numbers are attributable to illegal workers who will never claim their benefits

-Now onto the most obvious part: social welfare programs bar illegal immigrants from receiving benefits and require proof of immigration status. That includes food stamps, as well as cash welfare assistance, Medicaid, and even the new health care law. HUD also requires proof of legal status. Federal law only allows them emergency medical care.

–It’s true that some children of illegal immigrants qualify for benefits if they were born in the United States and are citizens. But there aren’t nearly enough of those types of children — an estimated 4 million — to account for 43 percent of food stamp recipients.

3.) Anchor babies

Immigration judges will not keep immigrant parents in the United States just because their children are U.S. citizens. In 2013, the federal government deported about 72, 410 foreign-born parents whose children had been born here. These children must wait until they are 21 before they can petition to allow their parents to join them in the United States. That process is long and difficult. In reality, there is no such thing as an “anchor baby.”
Overall the United States needs an immigration reform because restrictions are much tougher on Mexico than European countries and under current policy, many people whose immigrant ancestors who arrived between 1790 and 1924 would not be allowed in today. I also used to ignorantly ask this myself but no there is  no “line” for most very poor people with few skills to stand in and gain permanent U.S. residency. Generally, gaining permission to live and work in the United States is limited to people who are (1) highly trained in a skill that is in short supply here and offered a job by a U.S. employer, (2) escaping political persecution, (3) joining close family already here, or (4) winners of the green-card lottery.  

Furthermore, without 11 million illegal immigrants the agricultural economy would practically collapse, and aside from the actual technical costs of mass deportation, this is simply not an option. No one should get here illegally but if they’re here they should get humane treatment not be exploited. I mean ask yourself why they’re willing to traverse through so much scorching desert with their families often times? Risking their lives. Surely poor families fleeing violence are risking it all to sell drugs in another country. Do you think if these people had the option of coming here legally they wouldn’t take it? Isn’t paperwork more preferable than a treacherous journey across thousands of miles of desert where they often die? They’re not coming here illegally because they have criminal backgrounds (45% overstay visas and there is no correlation between crime and increased immigration), but because people fleeing economic stagnancy and undeclared civil war simply don’t have the time and money. They don’t have the time to wait in a line where they see no end and money to cover legal fees. Remember some of these Latino countries have a higher murder rate than Iraq did during the height of the Iraq war. That’s what we’re pushing these desperate families back into. 

So much for,  “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”