In our new report on jobs in Texas we showed that newly arrived immigrants got most of the recent job growth in that state. There has been some criticism of the report, some from people who apparently did not read it. The comments below, which were forwarded to us, seem to be representative, so I want to address them. Read more...

A new Brookings Institution study entitled "The Geography of Immigrant Skills: Educational Profiles of Metropolitan Areas" examines the education level of immigrants at the national and local levels. The education level of immigrants is a very important topic because there is no better single predictor of how an immigrant will do in the United States than his or her educational attainment. Read more...

Recently a blog posting at the American Enterprise Institute web site included an excerpt from a new AEI book by Gordon Hanson. The book is entitled, Regulating Low-Skilled Immigration in the United States. The excerpted passage attempts to make the case that making illegal immigrants return home is probably not good idea. The passage itself uses percentages of GDP to make it case. Read more...

I recently came across a paper by University of Colorado philosophy professor Michael Huemer entitled "Is There a Right to Immigrate?" Huemer's answer is clearly "yes," there is such a right. By a "right to immigrate" he means the right to enter another country of one's choosing, rather than just a right to leave one's country. While only a tiny share of the American people would agree with Mr. Read more...

On Wednesday, July 7, I traveled to C-Span's studios to be interviewed on Washington Journal. On the program, I explain the Center for Immigration Studies' view on the Federal government's lawsuit against Arizona's immigration law, SB 1070. Additionally, the Obama administration's renewed push for amnesty is also discussed. A video of the Washington Journal program is now available on the C-Span website. Read more...

Imagine 2050, a web site devoted to smearing those who do not share their support of high immigration, claimed last year that I wrote an article for the American Free Press (AFP). First, I did not give permission to AFP to publish anything I have written. I was unaware that AFP even existed until this issue came up. AFP simply lifted from the internet parts of something I wrote for the Center for Immigration Studies. Read more...

In 2008, 53 percent of all households headed by an immigrant (legal or illegal) with one or more children under age 18 used at least one welfare program, compared to 36 percent for native households with children. Immigrant use of welfare tends to be much higher than natives for food assistance programs and Medicaid. Use of cash and housing programs tends to be very similar to natives. A large share of the welfare used by immigrants is received on behalf of their U.S.-born children. But even households with children comprised entirely of immigrants still have a welfare use rate of 47 percent. Read more...

The Center for Immigration Studies' Director of Research, Steven A. Camarota, debated immigration's impact on the labor market during a segment that aired CNN's "Your $$$$$" on November 28. View the segment below. Read more...

In February we estimated that 300,000 construction jobs could go to illegal immigrants as a result of the stimulus bill. We stand by this number as a reasonable estimate of how many stimulus-related jobs could go to illegal aliens.

Some have taken the view that it is impossible to know how many stimulus-funded jobs might go to illegal immigrants. This way of thinking misses the point of how an estimate can inform public policy. We would never argue that our estimate is precise, but instead, as our press release stated, this is an "estimate" of jobs that "could" go to illegal immigrants. In fact, the headline of our press release is followed by a question mark to emphasize that the number is an estimate of what could happen. Read more...

From the New York Times

The first thing to note about workers in low-wage jobs that require relatively little education is that the overwhelming majority are born in the United States. For example, the 2007 American Community Survey by the Census Bureau showed that 65 percent of meatpackers, 68 percent of construction laborers, 73 percent of dishwashers and 74 percent of janitors were U.S.-born. Of course, the immigrant share (legal and illegal) of any occupation varies enormously from city to city. But it’s clear from this data that Americans are willing to do this work. Read more...

While the Census Bureau’s press release accompanying its new population projections emphasizes the importance of the country’s changing racial composition, this is almost certainly not the most important finding. The new report shows a U.S. population in 2050 that is 135 million larger than it is today. This could have profound implications for the environment and quality of life in the United States in the future. Immigration policy is the primary factor driving population growth. Read more...