FACTS ABOUT IMMIGRANTS
More than one in four (1/4) Californians were born outside the country. Source: Public Policy Institute of California.
More than one in five (1/5) San Diegans were born outside the country: 53% of the foreign born come from Latin America, 33% come from Asia, and 10% come from Europe. Source: 2000 Census.
Roughly one-third of immigrants are naturalized U.S. citizens; one-third are lawful permanent residents; and one-third are unauthorized immigrants (also called illegal or undocumented). Source: Pew Hispanic Center.
An estimated 7 percent of San Diegans are unauthorized immigrants (calculating one-third of the foreign born population in San Diego).
There are more than 12 million unauthorized immigrants in the country. Source: Pew Hispanic Center.
California is home to more unauthorized immigrants than any other state (estimated 3 million). Source: Public Policy Institute of California.
The bulk of unauthorized immigrants come from Latin America (78%). The remaining unauthorized population comes mostly from India, China, Korea, Philippines and Vietnam. Source: Pew Hispanic Center; Office of Immigration Statistics for the Department of Homeland Security.
Unauthorized immigrants account for an estimated one in twenty (1/20) workers in the U.S. Source: Pew Hispanic Center.
More than half of the 1.8 million agricultural workers in the country are undocumented. Source: San Diego Union Tribune, "Labor Shortage Hits Organic Farmers: Growers Depend on Immigrant Workers," August 13, 2006; California Agriculture Press Release.
More than two-thirds (2/3) of unauthorized immigrants pay Medicare, social security, and personal income taxes. They also pay rental and homeowner taxes and local sales tax by purchasing goods and services. Source: Agricultural Coalition for Immigration Reform.
The contributions of unauthorized immigrants generate $6-7 billion in Social Security tax revenue and $1.5 billion in Medicare tax revenue each year. Source: International Social Science Review, Undocumented Immigrants Should Receive Social Services," 2006; Affirmative Action and Diversity Project, "Immigrants and Social Services," 2006.
Unauthorized immigrants access fewer health care resources than native-born citizens. Because of the 1996 welfare reform bill, they cannot access food stamps, housing assistance, Medicaid and Medicare-funded hospitalization. Source: American Immigration Lawyers Association.
The only public services they can still receive are emergency medical care and K-12 education, which they support through local and state taxes. Source: American Immigration Lawyers Association.
THE LONG WAIT TO IMMIGRATE
The United States only issues 620,000 immigrant visas a year: 480,000 are for qualifying family members (parents, children, siblings) of citizens and lawful residents, and 140,000 are for employees in jobs that cannot be filled by citizens or residents (mainly highly skilled jobs). If someone seeking to immigrate is not a qualifying family member or does not qualify for the limited employment visas, then there is no "line" for them to stand in to immigrate.
There is a limit of 25,620 visas issued per country per year. The more applications from a country, the longer the wait time for visa applicants from that country. Thus, visa applicants from Mexico, China, India, and the Philippines must wait years longer than applicants from other countries.
Reuniting with family could take decades. Of the 480,000 family-based visas, "immediate relatives" (parents, spouses, and children under 21 of citizens) have first priority. The unused visas (if there are any) are allocated to the following preference categories:
- Unmarried sons and daughters over 21 of citizens - wait time up to 15 years
- Spouses and children under 21 of lawful residents - wait time up to 7 years
- Unmarried sons/daughters over 21 of lawful residents - wait time up to 15 years
- Married sons/daughters over 21 of citizens - wait time up to 17 years
- Brothers and sisters of citizens - wait time up to 23 years
Because of the long wait times, many children of lawful residents turn 21 before their visa applications are processed. Once they "age out" their wait time can double from 7 to 15 years. If the adult children marry while they are waiting, they are no longer eligible to immigrate.
THE NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE REFORM
The current immigration system does not work. It separates families for decades and comes nowhere near addressing the need for essential workers. In light of this, advocates of comprehensive immigration reform call for legislation that ...
- Establishes a workable process to provide undocumented immigrants already in the United States with an opportunity to come out of the shadows and earn permanent legal status.
- Increases the number of family-based visas and removes the limit on children and spouses of citizens and residents.
- Creates realistic legal avenues for immigrant workers to enter the United States to fill jobs throughout our economy, through visa programs that ensure full labor rights.
- Establishes humane immigration enforcement strategies that respects the dignity of immigrants and prevents the loss of life.
- Extends full due process rights to all immigrants.
