{Originally posted to the author’s blogsite, The Lid}
Per the Center for Immigration Studies, (CIS)the number of total immigrants entering the country is sky-rocketing. New data collected by the Census Bureau shows that 3.1 million new immigrants (legal and illegal) settled in the country in the two-year period of 2014 and 2015, or more than 1.5 million annually.
This CIS analysis of newly released data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) includes include new green card holders (permanent residents); long-term “temporary” visitors who often stay permanently, such as guest workers and foreign students; and of course new illegal immigrants. What you may find surprising is that the vast majority of these immigrants (between 66% and 75%) are legal.
Legal immigrants are almost as much of an issue as illegal immigrants and sadly we have to stop illegal immigration and cut legal immigration way back. Now before you start calling me names like xenophobe or racist, please keep reading and then decide.
The final number for 2014 was 1.5 million and another 914K arrived in the first six months of 2015, the total 2015 estimate is 1.6 million. That 2014 number is 17% higher than the prior year and 38% more than 2011.
The overall immigrant population grew about twice as fast in the last two years as it did in the prior four years. Plus according to CIS
- The arrivals are offset by those immigrants who leave the country each year and by normal mortality of about 300,000 annually among the existing immigrant population.Therefore, growth in the overall immigrant population is less than new arrivals.
- As a share of the U.S. population, 13.5 percent are now immigrants — the highest percentage in 105 years. As recently as 1970, less than 5 percent of the population were immigrants.
- Based on current trends and Census Bureau projections, the immigrant share of the population will surpass the highest level in American history seven years from now
Yes it’s true, the United States is a nation of immigrants. And to be honest I am not against immigrants, per se, or any group of immigrants. Heck my grandparents were immigrants. But how much is enough? When does the number of immigrants become a national security threat?
The real question is can we really screen that amount of immigrants coming in the country. Let’s compare the above chart to historical numbers. The chart below is based on immigration figures by the Census for ten year periods:
- From about 1880 through the mid-1920s, when my grandfather arrived in Galveston from Odessa Russia, America experienced an immigration boom, “the Great Wave,” during which immigration averaged 600,000 annually. This was the period during which the U.S. industrialized, creating a huge demand for factory workers. The demand was filled primarily by European immigrants; particularly, in its second half, with immigrants from southern and eastern Europe.
- In 1924 and 1926, partly in response to pressure from labor unions, Congress put in place the first comprehensive quota systems to limit immigration into the U.S. For the next 40 years, from 1925 to 1965, the United States had a relatively restrictive immigration policy, which allowed 200,000 people into the country annually, on average.
- Since the mid-60s Congress has raised the levels of legal immigration to the point that the average number of immigrants/year has grown 5-8 fold.
There is absolutely no way for our immigration agents to know the background, and vet 1.5 million people/year. And it’s not a matter of as Mr. Trump says keeping out the people from countries related to terrorism, or delaying the entry of Muslims as he first suggested. It’s a matter of cutting the number way back.
The truth of the matter is that none of the candidates are talking about the real immigration issue. What is the level of immigration the United States can sustain? That’s not just a question for economists— determining what level of services immigrants may get. It’s really a question of how many background checks, how many investigations into their family history and associations, how many people can be allowed into the country and still be assured that those people are being vetted? There are potential terrorists in Europe, Asia and other countries outside the US. Our DHS needs to check each person coming into the country, and 1.5 million/ a year is way to high to be able to fully vet all the immigrants.
For the future of our children and grandchildren we need to urge our leaders to cut all immigration way back.
