[Winona] Let's say I break into your house

Thu May 31 12:31:32 CDT 2007

I would agree with Jamie, I also think the analogy stinks.  First of all, people who make these statements also tend to overlook the fact that:

--According to the 2000 Census, there are over 30 million immigrants in the U.S., representing 11 percent of the total population.
--One in five children in the U.S. is the native- or foreign-born child of an immigrant.
--Immigrants and citizens live together in families: 85 percent of immigrant families with children are mixed status families (families in which at least one parent is a non-U.S.citizen and one child is a U.S. citizen).
Immigrants contribute significantly to the U.S. economy.
---According to the National Academy of Sciences, the total net benefit to the SocialSecurity system if immigration levels remain constant will be nearly $500 billion for the 1998-2022 period, and nearly $2 trillion through 2072.6
---In New York, also in 1997, $13.3 billion (69 percent) of the $19.3 billion in taxes paid by immigrants went to the federal government in the form of income taxes, Social Security taxes, and unemployment insurance.
---In 2000, the foreign-born population accounted for nearly 15 percent of the total civilian labor force.
---In 2000 foreign-born men 16 years old and older had a higher labor force participation rate (80 percent) than native-born men (74 percent).
Immigrant families use benefits at lower rates than citizen families, and benefits are not a factor in decisions to migrate to the U.S.
---Use of public benefits by lawfully present immigrant families with children who earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level fell sharply between 1994 and 1999. 
---Nearly 33 percent of low-income native citizens used Medicaid in 2001, compared with only 13.2 percent of low-income noncitizens.
---Low-income immigrant families with children have lower TANF-use rates than lowincome citizen families with children (8.7 percent versus 11.6 percent).15 (TANF is the acronym for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.)
---Welfare does not drive migration patterns. Between 1995 and 2000, the number of immigrant families with children grew four times faster in states with the least generous "safety nets" for immigrants (such as Arkansas and Texas) than it did in states with more generous safety nets (such as California and Massachusetts).
 http://www.caimmigrant.org/repository/?cat=7

Illegal immigrants contribute nearly $7 billion per year to Social Security, benefits that they will not be able to access.  They pay into Federal and State Income taxes, also dollars that they are unable to recoup a portion of, unlike us.  
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/05/business/05immigration.html?ex=1270353600&en=78c87ac4641dc383&ei=5090

There are so many more facts out there that contradict the sewage of many of these politically based immigrant bashing emails that some are fond of passing on (I'm assuming that was what Paul shared, I've seen similar via email).

I'm not sure how many foreigners or immigrants you have all met but the ones I have, are trying to learn our language, trying to become legal citizens, work hard for little pay, contribute to our economy, our schools, and the workplace, are very respectful and teach their children to be very respectful also.

We are probably the only country in the world that thinks we should only speak one language.  From what I've seen, people from other countries typically speak 3 different languages if not more. 

Let's not forget either the history of our country.  We stormed in and took over with nothing more than promises of maybe a few bags of flour and food to the Native Americans(by the way, I'm not referring to the Europeans), we fought a war that was centered around the "right" to have slaves.  We have notoriously kept anyone who is not a white male from voting, owning property, and owning business for most of our history---I could go on.  

I think the real point here is the fact that we don't want anyone who is non-white to come into our country anymore, whether legally or illegally.  I wonder if there would be the same uproar if it were Canadians?

Susan Brown 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jamie Groth" <jamiegroth at yahoo.com>
To: "Online Democracy" <winona at mnforum.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 11:36 AM
Subject: Re: [Winona] Let's say I break into your house

> [Winona Online Democracy]
> 
> I think this analogy stinks and isn't worth passing
> on.  I'm probably supposed to get 7 years of bad luck
> now, oh well.
> 
> Jamie Groth
> 
> 
> --- Paul Double <pdouble at hbci.com> wrote:
> 
>> I think this is a good example of the illegal
>> immigration issue and worth
>> passing on.
>> 
>> Paul Double
> 
> 
> 
>       
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