Immigration Facts

The basic principle of migration states that when a person moves from place A to place B, a vacuum is created in place A, which is eventually filled by a person migrating from place C. This also highlights the fact that migration is inevitable as it is a normal human tendency to move from one place to another for better prospects - something which has been going on since ages. The problem arises when there is an imbalance in migration, as continuous immigration can result in flooding of the place and give rise to various issues associated with it. This is exactly the problem that America, as well as other developed and developing nations of the world, have been facing for quite sometime now.

Immigration Facts and Statistics

With all the opportunities that it has to provide, it's least surprising to see people flocking to the United States from all corners of the world. It tops the destination list for all those people who want to make a decent sum of money in what they call a 'real quick time'. A glance at immigration statistics in the United States reveal a true picture as to how immigration is bringing about a change in the demography of this nation. The 28.4 million immigrants residing in the United States form 10.4 percent of the U.S. population. As of 2010 data, Mexicans top the group of immigrants in the United States with a total of 9,600,000 individuals.

Coming a close second are the Chinese with a total of 1,900,000 individuals. On the third and fourth position lie Filipinos and Indians, with a total of 1,700,000 and 1,610,000 individuals respectively. Of the total labor force on which the U.S. economy depends, approximately 15 percent consist of immigrants. Statistics also reveal that around 80 percent of the total immigrant work force belongs to the age group of 18 - 64 years. These immigrants pay a whopping USD 162 billion as taxes to the U.S. Federal, state, and local governments, thus contributing to the economy of the United States to a significant extent.

Illegal Immigration - The Dark Side of Immigration

If you thought that the facts and statistics given above are major concern for an average American, a look at illegal immigration statistics will bring your worst nightmares to life. These statistics reveal that more than 11 million migrants stay illegally in the United States as of today. This includes all those individuals who have entered the United States illegally and those who have been overstaying their Visa. Approximately 57 percent of these migrants come from the neighboring nation of Mexico alone, while 24 percent come from the other Latin-American nations. While the issue of immigration is indeed a concern for the nation, even bigger threat is the issue of illegal immigration in the United States, and therefore the administration needs to address the latter first in order to ensure that America, as a nation, doesn't have to suffer.

A large number of people who are lobbying for restrictions on immigration cite illegal immigration as the root cause of various problems that the country is facing. What they fail to understand is the fact that forced restriction is not the answer to this problem. One shouldn't forget that the economy of this country is dependent on these immigrants to a certain extent, and thus any restriction on immigration can hamper the economy. That being said, the onus is on the administration to evaluate various pros and cons of immigration and come up with policies in favor of the nation. At the end of the day, it's illegal immigration that is a problem and not the legal one.