Fresh Ideas: Let's not spread immigration myths

[Emit]

This op-ed in one of my local papers offers some excellent advice ...

Fresh Ideas: Let's not spread immigration myths

~snip~

Myth No. 1: Border security is lax. In truth, it's never been stronger. The flow of workers across the border is lower than it's been in 40 years. Net migration has dropped to zero. In fact, with tightened borders, about 10 percent of immigrants choose to overstay their temporary (non-immigrant) visas rather than risk being unable to return. The Byzantine bureaucracy and years-long backlog make it difficult to change or renew status.

Myth No. 2: More immigrants means more crime. Between 1990 and 2009, the number of immigrants in the U.S. roughly doubled; the number of undocumented immigrants tripled. Meanwhile, the rates of violent and property crimes declined by 40 percent. Believe it or not, crime rates are lowest in states with the highest immigration growth rates. Numerous studies find that young native-born men are five times more likely to be incarcerated than their immigrant counterparts.

This administration continues to deport troublemakers at historic rates. It has chosen to focus resources on immigrants who commit violent and property crimes rather than those who are hard-working and otherwise law-abiding.

Myth No. 3: Immigrants cost more in benefits than they pay in taxes. In fact, immigrants pay income, property (indirectly, if they rent) and sales taxes totaling $90 billion to $140 billion a year. Yes, even undocumented workers pay taxes; however, when those taxes aren't matched to names or Social Security numbers, they are put into the SSA's “Earnings Suspense File.” Undocumented workers actually subsidized the Social Security system to the tune of $836 billion in 2009.

~snip~

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/2013130229838

[lunasun]

1. ... young native-born men are five times more likely to be in carcerated ......

and immigrants are easy prey for criminals too!

[customerserviceguy]

2. Ok, something didn't add up there

If the Social Security System was subsidized this way with $836 billion in 2009, then that represented 15.3 percent (employer and employee shares combined) of wages of nearly $5.5 trillion dollars of wages. Since the Gross National Product in 2009 was only about $15 trillion, this just doesn't make sense. Wouldn't you agree that far more is paid collectively in wages to legal workers that to illegal ones?

I checked the original article, and it does say "billion". Maybe this is a misprint by the Nevada Appeal, but it's a pretty big one, and makes me question the rest of the numbers used. The author should have double checked it, and asked the website to make a correction. Failure to do so causes me to question any of the other assertations in the article.