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August 2, 2005
NEW RELEASE
(The first in a two-part series on Rethinking
Immigration)
by Douglas S. Massey, Ph.D.
The current crisis of undocumented immigration to the United
States has its roots in fundamental misunderstandings about
the causes of immigration and the motivations of immigrants.
A growing body of evidence indicates that current border-enforcement
policies are based on mistaken assumptions and have failed.
Undocumented migrants continue to come to the United States,
rates of apprehension are at all-time lows, and migrants are
settling in the United States at higher rates than ever before.
Developing effective and realistic immigration policies requires
overcoming five basic myths about immigration:
MYTH 1. Migration is Caused by Lack of Economic Development
in Migrants Home Countries
- International migrants do not originate in the worlds poorest
nations, but in those that are developing and growing dynamically.
The largest single source of U.S. immigrants, Mexico, is not
a poor nation by global standards. Mexico has a one-trillion
dollar economy, a per capita income of almost $9,000 (compared
to $9,700 in Russia), a fully industrialized economy, a high
level of urbanization, and an advanced life expectancy.
MYTH 2. Migration is Caused by Rapid Population Growth in
Migrants Home Countries
- The fertility rate in Mexico is about 2.3 children per
woman, which is only slightly above replacement level. The
highest fertility levels are generally observed in the Arab
world and Sub-Saharan Africa, but these regions contribute
few migrants to global streams.
MYTH 3. Migrants Move Mainly in Response to Differences in
Wages
- Households use international migration as a tool to overcome
failed or missing markets for insurance, capital, and credit
at home. For example, because Mexico has virtually no mortgage
banking industry, a large share of the money earned by Mexican
immigrants in the United States is channeled into the construction
or purchase of homes in Mexico.
MYTH 4. Migrants Are Attracted to the United States by Generous
Public Benefits
- Immigrants are less likely than natives to use public services.
While 66 percent of Mexican immigrants report the withholding
of Social Security taxes from their paychecks and 62 percent
say that employers withhold income taxes, only 10 percent
say they have ever sent a child to U.S. public schools, 7
percent indicate they have received Supplemental Security
Income, and 5 percent or less report ever using food stamps,
welfare, or unemployment compensation.
MYTH 5. Most Immigrants Intend to Settle Permanently in the
United States
- Mexico-U.S. migration has historically been circular: 80
percent of Mexican immigrants report that they made no more
than three trips to the United States and three quarters stayed
less than two years.
Read the entire report at: http://www.ailf.org/ipc/policy_reports_2005_fivemyths.htm
For more information contact Benjamin Johnson at (202) 742-5612.
The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is dedicated exclusively
to the analysis of the economic, social, demographic, fiscal,
and other impacts of immigration on the United States. The
IPC is a division of the American Immigration Law Foundation,
a nonprofit, tax-exempt educational foundation under Section
501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
American Immigration Law Foundation
918 F Street, NW - Washington, DC 20004
202-742-5600
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