11 Facts About Immigrants

1. There were an estimated 34.2 million immigrants in the United States in 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Of these, 18.3 million came from Latin America, 8.7 million from Asia and 4.7 million from Europe.
2. According to hate crime statistics published annually by the FBI, anti-Latino hate crimes rose by almost 35% between 2003 and 2006, the latest year for which statistics are available.
3. An estimated 11 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants live and work in the United States, or around one in every 20 workers, according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center based on government figures.
4. In March of 2006, New Jersey-based neo-Nazi radio host Hal Turner called for the mass murder of Hispanics and the assassination of U.S. senators who support guest worker programs. “I advocate using extreme violence against illegal aliens. Clean your guns. Have plenty of ammunition. Find out where the largest gathering of illegal aliens will be near you. Go to the area well in advance, scope out several places to position yourself and then do what has to be done.” Turner directed his listeners to a website that provides detailed instructions on constructing pipe bombs, ammonium nitrate “fertilizer bombs,” car bombs, chlorine gas bombs, and other homemade explosive devices.
5. The foreign-born population of the US is 9.5% of the total population (in 2000). This can be compared to the 2000's proportions of 22.7% in Australia; 16% in Canada; 6.3% in France; 7.3% in Germany; 3.9% in Great Britain; and 5.7% in Sweden.
6. In California, the leader of the hate group Save our State, Joe Turner, obtained enough signatures from residents of San Bernardino to get an immigrant-bashing initiative he authored on the upcoming ballot. Turner’s “City of San Bernardino Illegal Immigration Relief Act” would prohibit city funding of day laborer centers, allow police to seize the vehicles of anyone hiring an undocumented day laborer, and make it a crime for landlords to rent to illegal immigrants. The Supreme Court struck down the act saying Turner had not gathered enough signatures to qualify the measure. Turner vowed to bring a new, harsher measure to the ballot.
7. Los Angeles is home to one fifth of the US Hispanic population. First in growth of all US cities, it gained18% of the Hispanic population between 1900 and 2000. Mexican and Latin-American immigrants and continued high fertility rates account for the increases.
8. Immigrants are an essential element in keeping the American economy strong, from fast food businesses to high-tech industry, they are filling an intrinsic need in the labor force.
9. Illegal aliens contribute about as much to the public coffers in taxes as they receive in benefits. New data suggests the undocumented pay about 46% as much in taxes as do natives, but use about 45% as much in services. A poll of the most respected economists found a consensus that both legal and illegal immigrants are beneficial economically.
10. Another growing immigrant group experiencing an upsurge in hate crime, largely as a result of Middle East crises and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, are people of Arab descent. Often they are blamed for incidents to which they have no connection. The hate crimes following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which included murder and beatings, were directed at Arabs solely because they shared or were perceived as sharing the national background of the hijackers responsible for attacking the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
11. As the country debates stricter enforcement of immigration laws, thousands of people who are not American citizens are being locked up for days, months or years while the government decides whether to deport them. Some have no valid visa; some are legal residents, but have past criminal convictions; other are seeking asylum from persecution.

Sources:
American Psychological Association
Southern Poverty Law Center
Puerto Rican Defense Fund
Slate
Reuters
Rapid Immigration