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Post by the Scribe on Apr 22, 2020 7:57:59 GMT
Quote by ronstadtfanaz: Maybe we on the liberal/progressive side of things ought to turn this on the Righties, like Michelle Wolf did, and say the same thing, only much more vituperatively--as in " I DON'T GIVE A F*** ABOUT YOU PEOPLE!"
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 22, 2020 7:58:25 GMT
Just like her husband, she is nothing but a disgusting pig.. tone deaf, no class low life. I wish this uneducated & stupid fembot immigrant whore, who chose to show her fake tits and ass to the world would go back to slovania, or wherever the hell she is from.
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 22, 2020 7:58:47 GMT
But nobody should be surprised anymore. Rachel Maddow said it on Tuesday that Trump's minions, that little c**ksucker Stephen Miller in particular, love the outrage, because in the end they think (although it is downright stupid to do so, in my opinion) it'll help them in the mid-term elections in November. However, the longer that this is on the news, the more GOP seats in Congress become vulnerable, perhaps as many as 100. Miller, in his usual bigoted and warped way of thinking bred by being amongst Hispanics at Santa Monica High School, thinks this is going to keep his boss Der Trumpster from going to jail because of Trump's collusion with Vladimir Putin. He may yet eat those words. And if Stephen Miller ever meets an untimely early demise, I wouldn't miss him for a millisecond. I'd actually be celebrating.
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 22, 2020 7:59:07 GMT
I'm sorry for the foul language regarding MT in my previous post. I saw the wording on her (Melania's) jacket and went ape shit.. Then I saw the idiot in chief twitter response... when will this end?!
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 22, 2020 7:59:29 GMT
Quote by Dianna: If and when the S.O.B. ends up being impeached, convicted, and tossed in the federal lockup.
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 22, 2020 7:59:54 GMT
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 22, 2020 8:00:24 GMT
In his own mean spirited way he does make sense but he is a terrible messenger. There are other ways of doing things and this shows how this is a WORLD problem and not just a USA problem. How about re-grouping and let each continent take care of itself? Eventually make North America one big country, get rid of all dictators and let Canada run the whole enchilada. Yeah, that's the ticket.Trump says he'll cut off foreign aid to countries that send 'not their best' people
www.cnbc.com/2018/06/19/trump-cut-foreign-aid-to-countries-sending-not-their-best-people.html?recirc=taboolainternal
•President Trump says he wants to cut off foreign aid to countries that "abuse" the United States. •"I'm going to go very shortly for authorization that when countries abuse us by sending their people up — not their best — we're not going to give any more aid to those countries," Trump says. •He says the proposal is a "responsible, common-sense approach that all lawmakers should embrace, Democrats and Republicans."
Kevin Breuninger | @kevinwilliamb Published 2:26 PM ET Tue, 19 June 2018 | Updated 10:43 AM ET Wed, 20 June 2018
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 22, 2020 8:00:49 GMT
Quote by Dianna: If and when the S.O.B. ends up being impeached, convicted, and tossed in the federal lockup. LOL.
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 22, 2020 8:01:23 GMT
So I was looking for accurate and easy to understand statistics regarding USA immigration. This was the best I could find: www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2017/04/20/430736/facts-immigration-today-2017-edition/Today’s immigrant populationForeign-born population •Approximately 43.3 million foreign-born people live in the United States. Broken down by immigration status, the foreign-born population includes 20.7 million naturalized U.S. citizens and 22.6 million noncitizens.6 Of the noncitizens,7 approximately 13.1 million are lawful permanent residents,8 11.1 million* are unauthorized migrants,9 and 1.7 million hold temporary visas.10 •The number of foreign-born individuals in the U.S. population has more than quadrupled since 1965 and is expected to reach 78 million by 2065.11 At just 9.6 million in 1965, foreign-born individuals represented 5 percent of the U.S. population. By 2015, immigrants made up 13.5 percent of the total U.S. population.12 Still, today’s share of the immigrant population as a percentage of the total U.S. population remains below its peak in 1890, when 14.8 percent of the U.S. population had immigrated to the country. The countries of origin of today’s immigrants are more diverse than they were 50 years ago. In 1960, a full 75 percent of the foreign-born population residing in the United States was from Europe, while in 2015, only 11.1 percent of the immigrant population was born in Europe. In 2015, 11.6 million foreign-born residents—26.9 percent of the foreign-born population—were from Mexico; 2.7 million immigrants were from China; 2.4 million were from India; 2 million were from the Philippines; 1.4 million were from El Salvador; 1.3 million were from Vietnam; 1.2 million were from Cuba; and 1.1 million each were from the Dominican Republic and South Korea.14 •More Mexican immigrants are returning home than arriving in the United States. From 2009 to 2014, 1 million immigrants returned to Mexico while 870,000 arrived in the United States. This decline can be attributed to a drop of unauthorized Mexican immigrants, which peaked in 2007 at 6.9 million.15 •Immigrants today are putting down roots across the United States, in contrast to trends seen 50 years ago. In the 1960s, two-thirds of U.S. states had populations in which less than 5 percent of individuals were foreign-born.16 From 2000 to 2014, the foreign-born population in the South increased 60 percent, accounting for 47 percent of overall change to the U.S. population. Additionally, the Northeast, Midwest, and West had increases of between 25 percent and 35 percent during this time period, accounting respectively for 16 percent, 10 percent, and 26 percent of the change to the overall U.S. population.17 •Today, women outnumber men in the foreign-born population. Until the 1960s, immigrant men outnumbered immigrant women. However, by the 1970s, the number of female immigrants had surpassed the number of male immigrants.18 In 2015, 51.4 percent of the U.S. immigrant population was female and 48.6 percent was male.19 •As of 2013, there were almost 1 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, or LGBT, adult immigrants in the United States. The estimated 904,000 LGBT adult immigrants are more likely to be young and male compared with the overall immigrant population.20 •More than half of the foreign-born population are homeowners. In 2015, 50.7 percent of immigrant heads of household owned their own homes, compared with 65.2 percent of U.S.-born heads of household. Homeownership rates are comparable between native-born and naturalized immigrants, 64.6 percent of whom owned their own homes in 2015.21 •Immigrants are becoming homeowners at a faster rate than the U.S.-born population. From 1994 to 2015, immigrant homeownership rose 2.3 percentage points while U.S.-born homeownership remained flat.22 Jacob Vigdor of the University of Washington estimates that immigrants contribute $3.7 trillion to housing markets nationwide.23 •Fewer than 1 in 5 immigrants live in poverty. In 2015, the poverty rate for immigrants was 17.3 percent, compared with 14.3 percent for the U.S.-born population.24 •Working-class, immigrant-headed households with incomes less than 200 percent of the federal poverty line rely less on public benefits and social services than comparable U.S-born households. In 2015, working-class, immigrant-headed households with children received 9.3 percent of their overall income from public programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Social Security, in comparison with U.S.-born-headed households, which received 15 percent of their income from such programs.25 Research consistently shows that working-class immigrants use social programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income at similar or lower rates than native-born households.26 •As immigrants and their descendants integrate into American society, many aspects of their lives improve. Their education outcomes increase, they move to higher paying jobs, and they earn more money. Immigrant men have higher employment rates than U.S.-born men, and their wages rise the longer they are in the United States. On average, children of immigrants meet or exceed the educational attainment of third-plus generation natives. These children earn even higher wages, experience greater upward mobility in their professions, and are less likely to live in poverty than their parents.27 •The 20 million adult U.S.-born children of immigrants have higher incomes than their parents. The median annual household income of second-generation Americans in 2012 was $58,100, just $100 below the national average. This is substantially higher than the median annual household income of their parents at $45,800.28 •Compared with all Americans, U.S.-born children of immigrants are more likely to go to college, less likely to live in poverty, and equally likely to be homeowners. Thirty-six percent of U.S.-born children of immigrants are college graduates—5 percent above the national average. Eleven percent of adult U.S.-born children of immigrants live in poverty—below the national average of 13 percent—and 64 percent are homeowners, 1 percent below the national average.29 •Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes or be incarcerated than the U.S.-born population. A 2017 study by the Cato Institute found that the 2014 incarceration rate for immigrants—both authorized and unauthorized—ages 18 to 54 was considerably lower than that of the U.S.-born population.30 While the foreign-born share of the U.S. population grew from 11.1 percent to 13.5 percent from 2000 to 2015, FBI data indicate that violent crime rates across the country fell 16 percent, while property crime rates fell 21 percent during the same time period.
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 22, 2020 8:01:54 GMT
Unauthorized immigrant population •In recent years, the unauthorized population has declined slightly after continued growth for decades. In 2014, there were an estimated 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants residing in the United States. This population reached a high of 12.2 million in 2007 but saw a gradual decline during the Great Recession.32 •Mexicans account for half of all unauthorized immigrants in the United States, but the unauthorized Mexican population is declining. In 2014, 5.8 million unauthorized immigrants from Mexico resided in the United States, compared with 6.4 million in 2009 and 6.9 million in 2007.33 From 1980 to 2014, the number of Mexican legal residents in the United States grew faster than their unauthorized counterparts.34 •Unauthorized immigrants are increasingly entering the United States legally and overstaying visas rather than crossing the border. In 2014, 42 percent of the unauthorized population—around 4.5 million individuals—were visa overstayers. Two-thirds of new unauthorized arrivals in 2014 entered the United States on legal nonimmigrant visas and overstayed their visas’ validity period. Visa overstays have exceeded unauthorized border crossings every year from 2007 through 2014, and, over this period, a total of 600,000 more individuals overstayed visas than entered the United States by crossing the border.35 According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, the three largest source countries of visa overstayers are Canada, Mexico, and Brazil.36 •Six states are home to the majority of the unauthorized population. As of 2014, 21 percent of the nation’s unauthorized population lived in California; 15 percent lived in Texas; 8 percent lived in Florida; 7 percent lived in New York; 5 percent lived in New Jersey; and 4 percent lived in Illinois.37 •The majority of unauthorized immigrants are long-term residents of the United States. In 2014, the median length of residence for unauthorized immigrants in the United States was 13.6 years—more than double its length in 2000. In 2014, 66 percent of unauthorized immigrants had been living in the United States for 10 years or longer.38 •Many unauthorized immigrants are eligible for a green card but cannot adjust their status from within the country and face lengthy bars to re-entry if they leave. 3 million unauthorized immigrants could qualify for a green card by virtue of having a close relative who is a U.S. citizen, but they are unable to adjust their status to lawful permanent resident from within the country because they have never been admitted or paroled into the country. Leaving the United States in order to obtain an immigrant visa abroad would trigger lengthy re-entry bars of three or 10 years that were put in place in 1996, so many remain in unauthorized status today.39 •Unauthorized immigrants are often part of the same family as authorized immigrants and native-born Americans. There are 7 million people living in mixed-status families—those with at least one unauthorized immigrant—including 9.6 million adults and 5.9 million children who are U.S. citizens.40 •Unauthorized immigrants are overrepresented in the labor force relative to the size of the overall population. In 2015, 7 million unauthorized immigrants worked in the United States. They represented 4.9 percent of the U.S. labor force, although they comprised only 3.5 percent of the U.S. population.41 •There are more than a quarter of a million LGBT unauthorized adult immigrants in the United States. The estimated 267,000 LGBT unauthorized adult immigrants—as of 2013—are younger and more likely to be male relative to all unauthorized immigrants.42 Around 71 percent of LGBT unauthorized adults are Hispanic, and 15 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander.43 •As of September 2016, more than 752,000 young people have received work permits and a reprieve from deportation through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, initiative launched by the Obama administration in 2012.44 They make up less than half of the estimated 1.7 million young people eligible to apply as of 2016.45 •Two parts of the November 2014 executive actions on immigration would have offered an additional 3.9 million unauthorized immigrants temporary reprieve from deportation and permission to work legally in the United States. The Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA, initiative would have shielded 3.5 million unauthorized immigrants with U.S.-born children, and a proposed expansion to DACA would have permitted an additional 330,000 young adults to apply.46 These initiatives are currently on hold after the Supreme Court deadlocked, failing to lift an injunction issued by a federal district court in Texas and affirmed by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.47 •More than 6.1 million U.S. citizens live with unauthorized family members who would be eligible for reprieve under DAPA. While DAPA is on hold, the DAPA-eligible family members of these citizens remain vulnerable to deportation
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 22, 2020 8:02:29 GMT
Demographics and political power of new Americans
The Asian American population is growing faster than the Latino population •While the Latino and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities grew at the same rate during the 2000s, the Asian American and Pacific Islander community grew by a larger share from 2010 to 2015. In 2015, 17.6 percent of people—56.5 million—in the United States were Latino, and 5.5 percent—17 million—were Asian American or Pacific Islander. Both groups grew 44 percent from 2000 to 2010. From 2010 to 2015, the Asian American and Pacific Islander community grew 17 percent, compared with 11 percent growth of the Latino community.49
Latinos and Asian Americans have overwhelmingly supported Democrats in the past two elections •President Barack Obama was re-elected in 2012 with the support of 71 percent of Latino voters and 73 percent of Asian American voters.50 Obama’s support for comprehensive immigration reform and the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, Act of 2010 helped draw in many Latino and Asian American voters.51 •Latino and Asian American voters largely supported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over President Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Seventy-nine percent of Latino voters supported Clinton and 18 percent supported Trump.52 Asian Americans voted similarly, with 79 percent supporting Clinton and 17 percent supporting Trump.53 •The fast-paced growth of the Latino electorate and the slow or negative growth among non-Hispanic whites will change the voter makeup in the United States by 2020. By then, eligible Latino voters are predicted to make up 14 percent of the electorate, up from 12 percent in 2014. Eligible white voters are projected to decline from 70 percent of the electorate in 2014 to 66 percent in 2020.54 •Much of the growth in the number of Latino eligible voters can be attributed to the relative youth of the Latino population. In 2016, 44 percent of Latino eligible voters were Millennials.55 The median age of the Latino population in 2014 was 28, and 47 percent of the U.S.-born Latino population was under 18.56 Between 2008 and 2016, 3.2 million Latinos turned 18 and became eligible to vote.57 •Millions of lawful permanent residents are eligible to become U.S. citizens and vote. A total of 8.5 million* lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, were eligible for naturalization as of January 2014.58 In 2015, nearly 730,000 people naturalized and became eligible to vote.59 Barriers to naturalization, including the $680 application fee, effectively deny many residents the chance to become U.S. citizens and exercise their right to vote.60 •A partial naturalization fee waiver introduced by the Obama administration in 2016 could help 1 million individuals become citizens. This U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, rule reduces naturalization application fees to $320 for individuals with a family income between 150 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines—that is, between $36,450 and $48,600 annually for a family of four. An estimated 1 million individuals, or 12 percent of those eligible to naturalize, are eligible for this partial fee waiver
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 25, 2020 9:32:47 GMT
Immigrants and the economy
The economic impact of immigrants •Immigrants added an estimated $2 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2016.62 Immigrants are overrepresented in the labor force and also boost productivity through innovation and entrepreneurship. •In 2010, more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants and their children. This includes 90 companies founded by immigrants and 114 companies founded by children of immigrants. These companies employ more than 10 million people worldwide.63 •Over the long run, the net fiscal impact of immigration is positive. From 2011 to 2013, children of immigrants contributed $1,700 per person to state and local budgets, and immigrants’ grandchildren contributed another $1,300. Across three generations, immigrants’ net contribution, per person, was $900.64 •Research shows that immigrants complement, rather than compete with, U.S.-born American workers—even lesser-skilled workers.65 Researchers such as Ethan Lewis, Will Somerville, and Madeleine Sumption find that U.S.-born workers and immigrants have different skill sets and tend to work in different jobs and industries, even when they have similar educational backgrounds.66 Immigrants tend to complement the skill sets of American workers, thus enhancing their productivity.67 •The impact of immigration on the wages of U.S.-born individuals is small but positive over the long run. Economist Heidi Shierholz estimates that from 1994 to 2007, immigration increased average wages of U.S.-born individuals 0.4 percent, or $3.68 per week.68 Immigrants consume goods and services, creating jobs for natives and other immigrants alike. These results are consistent with those of other studies by economists such as David Card, Gianmarco Ottaviano, and Giovanni Peri.69 •Immigration also appears to have a minimal impact on average African American wages and employment.70 The work of scholars such as Lonnie Stevans, Robert LaLonde, Robert Topel, Franklin Wilson, Gerald Jaynes, and David Card suggests that immigration had little effect on the wages and employment of African American men between 1960 and 2010, regardless of their level of education.71 •As Baby Boomers retire en masse over the next 20 years, immigrants will be crucial to filling these job openings and promoting growth of the labor market. From 2020 to 2030, 7 million U.S.-born individuals, on net, are expected to leave the labor force. 2 million immigrants and 6.9 million children of immigrants are projected to join the labor force during the same period.72 Looking further, from 2015 to 2065, immigrants and their descendants are expected to account for 88 percent of U.S. population growth.73 As such, immigrants and their children will be critical both in replacing retiring workers—preventing labor market contraction—and also in meeting the demands of the future economy.74
The price of inaction and the cost of mass deportation •Unauthorized immigrants contribute significantly to Social Security and Medicare. In 2010, unauthorized immigrants paid $13 billion into Social Security and received only $1 billion in services—a net contribution of $12 billion.75 Further, from 2000 to 2011, unauthorized immigrants paid $35.1 billion more into Medicare than they withdrew.76 •Unauthorized immigrants pay an estimated $11.7 billion a year in state and local taxes. This includes more than $7 billion in sales and excise taxes, $3.6 billion in property taxes, and nearly $1.1 billion in personal income taxes. Granting all unauthorized immigrants legal status would boost their tax contributions an additional $2.2 billion per year. Immigrants—even legal immigrants—pay to support many of the benefits they are statutorily barred from receiving.77 •The DACA initiative has resulted in big economic gains. DACA increased recipients’ average hourly wages 42 percent, and many moved into jobs with better pay and working conditions. A further 6 percent started their own businesses. With better jobs and higher wages, many individuals are buying cars and homes, leading to more state and local revenue in the form of property and sales taxes.78 •Ending DACA and kicking recipients out of the labor force would cost the United States $433.4 billion in GDP and decrease Social Security and Medicare contributions by $24.6 billion over the next decade.79 As of November 2016, 645,000 DACA recipients are employed.80 Through this employment, DACA has broadened the payroll tax base, increasing Social Security and Medicare contributions. •Legislative reform that includes a path to citizenship would create extensive economic benefits. Such reform would increase the GDP $1.2 trillion over 10 years and create 145,000 jobs annually. Americans’ income would increase by a cumulative $625 billion.81 •Immigration reform would translate into a significant decrease in the federal budget deficit. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that S. 744—the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, which passed in the Senate—would have reduced the budget deficit $135 billion in the first decade after the bill’s passage and an additional $685 billion in the second decade, when most unauthorized immigrants would become eligible for citizenship.82 •By contrast, the removal of unauthorized immigrants from the workforce would lead to a 2.6 percent decline in GDP—an average annual loss of $434 billion. Such a policy would reduce the GDP $4.7 trillion over 10 years. Mass deportation would additionally cost the federal government nearly $900 billion in lost revenue over 10 years. Further, industries could lose large shares of their workforces, up to 18 percent for some.83 •Mass deportation of unauthorized workers would create income losses for large and important industries such as financial activities, manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade. Annual long-run GDP losses in those industries would reach $54.3 billion, $73.8 billion, and $64.9 billion, respectively.84 •If mass deportation of unauthorized workers were to occur, states with the most unauthorized workers would experience the largest declines in GDP. California would lose an estimated $103 billion, or 5 percent, annually. Texas would lose $60 billion, New York $40 billion, and New Jersey $26 billion.85 •Mass deportation of the unauthorized immigrant population would also cost the federal government billions of dollars. Deporting the entire unauthorized population would cost $114 billion over 20 years—an average of $10,070 per person removed—including the costs of detaining these individuals while they wait for removal, processing them through the immigration courts, and transporting them abroad.
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 25, 2020 9:33:16 GMT
Refugees
Refugee resettlement: An overview •Refugees are those with a well-founded fear of persecution. Refugees fear that they will be persecuted in their home countries because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.168 •Across the globe, a record number of people are being forced from their homes. The number of forcibly displaced individuals worldwide has increased from 33.9 million in 2010 to 65.3 million in 2015. Of these, 21.3 million are United Nations-recognized refugees; 37.5 million are internally displaced within their home countries; and 3.7 million are stateless.169 •Refugees come from all over the world. In 2015, 4.9 million Syrian refugees resided in 120 countries, making Syria the largest source country of refugees worldwide. Afghanistan was second at 2.7 million, Somalia third at 1.1 million, South Sudan fourth at 779,000, and Sudan fifth at 629,000. Large numbers of refugees also originated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Myanmar, Eritrea, and Colombia.170 •Since 1975, the United States has accepted more than 3 million refugees.171 Refugee admissions have ebbed and flowed with global conflict, peaking in 1980 with the enactment of the United States Refugee Act.172 In the 1990s, a large share of refugees originated from the former Soviet Union and the Balkans. Refugee admissions temporarily dropped after September 11, 2001, but have rebounded to near pre-9/11 levels. Since then, the United States has received refugees from countries such as Somalia, Myanmar, Bhutan, and, most recently, Syria.173 •Refugee admissions in the United States have been trending upwards. The United States admitted 84,995 refugees in FY 2016, nearly half of whom came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Myanmar.174 This is an increase from the nearly 70,000 refugees received in each of fiscal years 2013, 2014, and 2015 and the fewer than 60,000 refugees admitted in each of fiscal years 2011 and 2012.175 •Muslim refugee admissions have been trending upward, but non-Muslims still make up the bulk of refugees. In FY 2016, the United States admitted 38,901 Muslim refugees, the majority of whom were from Syria and Somalia. These refugees constituted 46 percent of all those admitted. Over the past 15 years, Muslims made up 32 percent of all refugees admitted while Christians made up 46 percent.176 •Potential refugees must undergo extensive security checks prior to arrival in the United States. Most refugees resettled in the United States are first interviewed and screened extensively by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR. Refugees are then interviewed again by a Resettlement Support Center operated by the U.S. Department of State before undergoing multiple biometric and biographical interagency security checks. Applications are then forwarded to USCIS, which conducts further screenings and interviews. If approved, refugees are matched with a resettlement agency, undergo a second interagency security check to identify any new information that would make them ineligible for entry, and take cultural orientation classes abroad. Finally, they are screened by the Transportation Security Administration prior to departure for the United States.177 •Policies restricting refugee arrivals from the Middle East or limiting Muslim migration more broadly may strengthen the Islamic State, or IS. Western anti-Muslim sentiment is a key element in IS’ propaganda and recruiting campaign. While IS is unpopular with Muslims across the Middle East, hardline policies toward Muslim migration would foster the appearance of a war against Islam, potentially boosting IS’ recruitment.178 •The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program aims to make refugees economically self-sufficient as soon as possible. Refugees are resettled by designated resettlement agencies in communities around the country, and recently resettled refugees reside in nearly 190 counties nationwide. Resettlement decisions are based on a variety of factors, including housing availability, the availability of jobs and agencies that can provide training and social assistance, the presence of relatives or members of the same refugee community, and refugees’ individual needs.179 •Refugees are upwardly mobile. As they become established in the United States, refugees see wage gains and often move into better jobs. Refugees from Myanmar who have lived in the United States for more than 10 years, for example, have median annual wages $31,000 higher than those of recent arrivals. Similarly, 43 percent of Somali refugees work in white-collar jobs after 10 years, compared with 23 percent within 10 years of arrival.180 •Refugees also start businesses. For example, 31 out of every 1,000 Bosnian refugees own businesses—the same rate as U.S.-born business owners. Refugee entrepreneurship has enhanced the economic growth and development of many communities nationwide—notably, Rust Belt cities such as Dayton, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; and St. Louis.181 •Refugees learn English and settle into American society over time. After living in the United States for 10 years, for example, at least 86 percent of Somali refugees and 67 percent of Hmong refugees speak English “well,” “very well,” or exclusively. Seventy-three percent of refugees from Myanmar and 72 percent of Bosnian refugees own their own home after 10 years—higher than the 68 percent rate of homeownership for U.S.-born individuals. After 20 years, more than three-quarters of Bosnian, Somali, Hmong, and Burmese refugees become U.S. citizens.182 •Syrian immigrants are excelling socially and economically in the United States and are well-positioned to help Syrian refugees get on their feet. Resettlement agencies are placing Syrian refugees in communities with established Syrian communities to facilitate their integration. The median annual wage of Syrian immigrants who arrived prior to 2014 is $52,000—$7,000 higher than that of U.S.-born individuals. Twenty-seven percent of Syrian immigrant men possess an advanced degree, compared with 11 percent of U.S.-born men. Further, 11 percent of Syrian immigrants are business owners, compared with 3 percent of the U.S.-born population.
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 25, 2020 9:33:49 GMT
Women and children are fleeing violence in Central America
•Tens of thousands of children and families from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador have fled violence in their countries and come to the United States. In FY 2016, nearly 60,000 unaccompanied children and nearly 78,000 people who crossed as families—generally, mothers with young children—were apprehended at the U.S. southern border, mostly from Central America.184 Apprehensions of both unaccompanied children and families increased in FY 2016 after dropping in FY 2015 from the levels experienced in FY 2014. The number of unaccompanied children apprehended in FY 2016 remained below FY 2014 levels, though it increased 49 percent from FY 2015. Meanwhile, the number of people apprehended as members of family units in FY 2016 exceeded the number apprehended in FY 2014 and represented a 95 percent increase from the FY 2015 figure.185 •Apprehensions of unaccompanied minors and families increased at the start of FY 2016 but have declined more recently. It is too early to tell if this downward trend will continue. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, apprehended nearly 7,200 unaccompanied minors and more than 16,000 people who crossed as a family at the southern border in December 2016, compared with just more than 6,700 minors and 13,000 family crossers in October 2016.186 That being said, in February 2017, only 3,124 families and 1,922 unaccompanied children were apprehended near the southern border.187 •Central America’s Northern Triangle—comprised of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—is racked by organized crime, gang violence, and poverty. At 108.5 murders per 100,000 people in 2015, El Salvador’s homicide rate was 24 times higher than that of the United States. Its murder rate has nearly doubled since 2012, when a truce between two of the country’s main gangs dissolved. Honduras’ homicide rate is almost 14 times that of the United States, and Guatemala’s is more than six times higher. Residents of these three countries pay an estimated $651 million annually to criminal groups, who threaten them with violence should they fail to pay.188 •Homicide rates against women are high, and perpetrators are seldom convicted. The 2015 female homicide rate reached 14.4 per 100,000 residents in El Salvador, 10.9 per 100,000 residents in Honduras, and 9.1 per 100,000 residents in Guatemala.189 By comparison, the U.S. female homicide rate was only 1.9 per 100,000 residents. Perpetrators seldom face charges: In Guatemala, the conviction rate is 1 percent to 2 percent.190 •Central American refugees are fleeing to wherever they can find safety. According to the UNHCR, asylum requests from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala rose 1,179 percent between 2008 and 2014 in the neighboring countries of Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Belize.191 •Women and children face violence if they return to their home countries. In 2015, the UNHCR interviewed more than 160 women who had recently arrived in the United States from Central America. Sixty-four percent of women interviewed reported that they fled their homelands due to direct threats or experiences of violence. These women recounted that criminal groups could track them anywhere in their homelands, necessitating that they seek refuge abroad and collusion between armed groups and law enforcement. These findings were similar to those of a 2014 study of Central American children in the United States, in which 58 percent of respondents interviewed claimed that they could face danger if their asylum claims were denied.192 •Individuals placed into expedited removal can only request asylum in the United States if they first demonstrate a credible fear or, in certain cases, a reasonable fear of persecution in an interview with a USCIS asylum officer. In FY 2016, USCIS determined that credible fear was present in 77 percent of the 46,961 cases decided upon—an increase from 68 percent in FY 2015.193 In FY 2016, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala made up the three largest countries by number of nationals sitting for interviews.194 •Asylum denial rates are high for Central Americans and for asylum seekers without counsel. In FY 2016, immigration courts decided on 22,186 asylum cases, denying asylum to 57 percent of claimants. Asylum seekers with legal representation are far more likely to win asylum than others. Ninety percent of the 4,515 asylum seekers without counsel were denied asylum in FY 2016, compared with 48 percent of those with representation. Asylum seekers from Central America were denied at particularly high rates—83 percent for Salvadorans, 80 percent for Hondurans, and 77 percent for Guatemalans.195 •The United States can meet the challenge of Central American refugee children and families in a measured and orderly way. Over the short run, the United States should provide all those fleeing violence with an opportunity to make a full and fair case for protection. Expedited removal proceedings should be limited, counsel should be provided to all asylum seekers, and alternatives to detention should be pursued. Over the medium run, the United States should increase its resettlement quotas for Central America, work with the UNHCR to build capacity to fairly register refugees in Mexico and Central America, and partner with Latin American governments and nongovernmental organizations to help asylum seekers understand and assert their rights. Over the long run, the United States should work to strengthen institutions, bolster rule of law, and promote economic development in Central America’s Northern Triangle.196
Unaccompanied children in the immigration court system •The nation’s immigration courts are badly backlogged, meaning that people who arrive must wait years before they can have their cases heard. According to TRAC, as of February 2017, the average length of time it takes to have a case heard in an immigration court is 673 days.197 •Children with legal representation are almost five times more likely to win their cases than those without it. TRAC has found that children with legal representation win 73 percent of their cases, versus just 15 percent for those without it.198 •Despite claims to the contrary, almost all children with legal representation show up for their immigration court hearings. Since FY 2005, 95 percent of children who are not detained and have legal representation have appeared at their immigration court hearings
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Post by the Scribe on Apr 25, 2020 9:34:14 GMT
Public opinion on immigration
•Support for immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship remains high. In a January 2017 CBS poll, 61 percent of respondents expressed that unauthorized immigrants should be allowed to stay in the United States and apply for citizenship eventually. In contrast, only 22 percent expressed that all unauthorized immigrants should be required to leave. These numbers are consistent with another January poll by Quinnipiac University, in which 59 percent of respondents expressed support for a path to citizenship and 25 percent supported deportation.200 •There is little support for mass deportation among the American public. In a February 2017 poll by Quinnipiac University, only 19 percent of respondents supported the deportation of all unauthorized immigrants.201 •Most Americans oppose building a wall that spans the length of the Mexican border. In an April Quinnipiac University Poll, only 33 percent of American voters supported building the wall, while 64 percent opposed.202 •The construction of a border wall remains particularly controversial in Texas, where a coalition of landowners, environmentalists, security experts, and politicians, including many Republicans, have blocked recent efforts to extend current fencing. A border wall would cut through Big Bend National Park as well as historic border towns and ranchlands that existed before the U.S.-Mexico border was demarcated.203 Building a wall along the southern border would also require the federal government to use eminent domain to seize hundreds of miles of private property.204 •Latinos overwhelming oppose the construction of a border wall. In an October 2016 CBS poll, 76 percent of Latinos expressed opposition to a border wall, compared with 61 percent of the general public.205 •A majority of Americans support the admission of refugees from the Middle East if they are properly screened. According to a Brookings Institution survey conducted in June 2016, 59 percent of Americans support admitting Middle Eastern refugees if screened for security risk, while 41 percent opposed their admission.
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