Five Things You Should Know About Immigrants

Despite some negativity swirling around these days, according to significant research, immigrants contribute more to the nation than they take away, and here are five things you should know about immigrants in case you don’t.

According to a well-researched 2017 article written by the nonpartisan, independent policy organization, The Center for American Progress:

1) Around 43 million foreign-born individuals live here.

Of these, about 20 million are citizens and 22 million are noncitizens. From the noncitizens, close to 13 million are permanent residents, 2 million hold temporary visas and 11 million are unauthorized migrants. From those who are unauthorized, many are paid under-the-table by citizens to work in the farming, restaurant, construction or the domestic worker industry.

2) In 2016, immigrants contributed $2 trillion to the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

3) Over 50 percent of the foreign-born population own homes.

4) In 2015, approximately 14 percent of US-born individuals lived in poverty compared to only 17 percent born outside the country.

5) A 2017 study found that the 2014 incarceration rate for immigrants was actually lower than individuals born here.

One of the fastest-growing populations is Latinos, says The American Immigration Council. Statistics indicate that most are US-born with a third who are immigrants. It’s a fact that Hispanic-owned companies and consumers contribute billions of dollars to the economy and sustain millions of jobs.

The Department of Homeland Security sums it up well when it says that we are a welcoming nation offering individuals freedom and rights backed by the Constitution. So, despite those who try to divide us, we are too strong to allow it to change who we are, fundamentally.

As a multilingual society, the ways we can help both US-born and foreign-born families, like the Hispanic population, in maintaining their native language and English skills, the better. One organization that’s helping them to do just that is The Latino Family Literacy Project. It offers various programs from setting up an at-home, family reading routine to college readiness classes. Teachers can attend a one-day, program training at a workshop near them or via an online webinar.