Illegal Immigration
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The Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) estimates that in January
of 2000 there were 7 million illegal aliens living in the United States, a
number that is growing by half a million a year. Thus,
the illegal-alien population in 2003 stands at at least
8 million. Included in this estimate are approximately
78,000 illegal aliens from countries who are of special
concern in the war on terror. It is important to note
that the 500,000 annual increase is the net growth in
the illegal-alien population (new illegal immigration
minus deaths, legalizations, and out-migration). In 1999
for example, the INS estimates that 968,000 new illegal
aliens settled in the U.S. This number was offset by
210,000 illegal aliens who either died or returned home
on their own, 63,000 who were removed by the INS, and
183,000 illegal aliens who were given green cards as
part of the normal "legal" immigration
process. One of the most important findings of the INS
report is the intimate link between legal and illegal
immigration. The INS estimates that it gave out 1.5
million green cards to illegal aliens in the 1990s. This
was not due to amnesty legislation, but rather reflects
how the legal immigration process embraces illegal
immigration and encourages it through legal exemptions.
According to the INS, only 412,000 illegal aliens were
removed during the decade.
The Census Bureau has also developed
estimates of its own. Their estimate
at the time of the 2000 Census suggests that the illegal
immigration population was about 8 million. Using this
number, it can be concluded that the illegal-alien
population grew by almost half a million a year in the
1990s. This conclusion is derived from a draft report
given to the House immigration subcommittee by the INS
that estimated the illegal population was 3.5 million in
1990. For the illegal population to have reached 8
million by 2000, the net increase had to be 400,000 to
500,000 per year during the 1990s.
The two "magnets" which
attract illegal aliens are jobs and family connections.
The typical Mexican worker earns one-tenth his American
counterpart, and numerous American businesses are
willing to hire cheap, compliant labor from abroad; such
businesses are seldom punished because our country lacks
a viable system to verify new hires' work eligibility.
In addition, communities of recently arrived legal
immigrants help create immigration networks used by
illegal aliens and serve as incubators for illegal
immigration, providing jobs, housing, and entree to
America for illegal-alien relatives and fellow
countrymen.
The standard response to illegal
immigration has been increased border enforcement. And,
in fact, such tightening of the border was long overdue.
But there has been almost no attention paid to
enforcement at worksites within the United States. Nor
has there been any recognition that the networks created
by high levels of legal immigration contribute to mass
illegal immigration.
Publications:
Op-ed: Use
Enforcement to Ease Situation, by Steven A. Camarota,
The Arizona Republic, October 23, 2005
Testimony: "Secure Licenses Critical to
Homeland Security," Testimony Prepared for the
Joint Transportation Committee, Massachusetts State
House, October 25, 2005. Statement
of Jessica M. Vaughan, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for
Immigration Studies
Testimony: "SAVE: A Useful Tool for State
Agencies," Testimony Before The Joint Committee on
Housing, Massachusetts State House, September 20, 2005
Statement
of Jessica M.Vaughan, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for
Immigration Studies
Backgrounder: Downsizing
Illegal Immigration: A Strategy of Attrition Through
Enforcement, by Mark Krikorian, May 2005
Op-ed: Should
the United States get Tough on Illegal Workers? Yes,
by Mark Krikorian, New York Daily News, December
26, 2004
Backgrounder: No
Child Left Behind: New Rules for Unaccompanied Minor
Illegal Aliens, by Don Barnett
Center Paper 23: The
High Cost of Cheap Labor: Illegal Immigration and the
Federal Budget, by Steven A. Camarota, August 2004
Op-ed: Playing
Games with Security: Taking Two Steps Back for Every
Step Forward on Immigration, by Mark Krikorian, National
Review Online, August 18, 2004
Op-ed: Post-Americans:
They've just grown beyond their country, by Mark
Krikorian, National Review Online, June 22, 2004
Crime
& the Illegal Alien: The Fallout from Crippled
Immigration Enforcement,
by Heather Mac Donald
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, June
2004
State
and Local Authority to Enforce Immigration Law: A
Unified Approach for Stopping Terrorists
by Mr. Kris W. Kobach
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, June
2004
Congressional Testimony: "Pushing the Border Out
on Alien Smuggling: New Tools and Intelligence
Initiatives," Testimony before House Judiciary
Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security,
and Claims, May 18, 2004
Statement
of Michael W. Cutler, Fellow, Center for Immigration
Studies
Congressional Testimony: "What's Wrong With the
Visa Lottery?" Testimony before the U.S. House of
Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee
on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, April 29,
2004
Statement
of Steven Camarota, Director of Research, Center for
Immigration Studies
Op-ed: Don't
Give Noncitizens the Vote: Recent proposals to relax
election requirements would ill serve the national
interest, by Mark Krikorian, Newsday, April
26, 2004
Op-ed: Safety
Through Immigration Control, by Mark Krikorian, The
Providence Journal,
April 24, 2004
Op-ed: Viewpoints:
Should borders be open? by Mark Krikorian, BBC
News, UK Edition,
April 1, 2004
Congressional Testimony: Flawed Assumptions
Underlying Guestworker Programs; Testimony before the
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the
Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security,
and Claims, March 24, 2004,
Statement
of Mark Krikorian, Executive Director, Center for
Immigration Studies
Congressional Testimony: Funding for Immigration in
the President’s 2005 Budget; Testimony before House
Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border
Security, and Claims, March 11, 2004, Statement
of Michael W. Cutler, Fellow, Center for Immigration
Studies
Op-ed: Not
Amnesty but Attrition: The Way to go on Immigration,
by Mark Krikorian, National Review, March 22,
2004
Panel Discussion: INS,
RIP: One Year Later, The National Press Club, March
3, 2004
Congressional Testimony: America’s New Welcome Mat:
A Look at the Goals and Challenges
of the US-VISIT Program; Testimony before the the U.S.
House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform,
March 4, 2004
Statement
of Jessica M. Vaughan, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for
Immigration Studies
Testimony: The Proposed Issuance of Maryland State
Driver's Licenses to Illegal Aliens, Testimony before
the Maryland House of Delegates, Judiciary Committee,
February 18, 2004
Statement
of Michael Cutler, Fellow, Center for Immigration
Studies
Flawed
Assumptions Underlying Guestworker Programs
by Mark Krikorian
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder,
February 2004
Op-ed: Bush
Bill Would Aid Mexico's Meddling in U.S., by Mark
Krikorian, Newsday,
February 18, 2004
Congressional Testimony: Guestworker Programs for
Low-Skilled Workers: Lessons from the Past and Warnings
for the Future. Testimony before the Subcommittee on
Immigration and Border Security of the Judiciary
Committee of the U.S. Senate, February 5, 2004
Statement
of Vernon M. Briggs, Jr., Board Member, Center for
Immigration Studies
Congressional Testimony: Preventing the Entry of
Terrorists into the United States,
Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on International Relations,
Sub-committee on International Terrorism,
Nonproliferation and Human Rights, February 13, 2004
Statement
of Jessica M. Vaughan, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for
Immigration Studies
Statement
of Peter K. Nunez, Board of Directors Chairman, Center
for Immigration Studies
Op-ed: Earth
to WSJ: Clueless on immigration. by Mark
Krikorian, National Review Online, January 28,
2004
Op-ed: Enforcement
Blues: Do we want an immigration agency that works, or
not?
by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online,
January 26, 2004
Op-ed: Amnesty,
Again: This country should have learned -- apparently,
it has not,
by Mark Krikorian, National Review, January 26,
2004
Op-ed: Bush
Plan for Illegals Out of Touch with Reality, by Mark
Krikorian, January 17, 2004
Promise
Unfulfilled: Why Didn’t Collective Bargaining
Transform California’s Farm Labor Market?
by Philip L. Martin
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder,
January 2004
.pdf
version
Op-ed: Jobs
Americans Won't Do: Voodoo Economics from the White
House, by Mark Krikorian
National Review Online, January 7, 2004
Falling
Behind on Security: Implementation of the Enhanced
Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002
by Rosemary Jenks and Steven A. Camarota
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder,
December 2003
.pdf
version
Politics
by Other Means: The “Why” of Immigration to the
United States
by Fredo Arias-King
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder,
December 2003
.pdf
version
Op-ed: Arizona
Amnesty: Rewarding Illegal Aliens, by Mark Krikorian,
National Review Online, November 21, 2003
Fewer
Immigrants, a Warmer Welcome: Fixing a Broken
Immigration Policy
by Mark Krikorian
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, November
2003
.pdf
version
Remaking
the Political Landscape: The Impact of Illegal and Legal
Immigration on Congressional Apportionment
by Dudley L. Poston, Jr., Steven A.
Camarota, and Amanda K. Baumle
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, October
2003
Op-ed: Freeloaders,
by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online,
October 3, 2003
Panel Discussion: Can
Immigration Law Be Enforced? A Year after 9/11, Many
Still Answer 'No', September 2003
RICO:
A New Tool for Immigration Law Enforcement
by Micah King
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, July
2003
Bar
None: An Evaluation of the 3/10-Year Bar
by Jessica Vaughan
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, July
2003
Transcript: The
Role of State and Local Law Enforcement in Immigration,
Rayburn House Office Building, June 26, 2003
Congressional Testimony: The
Deadly Consequences of Illegal Alien Smuggling, by
Peter Nunez, House Committee on the Judiciary
Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and
Claims, June 26, 2003
Congressional Testimony: The
Issuance, Acceptance and Reliability Of Consular
Identification Cards, by Marti Dinerstein, House
Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration,
Border Security, and Claims, June 19, 2003
Transcript: Mexico's
Illegal Alien ID Card: Should it be Valid in the United
States?
The Nixon Center, June 12, 2003
North
American Borders: Why They Matter
by Glynn Custred
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, May
2003
Op-ed: Oil
for Illegals? Mexico,
and the Democrats, have a fit over House vote,
by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online, May
14, 2003
Officers
Need Backup: The Role of State and Local Police in
Immigration Law Enforcement
by James R. Edwards, Jr.
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder,
April 2003
Securing
the Homeland Through Immigration Law Enforcement
Congressional testimony by Mark
Krikorian
U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the
Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration,
Border Security, and Claims, April 10, 2003
NRO
Debates: Dealing with illegal immigrants should be a top
priority of the war on terror,
Part
II, Part
III
by
Mark Krikorian and Tamar Jacoby
National
Review Online, February 12-14, 2003
Announcement: 800,000
+ Illegals Entering Annually in Late '90s: New INS
Report Also Finds 80,000 from Middle East, by Steven
A. Camarota, February 4, 2003
IDs
for Illegals: The 'Matricula Consular' Advances Mexico's
Immigration Agenda
by Marti Dinerstein
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder,
January 2003
Op-ed: Targeting
Tancredo: Further proof we're not serious about border
control,
by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online,
September 20, 2002
America's
Identity Crisis: Document Fraud is Pervasive and
Pernicious
by Marti Dinerstein
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder,
April 2002
Enchilada
Lite: A Post-9/11 Mexican Migration Agreement
by Robert S. Leiken
Center for Immigration Studies report, March 2002
Another
50 Years of Mass Mexican Immigration: Mexican Government
Report Projects Continued Flow Regardless of Economics
or Birth Rates
by David Simcox
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder,
March 2002
Op-ed: Making
our de facto national ID cards work, by David Simcox,
United Press International, February 26, 2002
Announcement: Census
Bureau: Over 100,000 Illegal Aliens from the Middle
East: New Government Report Raises Concerns in Light of
Terrorist Threat, January 22, 2002
Announcement: Census
Bureau: Eight Million Illegal Aliens in 2000: Finding
Raises Concern Over Border Control in Light of Terrorist
Threat, October 24, 2001
Op-ed: Amnesty,
in English: The Debate Over Amnesty Ought To Be Waged in
Plain English,
by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online,
September 4, 2001
Op-ed: Tired
and Poor: The Bankrupt Arguments for Mass, Unskilled
Immigration,
by Steven A. Camarota, National Review, September
3, 2001
Attitudes
Toward Amnesty: Zogby Poll Examines Support Among
Different Constituencies
by Steven A. Camarota
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder,
September 2001
.pdf
version
Op-ed: Defining
Deviancy Down in Immigration, by
Mark Krikorian, National
Review Online, May 3, 2001
An
Examination of U.S. Immigration Policy and Serious Crime
by Carl F. Horowitz
Center for Immigration Studies Report, May 2001
Controlling
Illegal Immigration: There Are Ways, But Little Will
by Mark Krikorian
Investor's Business Daily, March 21, 2001
New
INS Report: 1986 Amnesty Increased Illegal Immigration:
The Center's 2000 analysis of new INS estimates
demonstrate that 1986 amnesty increased illegal
immigration
Op-ed: Amnesties
Beget More Illegal Immigration: Will somebody tell
Congress?
by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online,
October 16, 2000
America's
Other Border Patrol: The State Department’s Consular
Corps and
Its
Role in U.S. Immigration
by Nikolai Wenzel
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder,
August 2000
News
coverage
Inalienable
Identification: Key to Halting Illegal Employment
by David Simcox
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder,
January 2000
Op-ed: Lured
by jobs, illegal immigrants risk death at border
crossings, by Mark Krikorian,
Santa Barbara News-Press, April 25, 1999
"No
Sanctions: Governments Haven't Fulfilled Promises to
Punish Rogue Employers"
by Daniel Jester
pp. 8-10 in Immigration Review no. 33, Fall 1998
"Missing
the Boat"
Review by Sanjay Mongia of Forbidden Workers: Illegal
Chinese Immigrants and American Labor by Peter Kwong
pp. 13-15 in Immigration Review No. 31, Spring
1998
Op-ed: A
Loophole in Immigration Law, by Steven A. Camarota
and Jessica Vaughan,
The Washington Post, October 21, 1997
Congressional Testimony: Identification
Document Fraud, by Rosemary Jenks before the U.S.
House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary
Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and
Claims, May 13, 1997
Measuring
the Fallout: The Cost of the IRCA Amnesty After 10 Years
by David Simcox
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, May
1997
"5
Million Illegal Immigrants: An Analysis of New INS
Numbers"
by Steven Camarota
pp. 1-4 in Immigration Review no. 28, Spring 1997
Op-ed: What
Crackdown?, by Mark Krikorian, The New York Times,
April 4, 1997
Op-ed: The
link: legal and illegal immigration, by Mark
Krikorian, New York Post, February 16, 1997
Op-ed: Illegal
Workers Aren't Needed to Make Sure We Keep Eating Our
Vegetables,
by Mark Krikorian, Chicago Tribune, April 9, 1996
Other Links:
Estimates
of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the
United States:
1990
to 2000 Executive Summary
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), January
2003
U.S.
Immigration Policy: Restoring Credibility
A 1994 report from the U.S. Commission on Immigration
Reform
The
Mexico-U.S. Binational Migration Study
