VOTER POWER
Immigration
Myth: Americans believe immigrants make up 33% of the population.
Fact: Immigrants as a whole make up only 13% of our population, and undocumented immigrants make up only 3%.
Every American has heard time and again that we are a nation of immigrants, but hard economic times tend to inflame nativist sentiment. Many of us believe that immigrants are overrunning our population and ruining our economy by stealing jobs and unfairly drawing welfare benefits. It’s a common belief that immigrants, particularly undocumented immigrants, are prone to criminal behavior, refuse to assimilate, and mostly come to the US to commit crimes and collect welfare.
But the facts tell a different story. For example, undocumented immigrants are 5% of the workforce, and many pay into our Social Security and Medicare systems, from which they will never draw benefits.
As a nation of immigrants, our strength comes from our diversity.
How Hyperbole is Used to Sway Public Opinion on Immigration
The president has developed quite a reputation for exaggerating issues—to the point of telling outright lies. Moral implications aside, this type of rhetoric has proven to be incredibly effective, particularly as it relates to immigration.
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Attitudes About Migrants Are Mostly Shaped by Myths
It’s no secret that immigration is a huge issue, not just in the U.S. but in Europe as well. Many people fear migrants, and that fear has led to a rising tide of nativist sentiment. Their fears are largely driven by myths spread by nationalist politicians and talking heads.
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“Illegal” Immigration Has Always Centered on Race
Back when America was still the “New World,” Europeans arrived in droves, put stakes in the ground, and claimed the land occupied by Native Americans as their property. Then, they abducted millions of Africans and brought them to the New World as slaves.
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America First? That Time Donald Trump Hired Undocumented Immigrants
President Trump talks a lot about putting American workers first. But when he was preparing to build Trump Tower in the 1980s, he didn’t seem to have the same set of rules–he hired hundreds of illegal immigrants at well below the union minimum wage scale and threw out safety regulations to hit deadlines.
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A Brief History of GOP Immigration Policy
A “zero tolerance” immigration policy. Children being separated from their parents at the border. Shouts of “they’re here illegally, they should be imprisoned.” This sentiment didn’t start with President Trump. It’s been in the Republican party’s DNA for decades.
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A Primer on the Political Asylum Process in the U.S.
Any immigrant in the U.S., irrespective of their legal status, may apply for asylum. How easy is it to be granted asylum? Not easy at all, it turns out. It’s a long and complicated process, and between 2012 and 2017, 75% of asylum cases from Central Americans were denied.
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Doctors Warn of ‘Irreparable’ Damage to Migrant Children
Although President Trump signed an executive order ending the practice of separating families at the border, that order doesn’t end the humanitarian crisis he and his administration created, nor does it end the trauma thousands of detained migrant children are still facing.
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What Laura Bush Had to Say About Separating Migrant Families
In an op-ed for The Washington Post, former first lady Laura Bush called the practice of separating migrant children from their families “cruel” and “immoral,” comparing them to the Japanese internment camps set up following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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Meet the President’s Advisor Who Pushed Family-Separation Policy
If you’re not a regular consumer of conservative media, you may not have heard of Stephen Miller. But you should know about him because he is the architect of the “zero-tolerance” policy currently being used to detain immigrants at our southern border.
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Fact Checking Immigration Claims by the White House
The topic of immigration has become nearly inescapable in the past few weeks, as a flurry of reporting on the separation of migrant families has hit the presses. The “zero tolerance” practices initiated by the Trump administration have prompted a veritable storm of public outcry.
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