What Kind of Impact Do Immigrants Have on Our Country?

By Jason Hines | December 18, 2015

A new report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine reveals how immigrants are having a positive impact on American Society. The Integration of Immigrants Into American Society takes data compiled over 20 years to study how immigrants and their descendants have found ways to adapt to U.S. culture in areas such as language, education, economic advancement and health. A panel of 18 experts on immigration contributed to the report. A look at the numbers A Pew Research Center Study takes a look at how American society has been changed due to the impact of immigration since the enactment of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act. After accounting for deaths and those who have left the U.S., of the 59 million immigrants who have arrived in the U.S. since 1965, about 43 million remain. Along with their children and grandchildren, these immigrants have added 72 million people to the U.S. population, and they have accounted for 55 percent of the population growth of the country since 1965. Crime rates are going down, thanks to immigrants The report shows how a rise in immigrant population in a community can be attributed to a significant decrease in crime in that community. Richmond, California, one of the cities studied in the report, had one of the highest murder rates in the U.S., but as its immigrant population increased, the total crime rate decreased by approximately the same amount. The total number of criminal incidents went from 8,168 in 2004 to 5,154 in 2014, and similar crime reductions can be seen in other communities relative to the increase in immigrant populations. With regard to incarceration rates, the report show that immigrant males aged 18-39 were being incarcerated at half the rate of native born males in the same age range regardless of race and ethnicity. Everyone contributes to a better economy In an article Immigrant Innovators: Job Stealers or Job Creators, Harvard Business School professor Bill Kerr writes about the H1-B visa program, which enables US employers to hire highly skilled workers from foreign countries for three years. He has done some research about the program and addresses whether it helps innovation, and how it impacts jobs for Americans. The report looks at how the increase in H1-B visas can be correlated with an increase in the number of U.S. patents, and the fact that the H1-B visa program has not had an effect on the number of jobs held by skilled American workers or the number of patents from inventors with Anglo-Saxon names. We’re a proud nation of immigrants, and with good reason: as people come from around the globe to America, they bring them new ideas and new cultures for us to be a part of. It’s all pretty exciting. If you have questions about becoming a permanent resident in Tennessee, please contact Knoxville immigration attorney Patrick Slaughter at LaFevor & Slaughter to schedule a consultation to discuss your case.A new report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine reveals how immigrants are having a positive impact on American Society. The Integration of Immigrants Into American Society takes data compiled over 20 years to study how immigrants and their descendants have found ways to adapt to U.S. culture in areas such as language, education, economic advancement and health. A panel of 18 experts on immigration contributed to the report.

A look at the numbers

A Pew Research Center Study takes a look at how American society has been changed due to the impact of immigration since the enactment of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act. After accounting for deaths and those who have left the U.S., of the 59 million immigrants who have arrived in the U.S. since 1965, about 43 million remain. Along with their children and grandchildren, these immigrants have added 72 million people to the U.S. population, and they have accounted for 55 percent of the population growth of the country since 1965.

Crime rates are going down, thanks to immigrants

The report shows how a rise in immigrant population in a community can be attributed to a significant decrease in crime in that community. Richmond, California, one of the cities studied in the report, had one of the highest murder rates in the U.S., but as its immigrant population increased, the total crime rate decreased by approximately the same amount. The total number of criminal incidents went from 8,168 in 2004 to 5,154 in 2014, and similar crime reductions can be seen in other communities relative to the increase in immigrant populations. With regard to incarceration rates, the report show that immigrant males aged 18-39 were being incarcerated at half the rate of native born males in the same age range regardless of race and ethnicity.

Everyone contributes to a better economy

In an article Immigrant Innovators: Job Stealers or Job Creators, Harvard Business School professor Bill Kerr writes about the H1-B visa program, which enables US employers to hire highly skilled workers from foreign countries for three years. He has done some research about the program and addresses whether it helps innovation, and how it impacts jobs for Americans. The report looks at how the increase in H1-B visas can be correlated with an increase in the number of U.S. patents, and the fact that the H1-B visa program has not had an effect on the number of jobs held by skilled American workers or the number of patents from inventors with Anglo-Saxon names.

We’re a proud nation of immigrants, and with good reason: as people come from around the globe to America, they bring them new ideas and new cultures for us to be a part of. It’s all pretty exciting.

If you have questions about becoming a permanent resident in Tennessee, please contact Knoxville immigration attorney Patrick Slaughter at LaFevor & Slaughter to schedule a consultation to discuss your case.

 

Posted in Immigration