Immigration Laws: July, 2004 - Number #02

Integration, Sierra Club, States

In 2002, the US had 32.5 million foreign-born residents, including 52 percent from Latin America (30 percent from Mexico), 26 percent from Asia, and 14 percent from Europe. In 2000, some 70 percent of immigrants in the US lived in six states: California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Texas, and a quarter lived in three metro areas- New York City, Los Angeles and Houston.

A recent survey of the economic integration literature concludes that most immigrants in the US labor market will not catch up with average or similar US-born workers- their wages will begin more than 30 percent lower, and economic integration will narrow the gap to between 10 and 20 percent. Within 10 to 15 years, however, immigrants do tend to catch up with similar US-born workers of the same ethnic group, as when Mexican-born workers with high-school education catch up to US-born Hispanics with high-school education.

The foreign-born in the US labor force had an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent in 2002, compared to 6.1 percent for the US-born. Some 45 percent of the foreign-born, and 27 percent of the US born, were aged 25 to 44.

There is a consensus among economists that most immigrants from Asia and Europe will achieve labor market parity with similar US-born workers within 10 to 20 years, but that most Latin American immigrants will not. With successive cohorts of Latin American immigrants including more indigenous groups and others who lag behind home country and US schooling levels, the labor market gaps to be closed rise over time, while the changing structure of the US economy suggests that it may be harder for those with less schooling to close earnings gaps.

Economist Barry Chiswick in 1978 used data on year of arrival for immigrants in the 1970 Census to conclude that immigrants start their American journey with lower earnings than similar US-born workers, but close the gap within 10 to 15 years after their arrival. George Borjas noted that that one cannot use a single cross section to predict what will happen with more recent cohorts, and he constructed synthetic cohorts of immigrants who arrived in the five years before the 1970, 1980, and 1990 Census, and concluded that more recent cohorts had less rapid earnings growth than older cohorts, suggesting "declining immigrant quality."

On July 1, 2003, the US had 39.9 million Hispanics, up from 35.6 million in April 2000; there were 38.7 million Blacks and 237.7 million non-Hispanic whites. The number of Asian-Americans was 13.5 million, up from 12 million in 2000.

California had 34 million residents in 2000, and is projected to have 55 million by 2050, including 39 million in 2010, 44 million in 2020, and 52 million in 2040. The racial/ethnic shares are projected to shift. In 2000, whites were 47 percent of residents; Latinos 33 percent; Asians 11 percent; and Blacks six percent; by 2050, these shares are expected to be 23, 54, 12, and six. Projections made in the late 1980s suggested 58 million residents by 2040; the revised projections reflect the recession of the early 1990s.

Sierra Club. In the largest voter turnout in the Sierra Club's 112-year history, more than 22 percent of the group's 757,000 members elected five directors chosen by club insiders to the 15-member board, rejecting three directors who urged the Club to adopt a strong immigration control agenda. Sierra Club members voted to remain neutral on immigration in 1998 at the urging of club leaders. A suit pending in San Francisco alleges that Sierra Club leaders violated state laws governing nonprofits by using club funds to promote candidates they had endorsed.

California. California debated giving driver's licenses to an estimated two million unauthorized foreigners if they paid additional fees of about $150 for background and security checks and had a US citizen with a driver's license vouch for them. One issue is whether the matricula consular card issued by Mexican consulates is a document secure enough to prove the presenter's identity.

Across the US, 40 states require driver's license applicants to prove they are legally in the US, and 10 do not. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in June 2004 said he opposed giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

Before 1994, the California Department of Motor Vehicles had a "don't ask" policy toward legal status but, in the wake of Proposition 187, applicants had to prove they were legally in the US. Then-Gov. Gray Davis reversed earlier vetoes and in 2003 signed legislation that would have allowed unauthorized foreigners to obtain driver's licenses. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger got that law reversed before it went into effect, and the Legislature and governor are now debating what security checks are appropriate in SB 1160, the Immigrant Driver Safety and Responsibility Act.

Most US immigrants are sponsored by relatives who promise to provide for them in the US. Los Angeles's chief medical officer was sued in October 2003 for failing to seek reimbursement from the sponsors of immigrants who received health care at county hospitals and clinics. A bill requiring hospitals seeking federal reimbursements to request immigration information from patients failed in the House in May 2004 on an 88-331 vote.

Arizona. The "Protect Arizona Now" (PAN) Initiative appears to have qualified for the November 2, 2004 ballot. If approved by voters, it would deny state-funded services to the estimated 350,000 unauthorized foreigners in the state, require people registering to vote in Arizona to prove they are U.S. citizens and to show an ID when voting, and make it a misdemeanor punishable by a $750 fine and up to four months in jail for any state employee to fail to report illegal immigrants applying for services.

The major program that could be affected is the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.

Texas. The so-called Noriega Act of 2001 allows unauthorized children who graduated from U.S. high schools and have lived in the state with their parents for at least three years to pay in-state tuition at public universities and have access to state-funded financial aid, provided they promise to naturalize as soon as they can. As of spring 2003, there were 2,418 students benefiting from the law.

Las Vegas. In a series of articles, the New York Times reported that Las Vegas may be the one US city in which unskilled immigrants can achieve middle-class lifestyles. A woman moved up to a $40,000 a year waitress job after taking a course at the Las Vegas Culinary Training Academy, a union-industry partnership that teaches English and service work skills. The woman's husband works in construction, and they were able to buy a $125,000 house in a gated community.

Elvia Diaz, "Effect of Nov. migrant initiative Unclear," Arizona Republic, July 12, 2004. Steven Greenhouse, "Crossing the Border Into the Middle Class," New York Times, June 3, 2004.