Re: Population

From: Michael Lorrey (retroman@together.net)
Date: Thu Nov 13 1997 - 04:09:38 MST


Hal Finney wrote:
>
> Dan Clemmensen, Dan@Clemmensen.ShireNet.com, writes:
> > I try to keep up with this stuff, and I am aware that rich countries
> > are currently not maintiaining their populations solely by reproduction.
> > The increase in rich countries is by illegal immigration.
>
> I didn't get beyond this point without a mental "huh?". Immigration, sure,
> but illegal? A quick altavista search led to:
>
> http://www.rahul.net/iti/kzpg/Archive/Broadcasts/News/US/Imm/96/msg00071.html
>
> an article about the 1996 immigration bill:
>
> > But the Senate rejected an important legal immigration provision when
> > it buried efforts led by Simpson to cut the number of legal immigrants
> > permitted to enter the country, now about 750,000 a year.
> > [...]
> > The centerpiece of the Senate bill aims to curb the flow of the
> > estimated 300,000 foreigners who enter the United States illegally or
> > overstay their visas each year, and to make it more difficult for
> > those who do come here illegally to obtain jobs and government
> > benefits. The Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates that
> > four million illegal immigrants now live in the United States.
>
> The article appears to have no axe to grind, and from this it appears that
> at least in the United States, legal immigration is much more important
> than illegal immigration. I would expect the imbalance in favor of legal
> immigration to be even larger in European countries, which don't have
> the U.S. situation of a long border with Mexico.
>
> It is misleading to say that the rich countries are growing because
> of illegal immigration, when legal immigration plays a significantly
> larger role.
>
> Hal

Unfortunately, that article is not up to date, and only includes
illegals who are caught and deported. The INS just reported a record
360,000 deportations this year. It is estimated that there is an annual
influx of between 600k to 1.5 mill a year, but it is hard to track
because there is so much seasonal traffic.

-- 
TANSTAAFL!!!
			Michael Lorrey
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