Immigration in America Isn’t What the Politicians Tell You

[Female] Immigrants.

A word that's too often followed by...

[Male] Criminals, illegal immigrant criminals.

[Male] They've gotta respect American law.

[Male] They do not pay taxes.

[Male] And they're taking your jobs.

[Female] Perceptions or facts?

Let's take a look at what the numbers tell us.

First assertion.

Immigrants increase the crime rate.

Sure.

An estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants

are in violation of American immigration policies.

But, overall, FBI data shows that over a span of 20 years,

crime has dropped.

Violent crime, in particular, has almost halved.

All while the undocumented immigrant population tripled.

Last year, US immigration and customs enforcement

removed 139,368 undocumented immigrants

that were previously convicted of a crime.

Then, there's the view that undocumented immigrants

are taking jobs from Americans.

It's argued they're willing to accept lower wages

and poor working conditions.

But, the data shows it may be more about skills.

It's estimated that 8.1 million undocumented immigrants

are working or looking for work.

Which is about 5.1 percent of the nation's labor force.

Yet, in specific jobs like farming,

cleaning and maintenance,

and construction, undocumented workers make up

much larger percentages of each sector.

And, they're more likely to do those jobs because

they don't necessarily require fluency in English,

or a high school or college diploma.

Because 47% of undocumented immigrants

have less than a high school education,

while only eight percent of US born residents

have not graduated from high school.

That's why native-born, low-skilled workers are

likely to be cashiers, truck drivers, and waiters.

So what about the claim that undocumented immigrants

aren't paying any taxes?

Well, they actually pay more than 11 billion dollars

each year in sales, property and income taxes.

Wait.

Income tax?

That's right.

Many undocumented immigrants have ITIN numbers

and feed into the tax system that way.

And, if the US legalized all those immigrants statuses,

the additional taxes they would pay

would be an estimated two billion dollars

for roads, schools, and services.

That's more than some tax-avoiding Americans.

Right?