The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) released another report today attempting to blame our economic woes and budget shortfalls on immigrants—this time using the children of immigrants, most of whom are U.S. citizens, as scapegoats for benefits usage (here Medicaid, food assistance, cash assistance, and housing programs). As are most restrictionists’ attempts to blame immigrants for all of America’s problems, the report is rife with methodological problems. Despite the headline that 57 percent of households headed by an immigrant with children used at least one benefits program, compared to 39 percent for native households, the results actually show that when controlled for income, immigrant households use benefits at the same rate as native born households.
In the same breath, however, CIS’s report finds that immigrants come to the U.S. to work—a fact that challenges the idea that they come here solely to receive benefits. In fact, immigrant households are more likely to have a worker than native-born homes. But that’s just one of CIS’s many contradictions. CIS enjoys pointing out the cost of undocumented immigrants to the U.S., yet has no problem supporting more and more costly enforcement programs, both on the border and on the interior. The President’s 2012 budget asks for $2 billion for detention beds, $527.6 million for border fencing, infrastructure, and technology, and $184 million for Secure Communities. Overall, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) budget would sit at $11.8 billion and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Budget at $5.8 billion....
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The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) released another report today attempting to blame our economic woes and budget shortfalls on immigrants—this time using the children of immigrants, most of whom are U.S. citizens, as scapegoats for benefits usage (here Medicaid, food assistance, cash assistance, and housing programs). As are most restrictionists’ attempts to blame immigrants for all of America’s problems, the report is rife with methodological problems. Despite the headline that 57 percent of households headed by an immigrant with children used at least one benefits program, compared to 39 percent for native households, the results actually show that when controlled for income, immigrant households use benefits at the same rate as native born households.
ReplyDeleteIn the same breath, however, CIS’s report finds that immigrants come to the U.S. to work—a fact that challenges the idea that they come here solely to receive benefits. In fact, immigrant households are more likely to have a worker than native-born homes.
But that’s just one of CIS’s many contradictions. CIS enjoys pointing out the cost of undocumented immigrants to the U.S., yet has no problem supporting more and more costly enforcement programs, both on the border and on the interior. The President’s 2012 budget asks for $2 billion for detention beds, $527.6 million for border fencing, infrastructure, and technology, and $184 million for Secure Communities. Overall, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) budget would sit at $11.8 billion and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Budget at $5.8 billion....