Trumped-Up Myths and Downright Lies About Immigration

By Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Facebook Page

18 August 15

onald Trump has opened the floodgates to lies about immigration. Here are some trumped-up myths along with the facts.

1. MYTH: Immigrants commit lots of crime. FACT: Immigrants don’t commit much crime. Incarceration rates among young men are lowest for immigrants, especially for the Mexicans, Salvadorans, and Guatemalans who make up the bulk of the undocumented population, according to the Justice Department.


2. MYTH: The number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. is soaring. FACT: The number of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. has declined from 12.2 million in 2007 to 11.3 million now, according to Pew Research Center. Which means the net rate of illegal immigration into the U.S. is less than zero.


3. MYTH: Most new immigrants are from Mexico. FACT: More people now immigrate into the U.S. from China and India than from Mexico, according to the Bureau of Immigration. The Latin American immigration boom is ending, and the Asian immigration boom is just beginning.


4. MYTH: The U.S. can’t afford more immigrants. FACT: We can’t afford not to have more immigrants because the U.S. population is aging. Twenty-five years ago, each retiree in America was matched by 5 workers. Now for each retiree there are only 3 workers. Without more immigration, in 15 years the ratio will fall to 2 workers for every retiree, not nearly enough to sustain our retiree population.

Demagogues grow on lies. Spread the truth.