When some people think of the word "immigrant," they picture an unskilled worker living in poverty. While this is the unfortunate reality for a significant population of immigrants, census data gives us the full picture.
2007 Survey Data
The U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, gives us the breakdown of poverty status in the U.S. for the 2007 calendar year for the total population of the U.S. for whom poverty levels can be determined.
Falling below the 100% poverty line are 12.6% of native U.S. citizens and 15.6% who are foreign-born. Of those who are doing well and are at or above 200% of the poverty level, 70.6% are native while 60.4% are foreign-born.
The interesting part of the data comes from the breakdown of foreign-born individuals into the categories of naturalized citizen and non-citizens. Only 9.4% of naturalized citizens fall below 100% of the poverty line compared to 20.1% of non-citizens. In addition, 73% of naturalized citizens are above the 200% poverty line compared to 51% of non-citizens.Take a close look at that data: There are less foreign-born naturalized citizens below the poverty line as compared to native U.S. citizens, and more naturalized citizens above the 200% mark than native citizens.
Where we need to focus our attention is on the 21.6% of foreign-born people (both naturalized and non-citizens) who are at less than 125% of the poverty level.
Going Forward
Obviously, the nation's concerns about immigration should not fall on the educated and skilled workers who are able to find employment at or above a decent living wage. Where we need to focus our attention and assistance is on those immigrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, who are unable to support themselves because of a lack of education, training, language, or a combination thereof.