I'm getting a little tired of all the illegal immigration nonsense. Republicans and other groups, many of them with racist leanings, are trying to scare Americans, with visions of being overwhelmed by millions of foreigners. They are appealing to America's basest fears. They paint this picture of a massive invasion, and just in case you aren't frightened enough, they throw around the word "terrorist" a few times. It's an effort to scare you into voting Republican.
I've heard people say the population of illegals in this country is everything from a few million to around 30 million. Just yesterday, the federal government released a report saying there were over 11 million illegal immigrants in this country. How do they know this? Has someone counted all of these people? Of course not! These people are illegal. They do not participate in census surveys, or any of the ways in which people are counted in this country. They are afraid they will be deported if they do. So just where do these numbers come from?
It is just guesswork. The report released yesterday admitted as much. The report said accuracy is difficult and the figures are an estimation. They further stated that the estimate was compiled from ASSUMPTIONS and combination of data. They didn't say what data they were combining.
Remember this when the right-wing again cranks up its call to "protect America" from the hordes of invading foreigners. There is no solid information on the number of illegals in this country. They are just picking a number that they think will scare you. Don't fall for it. The truth is that no one knows how many illegal aliens are in this country.
Also, there is not a single verified report of a terrorist crossing the deserts of our southern border to enter this country. Not a one.
That you for pointing out that it is based on assumptions.
ReplyDeleteStraight from the horses mouth:
Estimating the size of the unauthorized population living in the United States is challenging because of data limitations. There are no national surveys, administrative data, or other sources of information that directly provide accurate estimates of this population. As a consequence, the unauthorized immigrant population must be estimated by making certain assumptions and by combining data that measure events with those that measure populations.