[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 47 (Monday, April 15, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S3326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IMMIGRATION--JUST THE FACTS

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, Priscilla Labovitz had an op-ed 
piece in the New York Times, which I ask to be printed in the Record 
after my remarks. It deserves the attention of all of us interested in 
the problems of immigration.
  It is fascinating reading, in addition to being important for 
policymaking.
  The material follows:

                      Immigration--Just the Facts

                        (By Priscilla Labovitz)

       Washington.--Congress is considering immigration reform. 
     Patrick Buchanan used the issue to rev up his Presidential 
     campaign. And a few polemicists have even called for a 
     moratorium on all immigration. The subject may be hotly 
     debated, but ultimately the facts and figures speak for 
     themselves.
       Percentage of the United States population that white 
     Americans think is Hispanic: 14.7.
       Percentage that is Hispanic: 9.5
       Percentage that white Americans think is Asian: 10.8.
       Percentage that is Asian: 3.1.
       Percentage that white Americans think is black 23.8.
       Percentage that is black: 11.8.
       Percentage that white Americans think is white: 49.9.
       Percentage that is white: 74.
       Number of legal immigrants admitted in 1820 (the first year 
     for which statistics are available): 8,385.
       The number of legal immigrants in 1907: 1,285,349.
       The number admitted in 1990: 1,536,483.
       The number admitted in 1994 (the latest figures available): 
     804,416.
       Percentage of decrease in legal immigration from 1993 to 
     1994: 9.3.
       Countries that sent the most students to America in 1994: 
     Japan (more than 65,000), South Korea (more than 38,000), 
     China plus Taiwan (more than 36,000).
       The number of United States residents who emigrate each 
     year: 195,000.
       Countries from which legal immigration decreased most since 
     1993: El Salvador (32 percent), Vietnam (30.6 percent), China 
     (17.7 percent), Philippines (15.3 percent).
       Percentage that employment-based legal immigration 
     decreased from 1993 to 1994: 16.
       Percentage of decrease in applications for political asylum 
     from 1994 to 1995: 57.
       State with the largest number of legal immigrants from 
     Mexico admitted in 1994: California.
       State with the largest number of legal immigrants from all 
     foreign countries combined admitted in 1994: California.
       Percentage (estimated) of all illegal immigrants who live 
     in California: 42.6.
       State where fewest legal immigrants settled in 1994: 
     Wyoming.
       Home state of Alan Simpson, the senator who authorized the 
     principal bill to reduce immigration: Wyoming.
       Countries from which most illegals in New York City 
     emigrate: Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Italy, 
     Poland.
       Countries from which the highest number of legal immigrants 
     on welfare in New York City emigrate: Russia, Dominican 
     Republic.
       Proportion of United States population that was foreign-
     born in 1990: 7.9 percent.
       Proporition that was foreign-born in 1910: 16 percent.
       Continent of origin of immigrant group with highest 
     educational attainment: Africa.
       Welfare programs for which illegal aliens are not eligible: 
     Aid to Families With Dependent Children, food stamps, 
     Medicaid, Medicare, Supplemental Security Income.
       Presidential candidate who said: ``I think God made all 
     people good, but if we had to take a million immigrants in, 
     say Zulus, next year, or Englishmen, and put them in 
     Virginia, what group would be easier to assimilate and would 
     cause less problems for the people of Virginia?'' Patrick 
     Buchanan.
       Total number of immigrants who settled in Virginia in 1994: 
     15,342.
       Total number of legal immigrants born in United Kingdom who 
     settled in Virginia in 1994: 404.
       Total number of Zulus, Unknown.
       Sources: Census Bureau statistics, Immigration and 
     Naturalization Service statistics, National Immigration Law 
     Center, New York City Planning Commission, The Washington 
     Post.

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