New report: Illegal Immigration: Perceptions and Realities
May 18, 2010
NEWS RELEASE
May 18, 2010
Contact: Joseph Garcia
Senior Communications Specialist
602-496-0205
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New report: ‘Illegal Immigration: Perceptions and Realities’
PHOENIX — Morrison Institute for Public Policy has issued a new report, Illegal Immigration: Perceptions and Realities, which examines nine common “assertions” regarding undocumented workers and their impact on everything from Arizona’s economy to health-care costs to public schools.
As the report states: “Such claims fuel strong feelings on both sides and reduce the chances of an impartial collective resolution of this critical public-policy issue. Reviewing several of the more prominent assertions may help move Arizona’s debate onto a more productive path.”
Among the assertions addressed, followed by facts, are:
· Most violent crime in Arizona is committed by undocumented immigrants. (The Americas Majority Foundation found that “between 1999 and 2006, states like Arizona with high numbers of immigrants witnessed a greater percentage drop in all types of crime than the national average.)
· Virtually all Arizonans consider undocumented immigration a major threat. (A Rasmussen report found that “most Arizona voters [57%] favor an immigration policy that welcomes all immigrants, ‘except national security threats, criminals, and those who would come here to live off our welfare system.’”
· Undocumented immigrants are a drain on Arizona’s economy. (Undocumented immigrants create jobs and contribute to the economy through their labor, their purchase of goods and services and by their payment of sales and payroll taxes, user fees and other common revenue sources.)
The full briefing can be found at MorrisonInstitute.asu.edu
Morrison Institute for Public Policy bridges the gap between academic scholarship and public policy through research, evaluation, and education for public and private sector clients. Morrison Institute is in the College of Public Programs and is part of the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University and is located on the university’s downtown campus.
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