Cities Would Shrink If It Weren't for Immigrants

Mon09Apr2007

Cities Would Shrink If It Weren't for Immigrants

If you live in a big city, like I do, then you should be thanking your local immigrants for keeping the city thriving this according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released last Thursday.

Immigrants long have flocked to major metropolitan areas and helped them grow. But increasingly, native-born Americans are moving from those areas and leaving immigrants to provide the only source of growth.
The New York metro area, which includes the suburbs, added 1 million immigrants from 2000 to 2006. Without those immigrants, the region would have lost nearly 600,000 people.
Without immigration, the Los Angeles metro area would have lost more than 200,000, the San Francisco area would have lost 188,000 and the Boston area would have lost 101,000.

It is important to note that the Census bureau doesn't distinguish between undocumented immigrants and those with legalized status (maybe we shouldn't either). The growth of the immigrant population has been credited with boosting the housing market and economy in general.

Via / MSNBC

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Maegan la Mala

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1. PoliticalCritic ~ Monday, Apr 09 2007 | 13:26H:

Immigration is great, but it is illegal immigration that is the problem. If the flow of illegals could be stopped, then legal immigration could be expanded. That way, everyone would pay taxes and hospitals and other services wouldn't be overrun.

2. Lee ~ Monday, Apr 09 2007 | 13:38H:

Just proves that our government has turned their heads for years for the benifit of big business. ICE is breaking up small independent companies that are made up of illegals - i.e.Cargill's cleaning crew - Cargill denied knowing they were illegal but it would be stupid to think that they "didn't" know - they hired them! It's the wealthy that are moving out of the cities and into suburbs - the poor can't afford to move. Big business hires the illegals, pays them crap, drives wages so low that Americans refuse to take the lower wages and then says, "we have to hire immigrants because Americans won't do these jobs". This whole thing has been a political move for big business and the politicians in their pocket since the beginning. This is just a new form of slavery.

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