Immigration continues to be a contentious political issue, but most Americans view immigrants in a favorable light, according to Pew Research Center surveys. The Center’s senior editor, D’Vera Cohn, says that while public opinion about immigrants has become more positive over time, underneath there is growing division depending on political affiliations.
The issue will be discussed by Cohn and others at Albuquerque’s University of New Mexico Continuing Education Conference Center on 21 September as part of the lecture series staged by the Albuquerque International Association. Cohn says that an increasing number of undocumented immigrants are not illegal border crossers but those who have overstayed legal US visas, most of whom originate from Asian countries.
Cohn says that the recent focus on illegal border crossings has caused misconceptions about the nature of immigrants coming to the US and that while three-quarters of all US immigrants came to the country using the correct legal methods, many Americans are unaware of this fact, according to Pew surveys. Cohn will also talk about historical trends, such as the impact immigration has had on the nation’s population growth over the last few decades.
Cohn says that over half of population growth in the 50 years since the mid-1960s has been due to new immigrants and their offspring, adding that younger immigrants are vital to economic productivity and growth as the US population ages.