4 ms·

Are we talking about Immigrants that went through the legal process?

pjc50 7y ago
The legal process is a very movable barrier and has changed over time to make it much harder. It might be interesting to ask "how many of these people would, if they had applied under the current rules rather than those of the time, have been turned away?"
- ta777778 7y ago
  Actually it used to be much harder - you used to have to be northern European, educated or affluent.
  - pgcj_poster 7y ago
    In most cases, don't you still have to educated and/or affluent?
    - pandaman 7y ago
      From the 2015-2017 yearbook [1]: ~750K family based immigrants with no requirement for education and wealth requirements in the range of being slightly above poverty for some categories. ~120K refugees, with no requirements ~30K asylees, with no requirements ~50K diversity, with high school education requirement vs 140K employment based, who you might call educated and/or affluent as it includes investors and people with advanced degrees. 1. https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2017/table6 https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2017/tab...
      - pgcj_poster 7y ago
        I'm not sure that this actually contradicts what I said. I follow the subreddit r/IWantOut. Every day, someone asks about coming to the US, and we tell pretty much all of them "better get a Masters in Engineering first." The fact is, most people who would like to immigrate to the US are not refugees or related to US citizens. For most of them, the bar actually is that high. That we accept a lot of people from categories that not many people fall into, including ones that I would barely count as immigration (eg. "Child of a US citizen"), doesn't have much impact on the general case. Additionally, I think it's important to consider the practical barriers in the system, not just the text of the laws. From what I've heard, the paperwork and fees involved can cost thousands of dollars, and the regulations are so complex that you need either top-notch English reading skills, or a lawyer.
        pandaman 7y ago
        You said "In most cases, don't you still have to educated and/or affluent?", I read this as a question and provided you with data showing, that the answer is negative. Most immigration cases do not require either education or wealth.
lake1 7y ago
Every pro-immigration blog equivocates on illegal vs legal immigrants.

The legal process is a very movable barrier and has changed over time to make it much harder. It might be interesting to ask "how many of these people would, if they had applied under the current rules rather than those of the time, have been turned away?"

ta777778 7y ago
Actually it used to be much harder - you used to have to be northern European, educated or affluent.
- pgcj_poster 7y ago
  In most cases, don't you still have to educated and/or affluent?
  - pandaman 7y ago
    From the 2015-2017 yearbook [1]: ~750K family based immigrants with no requirement for education and wealth requirements in the range of being slightly above poverty for some categories. ~120K refugees, with no requirements ~30K asylees, with no requirements ~50K diversity, with high school education requirement vs 140K employment based, who you might call educated and/or affluent as it includes investors and people with advanced degrees. 1. https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2017/table6 https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2017/tab...
    - pgcj_poster 7y ago
      I'm not sure that this actually contradicts what I said. I follow the subreddit r/IWantOut. Every day, someone asks about coming to the US, and we tell pretty much all of them "better get a Masters in Engineering first." The fact is, most people who would like to immigrate to the US are not refugees or related to US citizens. For most of them, the bar actually is that high. That we accept a lot of people from categories that not many people fall into, including ones that I would barely count as immigration (eg. "Child of a US citizen"), doesn't have much impact on the general case. Additionally, I think it's important to consider the practical barriers in the system, not just the text of the laws. From what I've heard, the paperwork and fees involved can cost thousands of dollars, and the regulations are so complex that you need either top-notch English reading skills, or a lawyer.
      - pandaman 7y ago
        You said "In most cases, don't you still have to educated and/or affluent?", I read this as a question and provided you with data showing, that the answer is negative. Most immigration cases do not require either education or wealth.

lake1 7y ago

Every pro-immigration blog equivocates on illegal vs legal immigrants.