6 ms·

Canada is terrible at assimilating immigrants, the only reason we have less poverty is because our immigration laws are much tougher than the US' and we take in

Canada is terrible at assimilating immigrants, the only reason we have less poverty is because our immigration laws are much tougher than the US' and we take in mostly richer immigrants.

pcwalton 7y ago
As I mentioned below, Canada admits more immigrants per capita than the US does, and far more refugees (it surpasses the US in absolute numbers, not even per capita).
- Mikeb85 7y ago
  That doesn't mean we're not more selective. Numbers per capita say nothing about the selection process, especially when it's far lower in terms of sheer numbers. The refugees we do take in (28k per year is nothing) get a decent amount of support mainly because most of our immigrants are relatively rich Chinese, Indians, Filipinos, etc...
  - pcwalton 7y ago
    New U.S. immigrants are about as educated as new Canadian immigrants: https://www.cato.org/blog/new-us-immigrants-are-educated-new-canadian-immigrants https://www.cato.org/blog/new-us-immigrants-are-educated-new... In fact, new U.S. immigrants are a bit more likely to have advanced degrees.
    - Mikeb85 7y ago
      More likely to have advanced degrees but less educated overall. The US takes in more outliers due to high-paying jobs in SV and on Wall Street, Canada takes in richer immigrants on average. Your own charts reflect that. Edit - look at Figure 3. 40% of immigrants to Canada have a bachelors or advanced degree. Versus only 29% of US immigrants. And that doesn't even take into account the fact that many immigrants to Canada come here to go to university (paying more than double what local students pay).
- SamReidHughes 7y ago
  You're ignoring all the untalented, unskilled immigrants the U.S. admits, that aren't refugees, which is what drives down U.S. numbers.
desert_boi 7y ago
How much immigration in Canada is undocumented/illegal (depending on your political persuasion)?
- Mikeb85 7y ago
  Almost none. It exists but not in any large numbers because illegal immigrants can't work, get bank accounts, drivers licenses, go to schools, etc... If you're a business owner and hire illegal immigrants, you risk up to 2 years jail time personally and a $50k fine. So almost no one takes that risk. The few that are here illegally generally come legally, overstay and have family to harbour them. And keep in mind I'm in an industry that, in the US, is known for employing illegal immigrants (restaurants). In 17 years, I've never seen one nor heard of anyone hiring them. I'm sure it happens in a few ethnic enclaves but it's definitely not typical. I read a statistic somewhere that California alone has more than 10x as many illegal immigrants as all of Canada. Of course I should also add, we do of course allow more legal immigration per capita than the US, many irregular border crossers are granted temporary status while their cases are processed and in general our bureaucracy seems less insane than the US'.

Canada is terrible at assimilating immigrants, the only reason we have less poverty is because our immigration laws are much tougher than the US' and we take in mostly richer immigrants.

pcwalton 7y ago

As I mentioned below, Canada admits more immigrants per capita than the US does, and far more refugees (it surpasses the US in absolute numbers, not even per capita).

Mikeb85 7y ago
That doesn't mean we're not more selective. Numbers per capita say nothing about the selection process, especially when it's far lower in terms of sheer numbers. The refugees we do take in (28k per year is nothing) get a decent amount of support mainly because most of our immigrants are relatively rich Chinese, Indians, Filipinos, etc...
- pcwalton 7y ago
  New U.S. immigrants are about as educated as new Canadian immigrants: https://www.cato.org/blog/new-us-immigrants-are-educated-new-canadian-immigrants https://www.cato.org/blog/new-us-immigrants-are-educated-new... In fact, new U.S. immigrants are a bit more likely to have advanced degrees.
  - Mikeb85 7y ago
    More likely to have advanced degrees but less educated overall. The US takes in more outliers due to high-paying jobs in SV and on Wall Street, Canada takes in richer immigrants on average. Your own charts reflect that. Edit - look at Figure 3. 40% of immigrants to Canada have a bachelors or advanced degree. Versus only 29% of US immigrants. And that doesn't even take into account the fact that many immigrants to Canada come here to go to university (paying more than double what local students pay).
SamReidHughes 7y ago
You're ignoring all the untalented, unskilled immigrants the U.S. admits, that aren't refugees, which is what drives down U.S. numbers.

desert_boi 7y ago

How much immigration in Canada is undocumented/illegal (depending on your political persuasion)?

Mikeb85 7y ago
Almost none. It exists but not in any large numbers because illegal immigrants can't work, get bank accounts, drivers licenses, go to schools, etc... If you're a business owner and hire illegal immigrants, you risk up to 2 years jail time personally and a $50k fine. So almost no one takes that risk. The few that are here illegally generally come legally, overstay and have family to harbour them. And keep in mind I'm in an industry that, in the US, is known for employing illegal immigrants (restaurants). In 17 years, I've never seen one nor heard of anyone hiring them. I'm sure it happens in a few ethnic enclaves but it's definitely not typical. I read a statistic somewhere that California alone has more than 10x as many illegal immigrants as all of Canada. Of course I should also add, we do of course allow more legal immigration per capita than the US, many irregular border crossers are granted temporary status while their cases are processed and in general our bureaucracy seems less insane than the US'.