0. Ec-980u: Immigration Economics: Introduction
George J. Borjas
Harvard University
© Do not distribute or copy without permission from the author.

1. 1. Worldwide resurgence of large-scale immigration
Almost 3% of world’s population—and 9.5% of population in “more developed countries”—lives in a country where they were not born.
Denmark: 7.2% Sweden: 12.4%
UK: 9.1% Portugal 7.3%
Greece: 8.8% France: 10.7% USA: 12.9%
Germany: 12.3% Austria: 15.1%
Canada: 18.9% Australia: 20.3%
Source:

2. 2. Number of legal immigrants, by decade

3. 3. Percent of population that is foreign-born

4. 4. The national origin mix of legal immigrants

5. 5. Legal immigration, by country of origin
Percent originating in:
Germany
1.7
1.0
Ireland
0.3
0.6
Italy
2.9
0.7
China
2.8
4.6
India
3.7
4.0
Korea
6.0
1.8
Philippines
7.9
5.5
Mexico
14.3
24.7
Cuba
5.9
1.9
Dominican Republic
3.3
Haiti
1.3
2.0

6. 6. Illegal immigration
Two types of illegal immigration: EWIs (entry without inspection) and visa overstayers.
Jan. 2009: 10.8 million
Jan. 2008: 11.6 million
Jan. 2007: 11.8 million
Jan. 2005: 10.5 million
Jan. 2000: 8.5 million
2.9 million live in CA (25%); 1.7 million in TX (14%)
6.7 million (62%) come from Mexico. Other leading source countries: El Salvador (530,000). Guatemala (480,000) and Philippines (270,000).
But: Census undercounts illegal immigrants
Source:

7. 7. Illegal immigrants apprehended, 1960-2008

8. 8. Legislative history,
Aliens Act of 1798: First federal regulation (though it was never enforced). Authorized President to arrest and/or deport any alien deemed dangerous to the United States. The law expired two years after its enactment.
Act of 1875: Established first prohibition on entry of undesirable immigrants. The law excluded criminals and prostitutes from admission, and prohibited the entry of any Oriental person without their free and voluntary consent.
Henderson v. New York and Chy Lung v. Freeman, The Supreme Court invalidated all state efforts to restrict immigration (such as prohibiting the entry of poor immigrants), and granted sole authority to control immigration to the federal government
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882: Suspended immigration of Chinese labor for 10 years; barred Chinese from naturalization.

9. 9. Legislative history,
Congress expanded list of “excludables” to:
persons likely to become a public charge (1882);
persons suffering from contagious diseases, felons, polygamists (1891);
(extended exclusion of) Chinese (1902);
anarchists (1903);
Imbeciles; persons with physical or mental defects which affect their ability to earn a living; persons afflicted with tuberculosis (1907);
illiterate aliens (1917);
In 1917, Congress also created the “barred zone”, which permanently restricted the immigration of Asian persons (1917).

10. 10. Legislative history,
Immigration Act of 1924: First permanent numerical limitation on immigration (150,000 visas to the Eastern Hemisphere). Established the national origins quota system: the percentage of visas allotted to a country was equal to the percent of the U.S. population that had that national origin in 1897 (later changed to 1920).
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952: Brought all immigration regulations into one comprehensive statute. Reaffirmed the 1924 policies. Introduced a system of selected immigration by giving a quota preference to skilled aliens whose services are “urgently needed” in the country and to relatives of U.S. citizens and aliens.
1965 Amendments: Abolished national origins quota system; made family reunification the key factor in awarding visas.

11. 11. Legislative history since 1965
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA): Granted amnesty to illegal aliens who had resided in the United States since January 1, 1982, with special provisions for the legalization of agricultural workers. Created sanctions for employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens.
Immigration Act of 1990: Increased total immigration to a “pierceable cap” of 675,000 legal immigrants, of which 480,000 are family-sponsored immigrants; 140,000 are employment-based, and 55,000 are “diversity” immigrants.

12. 12. Family admission categories, 2008
Family-sponsored preferences
Legislated number (1000s)
Actual number (1000s)
1st preference
Unmarried (adult) sons and daughters of US citizens
23.4
26.2
2nd preference
Spouses, children, and unmarried sons and daughters of permanent resident aliens
114.2
103.5
3rd preference
Married sons and daughters of US citizens
29.3
4th preference
Brothers and sisters of US citizens (> 21 years old)
65.0
68.9
Subtotal
253.7
227.8
Immediate relative of adult US citizens (spouses, children, and parents)
Not limited
488.5

13. 13. Employment admission categories, 2008
Employment-based preferences
Legislated number (1000s)
Actual number (1000s)
1st preference
Priority workers (aliens with extraordinary ability; outstanding researchers)
41.9
36.7
2nd preference
Professionals with advanced degrees; aliens of exceptional ability
70.0
3rd preference
Skilled workers, professionals, needed unskilled workers
48.9
4th preference
Special immigrants
10.5
9.5
5th preference
Investors
1.4
Subtotal
146.5
166.5

14. 14. Miscellaneous admission categories, 2008
Other categories
Legislated number (1000s)
Actual number (1000s)
Diversity program
Lottery awarding visas to persons originating in “underrepresented” countries or in countries adversely affected by the 1965 Amendments
55.0
41.8
Refugees
Number of visas and eligible population is determined annually by the President and Congress
90.0
Grand total, 2008
1,107.1
Grand total, 2007
1,052.4
Grand total, 2006
1,266.1