Immigration Myth Busters

Myth: Today's immigrants are different than those of 100 years ago

The widespread misconception that "today's immigrants" are somehow more attached to the ways of their home country than the immigrants of earlier generations was probably conjured up hundreds of years ago.
But, before you throw your hands up in defeat when you hear someone argue that new immigrants don't work hard or won't learn English, consider responding with these quick mythbusting facts!

FACT: The percentage of the U.S. population that is foreign-born now stands at 11.5%; in the early 20th century it was approximately 15%.

FACT: Similar to accusations about today's immigrants, those of 100 years ago initially often settled in mono-ethnic neighborhoods, spoke their native languages, and built up newspapers and businesses that catered to their fellow émigrés.

FACT: If we view history objectively, we remember that every new wave of immigrants has been met with suspicion and doubt and yet, ultimately, every past wave of immigrants has been vindicated and saluted.

Myth: The Senate voted to allow illegal aliens access to our Social Security

This common myth is again making the rounds in viral emails and online petitions. Before deleting the frustrating forward, consider responding with these quick mythbusting facts!

FACT: Contrary to what people think, undocumented workers are not (and have never been) eligible to claim social security benefits. Moreover, most undocumented workers will use a false social security number to prove work authorization, therefore paying money into a benefit system that they will never be eligible to use.

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), undocumented immigrants “account for a major portion” of the billions of dollars paid into the Social Security system under names or social security numbers that don’t match SSA records.

As of October 2005, the reported earnings on which these payments are based—which are tracked through the SSA’s Earnings Suspense File (ESF)—totaled $520 billion.