Pew Study Says Two Thirds Of Undocumented Immigrants Have Resided In U.S. For At Least Ten Years

A new report from the Pew Hispanic Center estimates that nearly two thirds of the 10.2 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States have been in the country for at least ten years, based on their analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The study, released Thursday, comes a little more than a week after GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich stirred controversy by saying that undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for more than 25 years or have familial ties to the United States should be allowed to stay.

Gingrich favors a path towards citizenship in such cases -- a policy critics call a form of "amnesty" which would encourage other immigrants to cross the border illegally. Gingrich said he was willing to "take the heat" for promoting a "humane" approach to enforcement of immigration law.

The Pew study also found that nearly half of the undocumented immigrant population are parents of "minor children."

According to a recent report from the Applied Research Center, in the first six months of 2011, the Obama administration deported 46,000 parents of children who are U.S. citizens. The Obama administration's record-setting deportation rate has left an estimated 5,1000 children in U.S. foster homes -- a number which could triple in coming years, according to the Applied Research Center's report.

Although Gingrich has faced heavy criticism from the Republican Party for his position on immigration, he said he didn't believe "the party that says it's the party of the family" would "adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here a quarter century."

Comments

[Fred Bronson]

06:54 PM on 12/07/2011

OKAY, so because they have been here ten years, WHAT? that make's it okay?
1. first have they worked? if so did they commit another crime by using fake and/or forged papers? A FELONY
2. did they have children while here? if so did they receive medicaid, WIC, and/or food stamps, if so that is another FELONY
3. did they drive ? without a license? if so did they give the officer false statements? if so another FELONY
4. did they tell and/or bring any one else here after they got here. if so another FELONY
i can go on and on
BOTTOM LINE THEY ARE HERE ILLEGALLY THEY NEED TO LEAVE AND ASK PERMISSION
frederick bronson nc

[Ladder 1]

01:31 PM on 12/06/2011

Maybe we should be getting these people doing the studies to work for ICE. Seems they know how to find these people and ICE has no clue where they are...

[Ladder 1]

01:30 PM on 12/06/2011

The length of time someone has effectively broke the law, as it is continued to be broken by their pressence should not mean the law should not apply. Can I steal a BMW today and in 5 yrs If I am not caught with it, be able to keep it? If I break no other laws and work hard and believe in a strong family should that give the pass on breaking the law?

[TYRANNASAURUS]

10:15 AM on 12/06/2011

Study Says Two Thirds Of Undocumented Immigrants Have Resided In U.S. For At Least Ten Years

Round them all up......take their money and deport them...they're turning this country into the next Mexican state to be annex by Mexico.

[Fred Bronson]

12:48 PM on 12/05/2011

Stupid question, lets say you give amnesty to those with 10 years or more?? What are the others going to do, sue because they do not have 10 years but say they are being discriminated against because of that fact..? Then what are they going to do, go home..? Do not think so. Will they wait till they have 10 years then demand amnesty, and what about the others that will flood the USA knowing they will get a free pass....
WHEN WILL IT STOP. WE HAVE ENOUGH JOBS FOR AMERICANS WE CAN NOT BEND TO THE DEMANDS OF CRIMINALS.........
Frederick Bronson Durham NC

[Sebastin Emmanuel Mata]

12:53 AM on 12/06/2011

If you're complaining about jobs, then send some Americans over to Alabama. There are plenty of jobs there seeing as the law is chasing out the immigrants who usually pick your food.

[TYRANNASAURUS]

10:17 AM on 12/06/2011

Great.....chase them all across the Texas/Mexican border....they can help Mexico's farmers.

[Fred Bronson]

12:44 PM on 12/06/2011

We should have sprayed for roaches years ago, this will be the biggest mistake America ever made.

[mira chancleta]

10:19 AM on 12/05/2011

"pew" is quite the appropriate name for this think tank waiting to be flushed.

[DelawareBob]

08:57 PM on 12/04/2011

This is the one thing I do not like about Newt. He wants to reward the illegal alins who were here the longest. Says we can't deport them all. How about this Newt?

Make entering this country illegally a felony. Make the fine $2500 plus one year in Federal prison. Make this the same on overstayed VISAs. If drugs are involved, triple the fine. Then, apply this to all the illegal aliens in this country now. Leave or if you get caught, the fine will apply to them. Maybe, just maybe, this will take the place of a fence that is costly and doesn’t seem to work all that well. It may even cut down on the cost of deporting these illegal aliens. The other thing is this birthright citizenship. We MUST know through Congress or the Supreme Court if indeed a child born to an illegal alien is a U.S. citizen. I say they are not. If not, then, how do we REVOKE the birth certificates already issued. Boy, can you see the problems with this illegal immigration? Maybe Congress should allow states to enforce immigration laws, or at least a few of them. When is enough going to be enough? Tell me!

http://www.14thamendment.us/birthright_citizenship/original_intent.html

[Sebastin Emmanuel Mata]

12:54 AM on 12/06/2011

It's funny how no one cares what you say about who gets to be a citizen.

[Robyn Singleton]

06:01 PM on 12/06/2011

shove it...your people are coming here and messing up our country...the burritos are delicious though

[Annette Hammond]

06:53 PM on 12/04/2011

This really disgusts me.

[Cacaoatl]

03:59 PM on 12/04/2011

From the point of view of indigenous Americans, the very first illegal immigrants in North American arrived from places like Spain, England, France and the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries. Unless you are 100 percent indigenous American, then I don't want to hear your whining about "illegal" immigrants.

[TggerJen]

04:32 PM on 12/04/2011

There are NO people indigenous to this continent. The ancestors of the 'Native' Americans came here from somewhere else too. No matter who came when, there's no comparison between the settlers coming hundreds of years ago to a still largely unsettled continent and the dishonest foreign nationals who come illegally in recent years to our nation which has internationally-recognized borders and immigration laws on the books.
If the European settlers came illegally, then so did the people now called 'Native' Americans. In fact, neither of those groups came illegally because there were simply no laws on the books (or even any law books) here at the time. The simple fact is that the dishonest foreign nationals who come illegally now ARE illegal aliens and it's time for them to stop whining and freeloading and go home.

[dispagi]

05:21 PM on 12/04/2011

As far as a people can be indigenous outside of whatever place the world's first people came from, Native Americans are that to the United States. The real difference between today's immigrants and the European invaders, is that we're not facing genocide today, just an influx of hard working folks with strong ties to family.

[tamazul]

12:46 PM on 12/06/2011

Whoever got here first is the only REAL "American" (and even THAT word is a foreign, European label). Everybody else that came here a couple hundred years or so ago, is here illegally.
BTW, most of those you refer to as "illegal" are descended from those that got here first.

[markspence]

10:24 PM on 12/05/2011

What were the immigration laws in the 16th century? How were those laws violated?

[Ramiro Guzman]

03:48 PM on 12/04/2011

"What part of "illegal" don't these people understand?"..how about the part that employers keep employing them and most of these employers lower there wages and pay cash. Or maybe that people working in congress hire nannies, gardeners, cooks and construciton workers and say that illegal immigration is bad while hiding their hand behind their backs..OR..every four years politicians use the illegal immigrant scenario to gather votes and stir up anti immigrant sentiments while laughing all the way to the poll booths?..as long as their is profit to be made either in the wallet or in the poll booths..illegal immigration will continue...

[The Devils Advocate1152]

08:26 PM on 12/04/2011

Now you said something that makes sense. If the greedy SOBs of this country wouldn't hire illegal aliens, there wouldn't be an illegal immigration problem. if the f@#&ng government would target these employers rather than the undesirables that come into this country illegally, there wouldn't be an immigration problem. If there is a demand for undesirables, they'll come!

[Ramiro Guzman]

09:16 PM on 12/04/2011

Hey, my grandfather came to the US in the 40's and we went through all the legal process required to reside here permanently. I am a member of a construcution Union. I pay my dues to work but I see employers going to Home Depot and hire dudes for $8.00 an hour when I should be earning $20.00 per hour doing the same kind of work and am in a Union that is supposed to employ me. Currently I am unemployed and my EDD benefits have run out. I know how to do any type of construction work, building, reconstruction, drywall, cement and electrical and it is terribly frustrating to see somebody else hire a worker for $8.00 to do what I do, but I can't really blame the laborers but rather the employers who want cheap labor and cheat us legal workers from our jobs and the well being of our families..and they still advocate like hypocrites against illegal immigration...while driving to Home Depot to look for cheap labor next day...

[Maggie K]

11:46 PM on 12/04/2011

"undesirables"?

[RobietheCat]

03:38 PM on 12/04/2011

One study doesn't prove much.

Pew needs to put out stuff like this to try to frame the debate, as the US govt has no serious clue, how many invaded the country, where they are or if they left.

Hardly setting a standard for national security.

[dodie1990]

02:03 PM on 12/04/2011

What part of "illegal" don't these people understand? No other country in the world would allow 15 million illegal invaders to waltz in and then get a load of free benefits all in their mother tongue. These morons act as if the illegals are doing us a favor by sneaking in here and taking our handouts all the while refusing to assimilate and laughing at the taxpeyers in Spanish. If you are or want to be legal taxpayers welcome. If you wish to remain illegal get out. Wonder if they have welfare in Mexico?

[Fred Bronson]

11:01 AM on 12/04/2011

O ya, I believe this study, and if you do I am having a speical this week on a bridge my grandpa left me, it's in NY. Reason for selling I'm going to retire.

[D-Driller]

12:06 AM on 12/04/2011

35% of the 10+ million illegal aliens in the country have been here for 15 years or more? 3.5 million people here, all this time, never being deported, and when certain states, like AZ an AL, try to even the score and do what is right they are vilified? Unbelievable!

[freedom1947]

11:59 PM on 12/03/2011

Very long time to be in this country picking beans. For the man. And most not making any real progress. Almost sounds like a citizen.

[hrpmap]

07:49 AM on 12/04/2011

Nice spin, but the truth is construction work, and every other trade there is lowering the wages of those legally entitled to them.

[maryb5302]

08:03 AM on 12/04/2011

You are correct with your statement. A local contractor showed up and wanted to pave my driveway. He had about 8 workers, all Hispanics who could not speak a word of English. His price was not that much lower than other bids I had gotten. I asked if these workers were documented and had green cards to work here and if they paid taxes on their income. He said yes but when I asked to see their id's and green cards,they,the workers could not present them.These contractors are taking jobs away from American citzens giving them to Hispanics paying them minimum wage who have no papers. None of this money is recorded as income because they are all cash deals.

[dtairtime]

08:16 PM on 12/04/2011

Only 3% of all illegals work in ag work.

And the farmers have available UNLIMITED numbers of ag visas that they refuse to use because they would have to pay them fairly and treat them fairly.