The Pigeon Post

Uh oh! Did you comment something bad-silly about immigration? Perhaps something that could easily be disproven with a quick Google search?

No worries. Instead of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, we’re going to hold your hand and give you a good ole hand out disproving common misconceptions.

“Most immigrants are here illegally.”

Just like the Pilgrims!

The truth is, 330 million-ish people here in the United States, 51.3 million are foreign born, and 49% are U.S. citizens. Another 24% are lawful permanent residents, and 5% have legal visas (nerds, workers, diplomats, etc). Roughly 27% are undocumented, but just because someone is undocumented doesn’t make them illegal.

Of that 27%, more than a quarter have legal protections from deportation and are in the process of obtaining permanent resident status. These include asylum seekers and people who are witnesses to a crime, like

Only 3% of the population does not have legal permission to be here, and I don’t know about you, but 3% is a pretty small number. Try leaving a 3% tip and see what happens.

“Immigrants increase crime rates.”

First off, there are dozens, if not hundreds of studies showing that this is simply not true. Immigrants are statistically less likely to commit crime because doing so would jeopardize their chances of citizenship.

Second, if you’re not the type to read, I know it’s hard, but try thinking about it. Like, realllllllly thinking about it: do you really think someone uproots their family’s lives and leaves behind everything they know to go on a long journey and struggle here, just for fun?

Meanwhile, some of you can barely go leave the house to hang out with your friends!

“Immigrants don’t pay taxes.”

Not only do immigrants pay taxes, but even undocumented immigrants pay taxes. In 2022, undocumented people paid $59 billion in federal taxes. In fact, undocumented immigrants paid more in taxes in one year than the richest 25 Americans did in 5 years (2014-2018)! They do this even though they are not eligible to qualify for public benefit and social programs such as food stamps, welfare, Medicaid, etc.

You can’t file a tax return with a fake or stolen Social Security number, but undocumented workers can use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to legally file tax returns and potentially get future credit for it.

We also enjoyed this op-ed from a senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

“Immigrants are taking jobs from American workers.”

First off, there’s a common misconception that there is a finite amount of work. This theory is called the “lump of labour fallacy,” and we hope that we can at least agree that this is a pretty funny-sounding term. When one thing comes along and “displaces” another group from work, it often opens up a new avenue of labor for the displaced workers to take up.

Second, the jobs immigrants are taking are typically the ones no native-born wants. A fascinating study in North Carolina showed that of 6,500 agricultural job openings, only 7 Americans actually managed to work the job until pay day. The work is so intensive that 50% of Americans quit after the 1st day. At most, immigrants compete with other immigrants over the same jobs.

For more information, we found this report particularly informative (read: nerdy).

“Sanctuary cities are less safe.”

Sanctuary policies allow immigrants to report abuses and engage with law enforcement officials without fear of deportation. On average, 35.5 fewer crimes are committed per 10,000 people in counties with sanctuary policies compared to those that do not.

Sanctuary cities also don’t harbor criminals. If you commit a crime (which to be clear, crossing the border illegally is NOT—it’s a civil penalty), you are subject to the same criminal proceedings as anyone else. While NYPD cannot honor ICE detainer requests, a criminal conviction means you’re no longer protected by sanctuary policies.

“Immigrants don’t want to assimilate into American society.”

This is funny because we’re pretty sure we know at least 10 immigrant parents who are the most pro-gun and anti-government people you’ve ever met. White Republicans have nothing on a Vietnamese father who had to flee his homeland.

And honestly? Learning English is hard, and it’s not even that top tier of a language.

“Why don’t immigrants just come here legally?”

The short answer: it’s expensive and takes forever.

The long answer:coming to America is generally limited to 3 different routes—employment, family reunification, or humanitarian protection. Pretty much all paths boil down to luck, good or bad. Even if you’ve lived in the United States for over 10 years (almost half of undocumented immigrants have been in the US for over 20 years), there’s often no way to “get in line.”

We recommend reading this lengthy report by the Cato Institute that explains the United States’ legal immigration system. If you can read this article line by line without feeling like you’ve taken a melatonin, you’ve earned the right to put your hands on your hips and ask this question.

We were also surprised to find the Catholic Church, a rather conservative institution, had a pretty nuanced response to this question too.

“I’m not reading all that.”

Here’s a white man who is an immigrant himself and can explain legal immigration, ICE detention, immigration courts, asylum seekers, and mass deportations!