Immigration Quotes

“My hope is that this book will help us all make those decisions with more facts than emotions, and more awareness than fear.”
― Dale Hanson Bourke, Immigration: Tough Questions, Direct Answers

“What’s wrong with the current U.S. immigration system? The current U.S. immigration system is neither comprehensive nor internally consistent, creating confusion and inconsistencies for those who want to legally enter the United States. Some lawmakers contend that the problems with the current system actually help encourage illegal immigration since in some cases it is more difficult to navigate the legal system than to enter the country illegally or overstay a visa.”
― Dale Hanson Bourke, Immigration: Tough Questions, Direct Answers

“How often are drugs brought across the border from Mexico? Getting drugs from Mexico into the United States is big business, and Mexican cartels spare little expense or violence to accomplish their mission. One estimate puts the annual value of drugs trafficked into the United States from Mexico at $39 billion.”
― Dale Hanson Bourke, Immigration: Tough Questions, Direct Answers

“What happens to children whose parents are deported? According to the Shattered Families Report, of the 396,906 persons deported in 2011, 22 percent were the parents of children who are American citizens. More than 5,000 of those American citizen children have been placed in foster care as a result of deportations.6 Individuals who have been deported have almost no ability to petition for parental rights or to be reunited with their children unless those children are able to return to the parent’s country. Some children have even been put up for adoption when state courts have ruled that they were abandoned by their parents as a result of deportation.”
― Dale Hanson Bourke, Immigration: Tough Questions, Direct Answers

“Economists say some sectors of the economy would suffer greatly and even collapse without undocumented workers.”
― Dale Hanson Bourke, Immigration: Tough Questions, Direct Answers

“A number of studies show that immigrants generally have a lower level of criminal activity and incarceration than the general population, even when income and education levels are considered.3”
― Dale Hanson Bourke, Immigration: Tough Questions, Direct Answers

“If someone is in the United States without legal status, isn’t that person a criminal? Being in the United States without documentation is a civil—not a criminal—offense, so under federal law, individuals living in the United States without proper documentation are not classified as criminals. The punishment may be deportation, but unless the person has committed a crime, he or she is not subject to criminal punishment.”
― Dale Hanson Bourke, Immigration: Tough Questions, Direct Answers

“Nativism is a movement that promotes favored status for established citizens or residents of a nation over newcomers or immigrants. Nativists typically oppose immigration and support restricting the legal status of specific ethnic groups because they view them as harming the culture of the host nation.”
― Dale Hanson Bourke, Immigration: Tough Questions, Direct Answers