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During the 1990’s and early 21st Century, the United States’ immigrant population increased significantly. More than one in every nine residents of the United States is an immigrant, 11.5 percent of the population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003). This is the highest percentage since 1930 and up dramatically from the low of five percent in 1970. In Indiana, the state’s population increased by 3.6 percent between 2000 and 2006. Twenty-seven percent of that increase is attributable to international immigration. If the current rate of immigration continues, by the year 2050,
the percentage of foreign-born people in the U.S. will equal the all-time high of 15 percent reached in 1900 (Capps, Passel, Perez-Lopez, & Fix, 2003). Already in the United States, one in every five school children is the child of immigrants, as is one of every four low income children. One-half of all new workers entering the U.S. workforce in the 1990s were immigrants (Urban Institute, 2004). Therefore, one cannot overstate the significant impact immigration will continue to have on the State of Indiana.
The Indiana Coalition for Human Services believes that:
Comprehensive immigration reform policies must not disproportionately impact any one demographic group on the basis of income level, level of education, ethnicity or national origin, health status, sexual orientation, religion or suspected immigration status.
Comprehensive immigration reform policies must respect human rights and dignity for all those residing within our borders.
Comprehensive immigration reform policies must make preserving family integrity for children who are U.S. citizens living in mixed-status families a top priority.
Comprehensive immigration reform policies should not place undue burdens on not-for-profit human service providers with regards to employment, contracts and service provision.
Keeping these principles in mind, comprehensive immigration reform is and should remain a national policy.
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