County's immigrant population continues to grow
BY MATT KELLER, SUN STAFF WRITER
September 23, 2008 - 5:00PM
One in four Yuma County residents was not born in the United States.
That's approximately 50,000 people within the rapidly expanding population, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates, making the county a pacesetter in statewide and national trends of increased foreign-born population centered in urban areas and Southern states.
The numbers are part of an only slightly smaller boom in Hispanic population. In 2007, Yuma County grew at a 30 percent rate for Hispanics - the highest rate in Arizona for the year - versus a 4.3 percent growth for the rest of the population.
Marci Rios, a Yuma-area resident who immigrated from Mexico years ago, isn't surprised by the data. Rios first came to the United States as an 8-year-old in 1959 to live with his father while the elder Rios farmed. A U.S. immigration officer suggested the family get Rios a $5 student visa so he could be educated.
"My father reached in his pocket, and said he didn't have enough money," Rios recalled. "So the border guard paid for my first school visa. I'll never forget that."
The permit was good for six months. Rios has now been in the United States for nearly 50 years, 40 as a citizen after applying when he was 18.
His experience inspired him to become a liaison for others wishing to legally enter the United States. For the past 27 years, Rios has helped hundreds of people navigate the system.
The draw, he said, is obvious.
"(Citizenship) opens doors for a better education, a better job," said Rios, today a New York Life Insurance agent in Yuma.
Immigration numbers remain up across the state. There are 990,000 foreign-born people living in Arizona, according to the census. That's 15.6 percent of the total population. Seventy percent of them are not U.S. citizens, matching the exact percentage found in Yuma County.
By comparison, only 12.8 percent of Arizonans were foreign born at the beginning of the decade. Ten years before that, the figure was 7.6 percent of the population.
The Census Bureau does not break down how many in that group are here illegally. Instead, it pegs the number of foreign-born residents who are not U.S. citizens at slightly less than 700,000.
But a separate report released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security put Arizona's "unauthorized'' population in January 2007 at 530,000 - or about three out of every four residents who are not citizens. That is a 60 percent increase from the estimated 330,000 illegal immigrants Homeland Security said were in the state at the beginning of the decade.
Nationwide numbers show economics are playing an increased role in immigration. The wave of immigrants entering the United States slowed dramatically last year as the economy faltered and the government stepped up enforcement of immigration laws.
The United States added about a half-million immigrants in 2007, down from more than 1.8 million the year before, according to estimates.
"The U.S. is still a beacon for many people who want to come here for all kinds of reasons," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution who analyzed the numbers. "But what this shows is that the economy plays a big part in it."
At more than 38 million, the number of immigrants in the U.S. is now at an all-time high. Immigrants made up 12.6 percent of the population in 2007, the largest share since 1920 when the U.S. was nearing the end of its last immigration boom.
"It's never too late," Rios said of becoming a legal resident. "But it's more difficult now. The U.S. only gives so many permanent residencies per year, not just to Mexico but to everywhere. It usually takes 12 years. The quickest way is if you’re married to US citizen or, if a close family member becomes citizen, to petition for your permanent residency."
Rios, one of seven charter members of a citizens advisory panel to U.S. Immigration Services during the Clinton Administration, said U.S. Immigration Services does not administer a 100-question test to potential citizens - something that intimidates some immigrants and keeps them from applying.
Rios said there is a 10-page questionnaire and a two-part interview process. The first portion is a character test asking about past arrests, illegal border crossings, forged documents and other aspects. The second is the test, when the examiner usually asks eight to 10 questions about U.S. history.
"There was no history test given to me," he said. "No fingerprints, nothing. The only requirement was that a judge had to interview three people that knew me since I came to the United States about character questions. Did I use drugs? Was I a good person? Did I have employment? Was I dependable?"
Rios passed, then had to hitchhike to his own ceremony. He got a ride home from a fellow immigrant and has since watched more than 400,000 people become citizens, including his then-87-year old mother.
His recommendations of additional hires to U.S. Immigration Services helped reduce the time from application acceptance to citizenship from four years to seven to 10 months. That aided hundreds people in Yuma County and elsewhere achieve their dream. Many, like Rios, remained here.
"It's a friendly atmosphere, a nice city to reside," he said of Yuma. "It's not small or large. When we go into restaurant, we say hello to the waitress.
"Are there gangs? Yes, but not as bad as other places. Drugs, yes, they are here. But not as bad compared to other places.
"We're close to the border and close to the beach. The weather's good. We have a military base and farmers and others in the economy. It's a good mix."
---
Capital Media Services and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
http://www.yumasun.com/news/continues_44563___article.html/county_grow.html
BY MATT KELLER, SUN STAFF WRITER
September 23, 2008 - 5:00PM
One in four Yuma County residents was not born in the United States.
That's approximately 50,000 people within the rapidly expanding population, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates, making the county a pacesetter in statewide and national trends of increased foreign-born population centered in urban areas and Southern states.
The numbers are part of an only slightly smaller boom in Hispanic population. In 2007, Yuma County grew at a 30 percent rate for Hispanics - the highest rate in Arizona for the year - versus a 4.3 percent growth for the rest of the population.
Marci Rios, a Yuma-area resident who immigrated from Mexico years ago, isn't surprised by the data. Rios first came to the United States as an 8-year-old in 1959 to live with his father while the elder Rios farmed. A U.S. immigration officer suggested the family get Rios a $5 student visa so he could be educated.
"My father reached in his pocket, and said he didn't have enough money," Rios recalled. "So the border guard paid for my first school visa. I'll never forget that."
The permit was good for six months. Rios has now been in the United States for nearly 50 years, 40 as a citizen after applying when he was 18.
His experience inspired him to become a liaison for others wishing to legally enter the United States. For the past 27 years, Rios has helped hundreds of people navigate the system.
The draw, he said, is obvious.
"(Citizenship) opens doors for a better education, a better job," said Rios, today a New York Life Insurance agent in Yuma.
Immigration numbers remain up across the state. There are 990,000 foreign-born people living in Arizona, according to the census. That's 15.6 percent of the total population. Seventy percent of them are not U.S. citizens, matching the exact percentage found in Yuma County.
By comparison, only 12.8 percent of Arizonans were foreign born at the beginning of the decade. Ten years before that, the figure was 7.6 percent of the population.
The Census Bureau does not break down how many in that group are here illegally. Instead, it pegs the number of foreign-born residents who are not U.S. citizens at slightly less than 700,000.
But a separate report released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security put Arizona's "unauthorized'' population in January 2007 at 530,000 - or about three out of every four residents who are not citizens. That is a 60 percent increase from the estimated 330,000 illegal immigrants Homeland Security said were in the state at the beginning of the decade.
Nationwide numbers show economics are playing an increased role in immigration. The wave of immigrants entering the United States slowed dramatically last year as the economy faltered and the government stepped up enforcement of immigration laws.
The United States added about a half-million immigrants in 2007, down from more than 1.8 million the year before, according to estimates.
"The U.S. is still a beacon for many people who want to come here for all kinds of reasons," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution who analyzed the numbers. "But what this shows is that the economy plays a big part in it."
At more than 38 million, the number of immigrants in the U.S. is now at an all-time high. Immigrants made up 12.6 percent of the population in 2007, the largest share since 1920 when the U.S. was nearing the end of its last immigration boom.
"It's never too late," Rios said of becoming a legal resident. "But it's more difficult now. The U.S. only gives so many permanent residencies per year, not just to Mexico but to everywhere. It usually takes 12 years. The quickest way is if you’re married to US citizen or, if a close family member becomes citizen, to petition for your permanent residency."
Rios, one of seven charter members of a citizens advisory panel to U.S. Immigration Services during the Clinton Administration, said U.S. Immigration Services does not administer a 100-question test to potential citizens - something that intimidates some immigrants and keeps them from applying.
Rios said there is a 10-page questionnaire and a two-part interview process. The first portion is a character test asking about past arrests, illegal border crossings, forged documents and other aspects. The second is the test, when the examiner usually asks eight to 10 questions about U.S. history.
"There was no history test given to me," he said. "No fingerprints, nothing. The only requirement was that a judge had to interview three people that knew me since I came to the United States about character questions. Did I use drugs? Was I a good person? Did I have employment? Was I dependable?"
Rios passed, then had to hitchhike to his own ceremony. He got a ride home from a fellow immigrant and has since watched more than 400,000 people become citizens, including his then-87-year old mother.
His recommendations of additional hires to U.S. Immigration Services helped reduce the time from application acceptance to citizenship from four years to seven to 10 months. That aided hundreds people in Yuma County and elsewhere achieve their dream. Many, like Rios, remained here.
"It's a friendly atmosphere, a nice city to reside," he said of Yuma. "It's not small or large. When we go into restaurant, we say hello to the waitress.
"Are there gangs? Yes, but not as bad as other places. Drugs, yes, they are here. But not as bad compared to other places.
"We're close to the border and close to the beach. The weather's good. We have a military base and farmers and others in the economy. It's a good mix."
---
Capital Media Services and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
http://www.yumasun.com/news/continues_44563___article.html/county_grow.html