Reports Add Depth To Illegal Immigration Picture

More of New York City's illegal immigrants hail from Mexico, China, and the Dominican Republic than from any other countries, and they make significantly less money than native New Yorkers, according to two new reports released this week that together paint a clearer picture of this elusive group than has previously existed.

Other top countries bolstering the city's illegal population include Ecuador, Poland, and Pakistan. While many work in the service industries, it is also possible to find many undocumented Chinese, Central American, and Polish professionals along with Dominican and Columbian office workers, according to new data from the Fiscal Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank that released a report this week lauding the economic benefits immigrants have brought to the city.

Another report, due to be released today by an anti-immigration group, the Center for Immigration Studies, has some of the same findings as the Fiscal Policy Institute report, including an estimate that there are now more than half a million illegal immigrants in the city.

The CIS report, written by Steven Camarota, found that illegal immigrants made less money per household than native families: $50,959 compared to $71,785. It also found that more than half of the illegal immigrants in New York State are without health insurance and that 18% live in poverty.

Data from the 2006 Census, meanwhile, show that 14% of the population as a whole and 19.2% of New York City residents live in poverty.

The Center for Immigration Studies report also notes that the number of immigrants in New York and nationwide, both legal and illegal, has reached the highest levels ever.

"Setting aside the lower socioeconomic status of immigrants, no nation has ever attempted to incorporate nearly 38 million newcomers into its society," the report concluded.

The author of the other report, David Dyssegaard Kallick, argued yesterday that immigrants are what have saved New York City, noting that the city's economy would have been flat over the past several decades if it weren't for an influx of immigrants.

"I'm sure they're at the lowest end of the spectrum," Mr. Kallick said of undocumented workers. "This report should lay to rest any assumptions that immigrants aren't contributing massively to New York's economy."