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Illegal emigres defy the image -- Fastest growing source? It's India
Mercury ^ | 02/18/2008 | Mike Smith

Posted on 02/19/2008 11:02:15 AM PST by dennisw

y5r ryr uytTurning stereotypes on their head, a recent federal analysis of unauthorized immigration says the most rapidly growing source of illegal immigration is India - the same country whose engineers and programmers help power Google and other Silicon Valley companies, whose doctors heal the Bay Area's sick, and whose entrepreneurs and venture capitalists have become a force on both sides of the international date line.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates that there are 270,000 unauthorized Indian natives in the United States - a 125 percent jump since 2000, the largest percentage increase of any nation with more than 100,000 illegal immigrants in the United States.

The number of undocumented Indians is dwarfed by the estimated 6.6 million illegal residents from Mexico, according to the estimates from homeland security's Office of Immigration Statistics. Yet, considering the high level of education of many Indians, immigration experts say the federal report hints at a new phenomenon: a high-skilled undocumented workforce to go along with the nation's sizable numbers of low-skilled illegal workers.

If trends continue, within three years India would trail only Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala as a source of illegal immigration. Another national immigration expert, Jeffrey S. Passel of the Pew Hispanic Center, estimates that the number of illegal Indians is even higher, at 400,000 people.

Virtually all entered the United States legally but violated the terms of their visas, say experts who study the nation's much maligned immigration system.

"How do you get in? You come across the border, or you arrive here with a visa," said Lindsay Lowell, policy director for the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University. "Indians aren't going to be walking across the border like Mexicans."

(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aliens; immigration; india
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1 posted on 02/19/2008 11:02:21 AM PST by dennisw
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To: dennisw

Deport them to mexico.

Regards


2 posted on 02/19/2008 11:06:38 AM PST by ARE SOLE (Agents Ramos and Campean are in prison at this very moment.. (A "Concerned Citizen".)
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To: dennisw
We’ve all seen them, haven’t we? Ragged little men showing up at your door, asking, “Fix your router, sir?”
3 posted on 02/19/2008 11:10:25 AM PST by BlazingArizona
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To: BlazingArizona

Too funny!


4 posted on 02/19/2008 11:12:59 AM PST by PeterFinn (A muslim in the White House would be an Obamination.)
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To: dennisw

If you’ve got one penny and you double your money, you’ve still only got two pennies.


5 posted on 02/19/2008 11:24:00 AM PST by Greg F (Do you want a guy named Hussein to fix your soul? Michelle Obama thinks you do.)
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To: All

An illegal alien is an illegal alien....no matter where they are from


6 posted on 02/19/2008 11:26:01 AM PST by UCFRoadWarrior (If McCain is a conservative...uh, yeah...right)
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To: dennisw

No surprise. Here in Central New Jersey (which has the highest concentration of East Indians in the western hemisphere), it is very common for siblings and cousins of resident Indians to “overstay” their visas, usually to work for a family business.


7 posted on 02/19/2008 11:27:42 AM PST by Clemenza (Ronald Reagan was a "Free Traitor", Like Me ;-))
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To: dennisw

Jalapeno Curry. Yummmm!


8 posted on 02/19/2008 11:27:44 AM PST by The_Republican (You know why Chelsea Clinton is so Ugly? Because Janet Reno is her Father! LOL! - Mac is Back!)
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To: Clemenza
Here in Central New Jersey (which has the highest concentration of East Indians in the western hemisphere)

I think Toronto could give you a run for the money on that claim- we've had a huge Indian population since the 1970s. Some of our neighbourhoods are much improved because of that; it's the standard process of immigrants settling in the cheapest part of town then sprucing it up once they start making money.

9 posted on 02/19/2008 11:42:27 AM PST by Squawk 8888 (Is human activity causing the warming trend on Mars?)
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To: Squawk 8888
Been to Toronto. The biggest difference is that the Indians skipped the urban areas of the state entirely, settling instead in ho-hum suburban areas along US Route 1 (Edison, Iselin) eventually moving down to wealthier communities (Princeton, South Brunswick) as they grew more affluent.

What's interesting is that when the Indians were settling in Edison and Iselin starting in the early 1980s, many were well educated folks, who were settling in a blue collar area due to the lower costs of housing. This caused ALOT of resentment towards the "snotty Indians" on behalf of many of the locals. Thinks have simmered somewhat, with Edison acting as the initial area of settlement before the inevitable migration down Route One towards Princeton.

10 posted on 02/19/2008 11:47:52 AM PST by Clemenza (Ronald Reagan was a "Free Traitor", Like Me ;-))
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To: dennisw

If they’re here illegally, boot their asses out.


11 posted on 02/19/2008 12:02:31 PM PST by ought-six
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To: dennisw
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates that there are 270,000 unauthorized Indian natives in the United States - a 125 percent jump since 2000, the largest percentage increase of any nation with more than 100,000 illegal immigrants in the United States.

H1B visas are for 3 years and extendible to 6 years. My guess is that a lot of relatively skilled Indian workers didn't want to return home when their visas expired. My experience with Indian coworkers a decade ago was somewhat mixed. There were a number of very skilled Indians, and there were quite a few that were pretty much worthless.

It might very well be in our best interest to extend permanent residency to the best of them, but we should ship the rest back home. Immigration can be very valuable to our country, but only when we are selective, and select wisely.

The number of undocumented Indians is dwarfed by the estimated 6.6 million illegal residents from Mexico, according to the estimates from homeland security's Office of Immigration Statistics.

I doubt that more than a tiny portion of them are undocumented. There aren't many Indians sneaking into the US. The come in through documented, legal ways, but they overstay their visas.

After 9/11 we became somewhat better at checking backgrounds on those that come here legally, so there is probably less of a security threat from those overstaying visas that from the undocumented immigrants that sneak across the border, or at least we know more about them.

Since the 9/11 hijackers did come here legally, and while we do better at checking than we did, checking background of people from some countries is nearly an act of futility, they do represent some risk. However, I think our limited resources are better focused on closing the border first and dealing with groups that have a higher percentage of criminal element.

12 posted on 02/19/2008 12:08:33 PM PST by untrained skeptic
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To: Squawk 8888
Some of our neighbourhoods are much improved because of that; it's the standard process of immigrants settling in the cheapest part of town then sprucing it up once they start making money.

That's a standard process of skilled and motivated immigrants. They tend to be of benefit not only to their neighborhoods, but to our society as a whole, as long as they make reasonable efforts to assimilate into American society.

Other immigrant populations tend to not improve their communities, and those that become successful end up moving out of those communities.

13 posted on 02/19/2008 12:14:26 PM PST by untrained skeptic
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To: dennisw
At the same time if you need guys to pick apples and are passing out visas for that you might as well recruit Indians and Pakistanis since the odds are incredibly good that they'll have advanced degrees in skill sets we need.

And the Indian guys will be doggone glad for the work ~ particularly in the layoff period between apple sets.

Now, try to get a guy with a Masters in Mexico to do stoop labor ~ fat chance that is.

14 posted on 02/19/2008 12:14:41 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: untrained skeptic
There is no such thing as an "undocumented immigrant". Immigrants are always documented ~ have visas and everything.

What you have with an "illegal alien" is a visa jumper ~ may have come here as a student or tourist, or even as a diplomat, but overstayed his visa, or refused to go home because "things had changed".

Folks who never bothered to get a visa are, at best, undocumented tourists and should be treated the same as any tourist ~ sent home.

15 posted on 02/19/2008 12:19:04 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: muawiyah

My impression of the Indians (the well-to-do ones) is that they’re an entitled bunch. They advertise for domestic servants with particular skillsets - must speak this dialect, must cook this regional cuisine - and since they aren’t available here for $180 a week, they import them from India. Unbelievable that we let domestic servants come in because the help here doesn’t suit.


16 posted on 02/19/2008 12:22:07 PM PST by heartwood
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To: untrained skeptic

I’ve seen that side of the coin here as well. The successful immigrants from the Caribbean tend to get out of the “hood” as soon as they can afford to.


17 posted on 02/19/2008 12:22:08 PM PST by Squawk 8888 (Is human activity causing the warming trend on Mars?)
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To: heartwood
There are, of course, such people here. Most of the Indians and Pakistanis I've known (several hundred over the years) have far more middle-class attitudes and beliefs.

To start with your typical Indian couple in the US probably have a cross-caste, or even mixed-religion marriage. Back home is really tough on those folks.

Still, virtually every Indian in America was not allowed into the kitchen by his or her mother, or into the shop by his or her father. Their families made incredible sacrifices so they could become educated people and live a better life than their ancestors.

One of my Indian friends always reminds folks that "Indian people will work anywhere", which is true. Not that all Indians will do so, but odds are good that you can readily find one who will ~ for example, in the pathology lab. Check out that crowd sometime.

18 posted on 02/19/2008 12:30:36 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: muawiyah

I live in the area of NJ where the typical Indian domicile ranges from a McMansion to a near-palace. (Okay, I know some who live in townhouses and ordinary houses, and some of them are conscious of their relatively low status.) But the Indians I know come from professional college-educated families, often for several generations, and not from shop-owners.


19 posted on 02/19/2008 12:41:27 PM PST by heartwood
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To: heartwood
Most of them around here (Fairfax County) have much more hardscrabble or politically charged backgrounds. I've known several to build a deck on their homes ~ helped some learn to use hammer and nails, saws, screwdrivers, and so forth.

It was all a manly-man sort of thing ~ they felt no one would ever respect them unless they could do what American men do.

20 posted on 02/19/2008 12:54:33 PM PST by muawiyah
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