The City - La Ciudad, Facilitator's Guide

Broadcast Schedule

Facilitator's Guide Contents
	About The City/La Ciudad
	Discussion Guide
	Immigration Fact Sheet
	Glossary
	Resources
	Credits

THE IMMIGRATION QUIZ

A very good way of starting the dialogue is this quiz. It's challenging and helps us to be open to learn a new perspective and maybe even to "unlearn" some misconceptions.

The discussion leader will distribute the quiz and give participants 5 minutes to look it over and answer as much as they can. The leader will then use his/her copy to lead a discussion with participants about their answers. The leader might repeat each question and ask, "What did people write down for number 1?," give the correct answer, and encourage discussions of participants' perceptions, or encourage participants to raise their hands with responses about why they wrote down a particular answer. The leader can then lead a general discussion regarding the experience of the quiz.

Myths and Facts of Immigration

1. What percentage of the world's immigrants come to the United States?

Over 35%
22%
15%
less than 2%

2. In 1900, the U.S. population was 15% foreign born. In 2000, the foreign born percentage of the population is:

1.4%
9.7%
17.6%
22.3%

3. About 60% of all undocumented immigrants enter the country legally and then overstay their visas. What percent of undocumented immigrants cross the Southern border of the U.S.?

4. INS efforts to deter immigration at the border and at other checkpoints have:

Received $3.8 billion in funding, a 153% increase in the past 5 years
Hired 1000 additional border patrol agents
Increased the number of border patrol agents by 99% in the past 5 years
All of the above

5. The total population of the United States is more than 226 million people. According to INS estimates, how many immigrants (documented and undocumented), enter the United States every year?

75.3 million new immigrants a year
46.8 million new immigrants a year
12.5 million new immigrants a year
1.2 million new immigrants a year

6. Before 1996, approximately 5% of immigrants used public benefits, a figure equivalent to usage by U.S. born citizens. New legislation reduces total government spending on welfare by $53.4 billion in the next 6 years. What percentage of these cuts came from eliminating benefits to immigrants?

Answers for the Immigration Quiz:

1. (d)
Of the approximately 125 million migrants in the world today, the United States admitted 915,900 documented immigrants in 1996. The INS estimates that undocumented immigration to the United States is an additional 270,000 per year.

2. (b)
U.S. Census Bureau statistics report that out of approximately 267 million people, 25.8 million were born outside the United States.

3. (c)
Only about four out of ten undocumented migrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border, but 85% of all border enforcement personnel are located on that border.

4. (d)
The U.S. Department of Justice announced in March 1998 that sharply increased efforts to deter undocumented immigration would be enacted at a cost of $3.8 billion.

5. (d)
According to INS estimates, fewer than 1.2 million people immigrated to the US in 1996. Even this number may be high, as past INS projections of undocumented immigration have overestimated actual growth. The INS estimates are also based on the number of undocumented immigrants who are apprehended, a figure which is more directly related to the increase in INS enforcement than to the increase in actual immigration.

6. (b)
The Congressional Budget Office estimates federal cost savings from reducing coverage for legal aliens at $23.7 billion, more than 44% of the total $53.4 billion cuts in the welfare bill.

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