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Each person will be given a number, which will be your assigned myth to read and respond to.

Your Response:

1. Record your First Name and Last Initial.

2. Click on the article and read the number and myth you were assigned.

3. Post and relay Key Information from the website

that you feel is significant in dispelling the myth. (This should be quoted or properly paraphrased).

4. Include your response- What did you find surprising? Why is this information significant?

5. NO REPEATS. Your response should reflect thoughtful, critical thinking.

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Debunk the misinformation students bring to school-and help them think for themselves.

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"Immigrants come to this country for a few primary reasons: to work, to be reunited with family members or to escape a dangerous situation... are integral to the U.S. economy"(Learning for Justice Staff).

For immigrants who are documented and undocumented they are associated with lower rates of violent crimes and property crimes.

"whether they are naturalized citizens, permanent residents or immigrants who are undocumented—are incarcerated at a much lower rate than native-born Americans"(Learning for Justice Staff).

This is significant because it debunks the claim that immigrants come to the US and bring violence, when in reality its the opposite. Immigrants often come here to work, be with family, and escape violence. They come for a better life and statistically speaking are associated with less crime rates than native-born Americans.

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"it is easier for unscrupulous employers to exploit this labor source, paying immigrants less, refusing to provide benefits and ignoring worker-safety laws."

Basically employers are getting a lotta man power for not a lotta money.

"Two trends—better education and an aging population—have resulted in a decrease in the number of workers born in the United States who are willing or available to take low-paying jobs."

These are jobs that BORN Americans don't want; so why are some complaining?

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"Statistics show that immigrants are less likely to commit serious crimes or be behind bars than native-born people are, and high rates of immigration are associated with lower rates of violent crime and property crime." (learning for Justice staff). This was significant because for some reason some people believe that immigrants only cause more trouble in the US but in reality they are just trying to get a fresh start

“Between 1990 and 2013 the foreign-born share of the U.S. population grew from 7.9 percent to 13.1 percent and the number of unauthorized immigrants more than tripled. ... During the same period, FBI data indicate that the violent crime rate and property crime rate declined 48 percent" (learning for Justice staff). This is significant because they provide a statistic that proves how from 1990-2013 although the population of "foreign-born" people was tripled the crime rate still went down.

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According to the U.S Census Bureau first generation immigrants most likely speak their first language at home. But, 35% of those ages 5 or older speak English "very well" and 21% speak it "well." This information is significant because it proves that the myth that immigrants don't try to learn English after moving to The United States is false.

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"Additionally, the number of immigrants from nations other than Mexico who are living in the United States without authorization grew to an estimated 5.3 million in 2014...So, a wall along the border with Mexico would not “stop” undocumented immigrants from coming to the United States. Building a wall or fence along the entire Mexico border is unlikely to prevent unauthorized entry... people have always found ways to cross walls and borders by air and sea as well as over land."

I find it really significant that building a wall will not stop the problem, that "people have always found ways" to bypass these barriers. It is also important to remember that not all immigrants coming into the United States are from Mexico. In 2014, 5.3 million people from other nations than Mexico were living in the US without authorization. I find it surprising that this myth is so prevalent when facts like these exist.

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"Although it is not known exactly what percentage of that 11 million originally entered legally with valid visas and let their visas expire (experts estimate it to be approximately 40 percent)"

When people think of immigrants in general they think of them being in the U.S illegally.

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"Two trends—better education and an aging population—have resulted in a decrease in the number of workers born in the United States who are willing or available to take low-paying jobs." (Immigrants take good jobs from U.S. citizens)

I found out that due to better education opportunities it leads to jobs not being taken by U.S. citizens.

"to fill the void of low-skilled U.S. workers, employers often hire undocumented immigrant workers."(Immigrants take good jobs from U.S. citizens)

This information is significant due to the fact of the U.S. citizens who don't have the skills to offer will not be hired and instead the undocumented immigrants are being hired.

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When immigrating to the US there are many tedious tasks to complete, being fluent in English is mandatory. I was surprised to learn that immigrants had to take a 100 question test, that includes oral and written parts. Learning English and finding a job is hard enough, having an exam probably adds more stress to the whole process. Immigrants today have been reported to speak English well ("35 percent of those age 5 or older speak English 'very well'"), but early immigrants "held onto their cultures fiercely", and were not as fluent in English as most immigrants are today.

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"Immigrants who are undocumented pay taxes every time they buy taxable goods such as gas, clothes or new appliances (depending on where they reside). They also contribute to property taxes—a main source of school funding—when they buy or rent a house or apartment. A 2017 report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy highlights that undocumented immigrants pay an estimated $11.74 billion in state and local taxes a year."

This is significant because it disproves the myth that immigrants don't pay taxes when in actuality they pay quite a bit of taxes.

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"Many people claim that immigrants have “anchor babies”—an offensive term for giving birth to children in the United States so that the whole family can stay in the country"

This is false because just because they're US born doesn't mean their parents get to stay. 11 years ago

Surprising: 72,410 immigrant parents were deported. Their child has to be 21 for them be legal residents which is still a long process. Those who still live with their child illegally aren't safe from deportation. This is significant because it proves that "anchor babies" don't exist.

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This is extremely untrue, the statement is actually the opposite. In the article it states that they go through a "more rigorous screening" than other individuals which are allowed in the United States. For an individual to become a refugee it takes about "18 to 24 months." This was not surprising to me due to the fact that I am a refugee myself and kind of know the progress pretty well. Not only that but I volunteer at one of Indiana's refugee centers which provides help to refugees who are coming to the United States. But this information is important to know because many people think that it takes just days for the whole process to take place and that "they" are taking in any type of people from around the world, which is further from the truth, they are vetting everyone from the their medical history, to their family, to the reasons why they are wanting to be a refugee. Not only that but only a few are allowed into a country out of millions who are looking for refuge.

Extra:

-Many refugees are vetted through the UNHCR (United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees), through the vetting they look for the most vulnerable, survivors of violence, women and girls and people with medical conditions. It takes longer for the refugees to be resettled in another country increasing the time period of the "18 to 24 months"-> this is due to the limited number of host countries available and the restrictions which are in the way.

-Many of the refugees are also living in camps which are not in the best of conditions. The camps have extremely strict rules, the basic healthcare (or even at times limited amount of healthcare), basic education, overcrowded meaning that they are under supplied and disabling with having no chances to find work in their refuge country. The reason for these conditions is due to the fact that they do not have citizenship in their refuge country meaning that they can be taken advantage of. (Only about 1% of refugees actually get resettled with the rest having to repatriate back or receive nationalization in their host/ refuge country)

(There is also a thing called the Presidential Determination which affects the whole process too where the president is the one who sets the admission number for the US each federal fiscal year. Which then by law they have to consult with Congress to justify the numbers.)

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In the article it's said that "the demand for English instruction is greater than the services available in many parts of the country." Which means that there is a lot of encouragement for new comers to learn to speak English. This is surprising because it shows how many people are willing to indulge and invest themselves into learning the English language, rather than sticking to their roots.

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Fallen I.

"However, between 1975 and 2015, no fatalities have been committed in the United States by foreign-born extremists from the countries covered by the executive order."

This not only debunks the myth, but shows the importance of the impact of sterotypes and how that can spread bias truths and lies to paint someone as a criminal.

According to Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration expert at the Cato Institute, “[Between 1975 and 2015], the annual chance of being murdered by somebody other than a foreign-born terrorist was 252.9 times greater than the chance of dying in a terrorist attack committed by a foreign-born terrorist.”

This isn't that all surprising to me, but seeing the statistics it brings a more interest how strongly people will go to prove the myths even if it is unrealistic or fake, and that it easily can be proven to be debunked by bringing up statistics. Even so unfortunely, people still will follow these beliefs which shows their ignorance to change their thoughts. I hope that this article changes the way people think.

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Most immigrants are not here illegally 88% of immigrants have a permanent residents card which helps people who were not born in the United stated be able to do things that a person from the US can do like get a job and a house in their own name not have to worry about ICE deporting them back to where they came from cause they have their green card to stay in america. This is surprising to me because i have never really understood why it was illegal for not just Hispanics to be here but other races as well but this would be important to me because this piece of information is brand new to me and i can learn more from and about it .

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"... the annual chance of being murdered by somebody other than a foreign-born terrorist was 252.9 times greater..."

This is significant because you are more likely to be attacked by someone who is a terrorist, but not one that is foreign.

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In the first 100 years, the U.S. had an open immigrations system which meant any able bodied person could immigrate to the US.

Since then the policy has changed, there are a lot more rules and the process of getting documents is rigorous.

This is significant because it shows that it was much easier for people back then to immigrate compared to people now. I found it surprising that the U.S. had an open door policy because racism was much more widespread.

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Undocumented Immigrants do still pay taxes when they rent or buy apartments & contribute to property tax (School funding) paying pay roll taxes they end up still unfortunately not receiving benefits. Its significant because this shows that Immigrants pay a lot more than no taxes at all.

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when reading the 7 myth I couldn't believe that there was a term to have babies in the US as an immigrant and that it was offensive. "Many people claim that immigrants have “anchor babies”—an offensive term for giving birth to children in the United States so that the whole family can stay in the country". This was surprising to hear since I've never heard this phrase publicly.

Honestly this myth can be truth to a certain extent, I believe many family come here for a better life to give to there children which can lead to them giving birth in the US.

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"Back then, the biggest obstacle that would-be immigrants faced was getting here. Some even sold themselves into indentured servitude to do so. Today, however, many rules specify who may enter and remain in the country legally" Back when ancestors used to enter the US it was easier for them because there was laws said that "able-bodied immigrants" could enter the US, but now you have to go through processes to get green cards.

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Many claim it was easy for ancestors to come legally, but how exactly does one know that? What laws were put into place when your ancestors arrived? Due to immigration laws constantly changing many new policies have been put into place, with time getting stricter. This text backs up this idea by stating "Today, however, many rules specify who may enter and remain in the country legally. There is also a rigorous process for obtaining documentation to enter the United States as a resident, including applying for immigrant visas and permanent resident/green-card status."

I found the most interesting the fact that back then the biggest obstacle an immigrant faced was just getting here. This information is significant because it shows how overtime laws have been strictly enforced and evolved.

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"Those who were not naturalized were either lawful permanent residents, also known as green-card holders (27 percent of all foreign-born people), or immigrants who were unauthorized (some 11 million people, representing 25.5 percent of all foreign-born people)."

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"The majority of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are from Mexico, but their estimated number—5.8 million in 2014—has declined by approximately 500,000 people since 2009. In 2014, 5.8 million Mexican immigrants were living in the United States without authorization, down from 6.9 million in 2007." I found this significant and surprising that a lot of the immigrant population decreased by "500,000" due to deportation, which has gotten more extreme today, but building a border isn't helping if there were millions of immigrants that made it to the US to begin with.

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"immigrants who have come to the United States recently and, presumably, are more willing to work for lower wages and under worse conditions than either long-term immigrants or native-born workers."

This is significant because it shows they are willing to work right away no matter the conditions, They get these jobs because they are willing to do what a "native born" worker isn't willing to do. They aren't specifically taking the "good jobs" they are taking what they can get or even just the hard jobs with terrible conditions that the typical American isn't willing to do.

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'' Refugee status is far from easy to obtain, and for displaced people, the outcome of this lengthy, complex, and highly subjective process can mean the difference between life and death, or family unity and family separation. '' The statement that refugees don't forego a screening process isn't true, because to even enter the U.S in any legal way it's a long and lengthy path for most. I found it surprising that it often takes 180 day (5-6 months) to get accepted while in most cases it takes from 6 months to many years (for ex. where it can be from 4-7 years or even more; in 2024 many articles stated that avg. time is 4 years.) This process is very long despite what others think, luckily there are services to help those along the process.