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Only 12% of white evangelical Christians and 20% of all Protestant Christians say that they think about immigration issues primarily from the perspective of their Christian faith

Few Say Religion Shapes Immigration, Environment Views


12% of Evangelical Christians primarily choose to view Immigration from the Bible

Nine out of 10 Evangelicals (86 percent) want more border security. Six in 10 (61 percent) support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. More than two-thirds (68 percent) favor both. And they want Congress to take action soon.

Evangelicals Say It Is Time For Congress To Tackle Immigration


11.5 million: number of undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S., as of January 2011

6.8 million: number of undocumented Mexicans, representing 59% of total undocumented population and 60% of all Mexican immigrants in the U.S.

270,000: number of undocumented Filipinos, representing about 1 out of every 6 Filipino immigrants in the U.S.

240,000: number of undocumented Indians, representing about 1 out of every 7 Indian immigrants in the U.S.

230,000: number of undocumented South Koreans, representing about 2 out of every 9 South Korean immigrants in the U.S.

280,000: number of undocumented Chinese immigrants, representing 1 out of every 6 Chinese immigrants in the U.S.

170,000: number of undocumented Vietnamese immigrants, representing 1 out of every 6 Vietnamese immigrants in the U.S.

56%: percentage of undocumented immigrants who entered U.S. prior to year 2000

85%: percentage of undocumented immigrants who entered prior to 2005

Click to access ois_ill_pe_2011.pdf


86% of Protestant pastors in the US affirm that Christians should “care sacrificially for refugees and foreigners.…BUT…Only 8% say their church is currently involved in serving these communities locally

http://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2016/february/churches-fear-refugees-lifeway-survey-world-relief-vision.html


44 out of 46: number of economists surveyed that believe that illegal immigration has been good for the U.S. economy overall

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114477669441223067


$15 billion: estimated annual contributions to the Social Security system from undocumented immigrants, even though they are generally ineligible to receive any Social Security benefits


75%: percentage of undocumented immigrants are paying payroll taxes, including Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/05/business/05immigration.html


$11.8 billion: amount paid in local and state taxes by undocumented immigrants in 2012 ($1.1 billion in personal income taxes, $3.6 billion in property taxes, and $7.1 billion in sales and excise taxes; does not include Social Security, Medicare, or federal income taxes)

http://www.itep.org/pdf/undocumentedtaxes2015.pdf#page=13


$80,000: amount the average immigrant & his or her offspring will pay in taxes over the course of a lifetime beyond the cost of the governmental services & benefits they collect (but this net benefit is somewhat skewed because there is sometimes a net cost to local governments)


96%: labor participation for undocumented adult males

webarchive.urban.org/publications1000587.html


65%: percentage of Hispanic immigrants who believe that abortion should be illegal, compared to 40% of all non-Hispanic Americans

www.pewhispanic.org/files/reports/75.pdf


50% to 60%: percentage of the food Americans eat that was touched by immigrant hands

www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41430/_page3.html


68% of evangelical Christians say that they would support immigration reforms that would both increase border security and establish a process so that immigrants present unlawfully in the U.S. could earn permanent legal status and eventually citizenship if they paid a fine and met other qualifications

Click to access Evangelical-Views-on-Immigration-Report.pdf


Just 1 in 5 evangelical Christians says that they have ever been encouraged by their local church to reach out to immigrants in their community

Click to access Evangelical-Views-on-Immigration-Report.pdf


Only about half of evangelical Christians (53%) say that they are very familiar with what the Bible says about how to treat immigrants

Click to access Evangelical-Views-on-Immigration-Report.pdf


The Hebrew word for an immigrant, ger, appears 92 times just in the Old Testament

Source: Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate, Matthew Soerens and Jenny Hwang Yang, InterVarsity Press, 2009, page 83 InterVarsity Press, 2009, page 83