All answers -- your immigration IQ

By ThreeSixty

Some 18.9 percent of Minnesota babies have foreign-born moms, more than three times the 5.8 percent in 1990, according to the

Some 18.9 percent of Minnesota babies have foreign-born moms, more than three times the 5.8 percent in 1990, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Eleven percent of Minnesota students don’t speak English, the state health department reports. The highest concentration is in the metro area.

Almost half of the state’s immigrants – 47 percent — came to the state as refugees, compared to 17 percent nationally. “In part, that’s because of the superb service organizations in our state,” says Barbara Ronningen of the state demographer’s office. Groups like Lutheran Social Service and Catholic Charities help resettle refugees in Minnesota and neighboring states.

Immigrants are all foreign-born people who move to the U.S., whether legally or illegally. Those with legal status are called permanent residents.

Refugees are unable or unwilling to live in their home countries because of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security decides who qualifies as a refugee.

Asians are the largest immigrant group at 36.3 percent. Latinos are next at 27.9 percent and Africans immigrants rank third at 18.8 percent.

Just 6.6 percent. Percentages are higher in coastal states and along the Mexican border. But immigrant numbers have been much higher in recent years in Minnesota. Immigrants are attracted to areas with good jobs and good schools. Many move to communities with other people from their native country.

That’s widely debated, because illegal immigration has both negative and positive impacts. Wages for low-skilled workers go down because of increased competition for jobs. But that means other Americans benefit by paying lower prices for things like restaurant meals and construction. Economists generally believe that when averaged over the whole economy, the effect is a small net positive. Harvard’s George Borjas says the average American’s wealth is increased by less than one percent because of illegal immigration.

In 2000, among men age 18-39 (who comprise the vast majority of the U.S. prison population), the incarceration rate for the native-born was 3.5 percent, five times higher than the 0.7 percent rate for immigrants, according to the Immigration Policy Center in Washington, D.C.