The ELPAC Report July 2003

Can't Speak English - Get a Job

The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that, in 2002, 32 million people in the United States were born in another country and immigrated here. The "foreign-born" population, reports the Census, are more likely to live in Western states, are younger, live in larger families, are much more likely to be unemployed, earn less than native-born Americans, and are more likely to live in poverty. The Migration Policy Institute points out that more than one-third of all foreign- born persons cannot speak English well, and that in nine states, more than 40% of the foreign- born were "limited-English proficient."

The Census Bureau, in its official report, did not speculate on causes for the higher poverty and unemployment levels among the foreign-born. Other analyses, however, have consistently pegged the lack of fluency in English as a cause of lower-income and joblessness.

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