I honestly had no idea that immigrants paid taxes, in fact, I never really thought about it.. It was also news to me how much revenue those taxes generate. Equally surprising is the relatively small amount of social welfare consumed by immigrants. It is incredible the amount of power the media has to negatively or positively affect our opinion of an issue based on how they spin it. It's on us to research and find out if what we hear is true or not, especially in today's society of "alternative facts," conspiracy theories, and outright lies being substituted as news. Those who hold the power want to create fear in us about the issues we don't fully understand. But Fear divides. If we're afraid, we should lean in, learn more, ask questions, seek answers outside of our own echo chambers, educate ourselves, and make an effort to meet the people we've been told to fear. Only after doing the hard work for ourselves can we form our opinions from our experiences and our research. 

In effect, this is what this podcast is about, trying to learn more, seek answers, and ask people to teach me. Thank you for listening and joining me in this journey. You might be farther along than I am - thank you for your patience. Or you may be on the part of the path where you're still suspicious of what you hear and listen with critical ears. That's good too - thank you for giving this podcast a chance to help you reconsider certain issues.  Critical thinking about issues is imperative to good dialogue. As Paulo Freire says in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, "At the point of encounter there are neither ignoramuses or sages, there are only people who are attempting, together, to learn more than they now know." 

Rocio's Quote: "Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world." Howard Zinn

Autumn's Quote: "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." Fred Rogers

Carla's Quote:  by Emily Dickinson

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

References:

How many people receive asylum: https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Refugees_Asylees_2017.pdf and https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/588/

Fewer asylum applications being granted under Trump: https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/588/

70 million people were displaced in 2019: https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/press/2019/6/5d03b22b4/worldwide-displacement-tops-70-million-un-refugee-chief-urges-greater-solidarity.html#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20people%20fleeing,people%20are%20now%20forcibly%20displaced.

How many refugees the US lets in in each year: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/07/key-facts-about-refugees-to-the-u-s/

According to the U.S. Labor Department, in 2018, immigrants accounted for roughly 40 percent of the 2.4 million jobs that were added to the economy: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/ap-fact-check-trump-plays-on-immigration-myths#:~:text=Nearly%2064%20percent%20of%20immigrants,the%202.4%20million%20jobs%20added.

Immigrant-owned businesses with employees have an average of 11 employees: https://www.unidosus.org/issues/immigration/resources/facts#:~:text=Fact%3A%20Immigrants%20contribute%20to%20job%20creation.&text=Given%20that%20the%20average%20immigrant,jobs%20in%20the%20formal%20economy.

Statistics re: falling US birth rates: https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/birth-rate

The ACLU has reported that immigrants pay about $90 billion in taxes every year. And they take about $5 billion in some form of welfare or social services. https://www.aclu.org/other/immigrants-and-economy

One study found that social security receives about $9 billion per year, just from undocumented workers. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/09/undocumented-immigrants-and-taxes/499604/

Number of Fortune 500 companies started by immigrants or their children: https://www.newsweek.com/immigrant-founded-fortune-500-companies-us-gdp-1450498

Statistics regarding effect of immigrants on Colorado’s economy: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-colorado

Crime and incarceration rates for immigrant populations: https://www.policefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Appendix-D_0.pdf

 

Undocumented immigrants and rates of crime: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2019/05/13/is-there-a-connection-between-undocumented-immigrants-and-crime

 

Immigrant statistics:https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-in-the-united-states#:~:text=10.7%20million%20undocumented%20immigrants%20comprised,member%20between%202010%20and%202014.