Immigration to Arizona
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 ARIZONA IMMIGRATION
STATISTICS |
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Total Population: |
6,200,000 (2006) |
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Foreign Born: |
790,000 (2005) |
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Illegal Immigrants: |
FAIR Estimate: 490,000 (2005) |
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USCIS/DHS Estimate: 280,000 (2003) |
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Pew Hispanic Center Estimate: 500,000 (2005) |
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About Arizona
Between 1990 and 2000, Arizona's population increased by 40 percent. It further
increased by 20.2 percent between 2000 and 2006, bringing its total population
to approximately 6.7 million. In 2006 Arizona increased by 3.6 percent, making
it the fastest growing state in the nation and had the fifth largest increase
population size.
Immigration to Arizona
The increase in the foreign-born population
accounted for 26 percent of the state’s overall population increase during the
1990s. Foreign-born residents now account for 13 percent of the state’s total
population. Arizona’s foreign-born population increased 136 percent during the
1990s, the ninth largest percent increase in the country. Between 1990 and 2000,
Arizona gained almost 380,000 immigrants. This immigrant influx increased the
total number of foreign-born residents in the state to over 650,000. Providing
care to illegal immigrants costs Arizona hospitals $150 million annually,
according to the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association. At least one
hospital in Arizona has filed for bankruptcy and is in danger of closing due to
uncompensated care for illegal aliens. As a solution to the millions of dollars
these facilities are uncompensated for, University Medical Center (Tucson)
hospital administrators are reporting uninsured immigrants who do not pay their medical bills to
immigration officials. In one four-month period in 2003, UMC incurred $3.3
million in immigrants’ unpaid bills. At least three Arizona hospitals are
sending bill collectors into Mexico to try to obtain payments.
Illegal Immigration to Arizona
283,000 illegal aliens resided in Arizona as of 2000, according to USCIS
figures. Arizona has the sixth largest number of
illegal immigrants in the U.S.
This estimate is 146 percent higher than the previous USCIS estimate in 1996 and
222 percent higher than the estimate for 1990. The Arizona border with Mexico is
a popular point for illegal crossings—the Tucson area has had the most illegal
alien arrests in the U.S. in recent years. 450,000 people were arrested by the
Border Patrol for crossing the border illegally in 2001. Some residents are so
fearful of alien smugglers that they say they avoid going out alone at night.
According to the Cochise County sheriff, problems associated with
illegal
immigration cost residents 37 cents of every tax dollar they pay. Cochise County
shares 84 miles of border with Mexico. The medical treatment of illegal
immigrants accounts for about ten percent of the county’s health department
budget. Arizona authorities requested compensation of $41 million from the
federal government in 1999 for the incarceration of illegal aliens in state and
local jails and prisons (under the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance
Program, or SCAAP). Unfortunately, it received only $16 million in compensation,
leaving $25 million in uncompensated costs to be borne by Arizona taxpayers.
Statistical numbers on immigration (legal and illegal) to Arizona:
- Foreign-born residents now account for 13 percent of the state’s total population.
- More than 500,000 illegal immigrants are believed to be living in Arizona.
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