Immigration to Arkansas
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 ARKANSAS IMMIGRATION STATISTICS |
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Total Population: |
2,830,000 (2006) |
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Foreign Born: |
102,000 (2005) |
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Illegal Immigrants: |
FAIR Estimate: 49,000 (2005) |
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USCIS/DHS Estimate: 27,000 (2000) |
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Pew Hispanic Center Estimate: 50,000 (2005) |
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About Arkansas
Arkansas increased by 323,000 people or 14 percent
between 1990 and 2000. This growth brings its population to almost 2.7 million
people. Between 1990 and 2000, Arkansas saw an influx of 49,000 immigrants,
bringing the total number of foreign-born residents to 74,000. That near
tripling of the immigrant population was much higher than the 12 percent
increase in the native-born population. The Census Bureau projects that
Arkansas’s population will increase to three million between 2000 and 2025.
Immigration to Arkansas
The immigrant population in Arkansas grew tremendously with thousands of immigrants arriving to work in poultry and construction jobs during the 1900s. Arkansas increased by 196 percent and experienced the fourth largest percent increase in immigrants in the U.S. during the 1990s. Communities in the state are struggling to hold up under the strain of this dramatic population growth.
Illegal Immigration to Arkansas
According to USCIS figures, 27,000
illegal aliens resided in Arkansas as of 2000. This figure is 400 percent higher
than the previous USCIS estimate in 1996. It is 440 percent higher than the
estimate for 1990. The USCIS opened its first Arkansas office in 1997 at Fort
Smith. However, police complained that immigration agents were often
unavailable. In 2000, the USCIS opened another office in Fayetteville to
investigate alien-smuggling rings ,and document fraud and respond to requests
from local police departments. Police now are USCIS instructed to call the USCIS
when they arrest an immigrant on a serious charge. Immigration agents examine
jail-booking records for deportable immigrants. Deportations in Northwest
Arkansas have nearly tripled since the opening of the Fayetteville office.
Illegal Immigration and Schools
Rising construction costs and rapid student growth are pushing up the costs of
new schools far faster than the state of Arizona's ability to pay. However, a
part of the higher price tag may be due to state taxpayers paying for some
extras that are not provided for under the law. New schools are costing Arizona
taxpayers about $350 million in the 2007 budget year, claims the state Auditor
General’s Office. The School Facilities Board, the state agency charged with
building construction, estimates the cost could reach $544 million by 2012.
Auditor General Debbie Davenport said some of what is driving up the cost is
outside the control of the state. The number of students in kindergarten through
12th grade grew 19 percent between 1999 and 2006, for example. A 27 percent
increase is predicted by 2015, but Davenport said the School Facilities Board
has decided on its own to fund more than what is necessary for a basic school.
Pearce is also hoping student growth estimates are wrong. He said a new law
penalizing companies for knowingly hiring undocumented workers may result in
some of these families leaving Arizona. A 2006 study by Pew Hispanic Center
estimated about one in every seven students in Arizona public schools is here
because of illegal immigration. That includes both students in this country
illegally as well as those born here to parents who are not legal residents, and
who presumably would otherwise not be in the country. Current public school
enrollment is slightly more than 1 million students. That includes both
traditional public schools and charter schools, which also are public schools
under state law. Jeanine L'Ecuyer, press aide to Gov. Janet Napolitano, said
efforts already are under way to study options for dealing with the rising
costs, including whether to pay cash or borrow and whether there are ways to get
developers to help contribute to the cost of new schools to keep the tax burden
low.
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