Understanding Immigration

1. Which of the following reasons for people migrating from one country to another is the most important in today’s world?

a. Better living conditions

b. Higher wages

c. To escape persecution

d. All of the above

2. Which of the following statements are true with respect to immigration into the U.S.?

a. Immigrants from Europe were more than 90% of the total in the first decade of the twentieth century, but less than 20% of the total by the end of the century. 

b. By the 2000s, about half of the U.S. immigration came from the rest of the Americas, especially Mexico, and

c. By the end of 2000, about a quarter of the U.S. immigration came from various countries in Asia. 

d. all of the above statements are true. 

3. Compared to the beginning of the 20th century, immigration now into the United States as a fraction of our population is

a. much greater (more than ten times as large)

b. somewhat greater (between twice as large and ten times as large)

c. somewhat smaller (between one-tenth as large and half as large)

d. about the same 

4. The NAFTA was expected to reduce migration from Mexico into the United States because

a. The NAFTA was expected to raise wages in Mexico, reducing the incentive for migration.

b. The NAFTA would reduce the movement of vehicles across the border in which illegal migrants could hide.

c. The NAFTA agreement included a provision for increased enforcement of migration restrictions at the border.

d. The NAFTA was expected to reduce American wages below Mexican wages, causing migration to flow into Mexico instead of into the U.S.

5. Opponents of current U.S. immigration policy argue that

a. Immigrants should be restricted to those with high skills and high wealth.

b. The taxes that immigrants pay in the U.S. are smaller than the benefits they get.

c. Immigrants reduce wages of American unskilled workers.

d. All of the above.

6. By devoting more resources to keeping illegal immigrants from crossing the U.S.- Mexico border, the U.S. has caused

a. Increased illegal immigration

b. Increased taxes to be collected from legal immigrants in the U.S.

c. Immigrants to be exploited by those who offer to help them cross the border.

d. Wages in Mexico to rise.

8. A surge of immigration can affect the economy in a number of different ways. These include:

a. affecting wage levels in the economy.

b. affecting government spending at the federal and local levels. 

c. causing a shift to the right in the supply of unskilled labor for a number of jobs, which will lead to lower wages for these jobs.

d. all of the above

10. The disruptive effects of immigration include the following:

a. Immigration weighted toward low-skill workers tends to reduce wages for domestic low-skill workers.

b. It is also possible that employers, in the face of abundant low-skill workers may choose production processes which are more labor-intensive than otherwise would have been.

c. Many of the costs imposed by immigrants are costs that arise in state-run programs, like the cost of public schooling and of welfare benefits.

d. All of the above

11. The effects of immigration on taxes are generally ___________ at the federal level, but they are ___________ at the state and local levels in places where there are many low-skilled immigrants.

a. negative, negative

b. positive, negative

c. negative, positive

d. positive, positive

12. The Congressional Jordan Commission of the 1990s proposed

a. reducing overall levels of immigration and refocusing U.S. immigration policy to give priority to immigrants with higher skill levels.

b. increasing overall levels of immigration and refocusing U.S. immigration policy to give priority to immigrants with higher skill levels.

c. reducing overall levels of immigration and refocusing U.S. immigration policy to give priority to immigrants with lower skill levels.

d. increasing overall levels of immigration and refocusing U.S. immigration policy to give priority to immigrants with lower skill levels.

13. The Obama Administration proposed the so-called ____________________legislation, which would have offered a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants brought to the United States before the age of 16.

a. Affordable Care Act

b. DREAM Act

c. Equal Opportunity Act

d. Immigration Act

14. The process by which the first wave of migrants then attracts relatives and friends to join them in the destination place is known as ____________.

a. lateral migration

b. chain migration

c. transnational migration

d. circular migration

15. Some Americans were anti-immigrant and were known as:

a. imperialists

b. nativists

c. chauvinists

d. regionalists

9. About one-third of immigrants over the age of 25 lack a high school diploma. As a result, many of the recent immigrants end up in unskilled jobs. As a result:

a. this results in a shift to the right in the supply of unskilled labor for a number of jobs, which will lead to lower wages for these jobs.

b. the middle- and upper-income households that purchase the services of these unskilled workers will benefit from these lower wages.

c. the low-skilled U.S. workers who must compete with low-skilled immigrants for jobs will tend to suffer from immigration.

d. all of the above statements are true. 

7. How common is it for people to migrate from one developing country to another

a. More common than the migration from developing countries to developed countries.

b. Less common than the migration from developing countries to developed countries, but more common than migration between developed countries.

c. Less common than migration between developed countries, but more common than the migration from developed countries to developing countries.

d. It doesn’t happen at all.