What does [this word] mean?

Alien - Nope, we're not talking about little green people living in outer space. In migration literature you'll find this word used to describe any kind of migrant, usually with some sort of descriptor in front of it. Think illegal alien, temporary alien, provisional alien, etc.  

​Unauthorized - this is just another word for an immigrant came to a country outside of legal means. In the United States we call often call these immigrants illegal or undocumented, depending on what political party you're from. In the academic and international migration community, most scholars call these migrants either unauthorized or irregular.

​Our opinion on the illegal/undocumented/unauthorized/irregular debate:
On this site you'll notice that we use undocumented and illegal interchangeably—we do this consciously and with a specific goal in mind. The Salad Bowl Project is meant to be a source that people can trust to deliver apolitical information on migration whenever possible. As a result, we decided that choosing to use just one term preferred by mostly republicans (illegal) or democrats (undocumented) could alienate some of our readers. We considered using unauthorized or irregular instead but saw the same issues arise. This is not a resource necessarily intended for academics or researchers—it's for regular people! So we use the words that regular people use. We hope that by using terms claimed by both parties we're approaching the issue of unauthorized migration from a more well-rounded and unbiased perspective. 

Well of course not all immigrants are criminals, but aren't most of them criminals?

Nope. In fact, some studies suggest that immigrants can actually decrease crime rates in low-income areas. Click here to learn more. 

Don't immigrants take jobs away from American workers?  

Actually, no. Some scholars even argue that immigrants create more jobs for Americans! Click here to learn more. 

​I live with a lot of immigrants and they don't act American at all. They don't even speak english. How could they possibly assimilate to our culture?

A lot of things can affect assimilation. Regardless, most scholars agree, by the third generation immigrants are basically fully assimilated to American culture. Learn more here. 

​Do immigrants pay taxes? 

Yes they do! Even undocumented immigrants pay taxes. Click here to see the stats. 

Aren't most immigrants on welfare? 

Actually, no. Most immigrants can't even apply for welfare programs. Some immigrants do use these programs, though. Click here to learn more.