Surprising Numbers From Brookings on College Educated Immigrants in U.S.

A newly released Brookings Institution report puts a fly in the ointment of the generalized xenophobic stereotypes that  immigrants are a burden on the economy.

The study, which includes immigrants of both legal and undocumented status, shows that there are more college-educated immigrants in the U.S. than those without a high school diploma.

From The Atlantic Wire:

Low-skilled immigrants are those that do not possess a high-school diploma, while high-skilled immigrants are those with a college degree, or more. The shift in the past few decades has been significant: “In 1980, just 19 percent of immigrants aged 25 to 64 held a bachelor’s degree, and nearly 40 percent had not completed high school,” the report states. By 2010 that 40 percent was down to 28 percent, while the percentage of immigrants holding BAs rose to 30. Mid-skilled immigrants–those that have a high school diploma or some college and no degree–are still the largest group, though the percentage has held pretty steady since the early 90′s.

The study also shows that even low-skilled immigrants have higher rates of employment and lower rates of household poverty than their U.S. born counterparts. However, presumably because many are undocumented, they have lower individual earnings.