A Census Bureau report indicates that the U.S. population will rise to 439 million by 2050, or 135 million more than today. More than 80 percent of U.S. population growth will continue to be a direct result of immigration and births to immigrants. In California -- where the population increases by a half million per year -- that immigration component accounts for virtually 100 percent of the growth.

"Water is a precious resource, and as with other resources, we must learn to use it more efficiently. But we must also limit the demands that we place on our resources, and that means limiting immigration as well," Hull said.

More than 50 day laborers stood, bored, anxious and mostly silent, in the sun-blasted parking lot of a Home Depot here last week, tracking the ebb and flow of customers and hoping for work. The hours crawled by. Six, maybe seven men scored jobs. The rest just waited.

This bleak scene is playing out at scores of day laborer sites across the region. Here on Long Island; under the elevated No. 7 line on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens; at the intersection of Port Richmond Avenue and Castleton Avenue on Staten Island; along Bay Parkway in Brooklyn; near highway on-ramps in Westchester County; and into New Jersey and Connecticut, clusters of day laborers, their numbers swelled by people laid off from full-time jobs, wait for work that, more often than not, never comes.

Las Vegas police today announced details of a partnership with federal immigration officials that is expected to begin in the next few weeks. Trained officers at the Clark County Detention Center will be allowed to start possible deportation proceedings for inmates who indicate they are foreign born.

"The construction boom at Fort Lee is causing a significant increase in the number of illegal immigrants being arrested on the base compared with arrests at other military installations. And the number of arrests is likely to increase as the number of workers grows over the next year.

Sixty-two illegal immigrants have been arrested this year while trying to enter Fort Lee, and all have been prosecuted for violating U.S. immigration laws, base officials said. In 2006, there were 15 arrests...."

"San Francisco's immigrant sanctuary policies played a "substantial" role in the slayings of a father and two of his sons by allowing city officials to shield the alleged killer from deportation, despite his violent history, according to a legal claim filed Friday on behalf of the victims' family.

The claim is likely to be followed by a wrongful death lawsuit in which the family of Tony Bologna and his sons could seek millions of dollars from the city.

Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, were shot to death on a street in the Excelsior district June 22. Edwin Ramos, 21, of El Sobrante, who authorities say is a member of a street gang, has been charged with three counts of murder...."

"Congress is leaning toward a guest worker-type program as one means of addressing illegal immigration, 1st District Congressman John Sullivan said Friday at a Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce breakfast."

One of the proposals being looked at is a card for those who want to work here that would be good for, let's say, three to five years," Sullivan said. "There'd be some sort of biometric identification and a background check to make sure they're not a criminal. They'd be able to work here, and they'd also pay taxes...."

"Congress is leaning toward a guest worker-type program as one means of addressing illegal immigration, 1st District Congressman John Sullivan said Friday at a Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce breakfast."

One of the proposals being looked at is a card for those who want to work here that would be good for, let's say, three to five years," Sullivan said. "There'd be some sort of biometric identification and a background check to make sure they're not a criminal. They'd be able to work here, and they'd also pay taxes...."

"Officials with Sun Valley Co. in central Idaho say they will hire fewer ski instructors and other workers from foreign countries this season because a nationwide visa program has reached its limit.

Matt Parke, Sun Valley Co. personnel manager, said the 66,000 national limit for H2-B visas was reached July 29, the earliest it has been met since the program started in 1990.

"It will definitely affect us," Parke told the Idaho Mountain Express. "We sometimes hire 200-plus H2-B employees, and with extensions we'll be about half that...."

"Officials with Sun Valley Co. in central Idaho say they will hire fewer ski instructors and other workers from foreign countries this season because a nationwide visa program has reached its limit.

Matt Parke, Sun Valley Co. personnel manager, said the 66,000 national limit for H2-B visas was reached July 29, the earliest it has been met since the program started in 1990.

"It will definitely affect us," Parke told the Idaho Mountain Express. "We sometimes hire 200-plus H2-B employees, and with extensions we'll be about half that...."

"Illegal immigrants are returning home to Mexico in numbers not seen for decades — and the Mexican government may have to deal with a crush on its social services and lower wages once the immigrants arrive.

The Mexican Consulate's office in Dallas is seeing increasing numbers of Mexican nationals requesting paperwork to go home for good, especially parents who want to know what documentation they'll need to enroll their children in Mexican schools.

"Those numbers have increased percentage-wise tremendously," said Enrique Hubbard, the Mexican consul general in Dallas. "In fact, it's almost 100 percent more this year than it was the previous two years...."

When asked about what governments should do to address illegal immigration, 83% of respondents supported stronger border controls, 74% supported cracking down on employers, and 68% supported deportation.

When asked about what governments should do to address illegal immigration, 83% of respondents supported stronger border controls, 74% supported cracking down on employers, and 68% supported deportation.

When asked about what governments should do to address illegal immigration, 83% of respondents supported stronger border controls, 74% supported cracking down on employers, and 68% supported deportation.

When asked about what governments should do to address illegal immigration, 83% of respondents supported stronger border controls, 74% supported cracking down on employers, and 68% supported deportation.

When asked about what governments should do to address illegal immigration, 83% of respondents supported stronger border controls, 74% supported cracking down on employers, and 68% supported deportation.

When asked about what governments should do to address illegal immigration, 83% of respondents supported stronger border controls, 74% supported cracking down on employers, and 68% supported deportation.

Results from the George Mason University Survey of Virginia Residents released on June 8, 2007:

• Sixty-eight percent of black Virginians oppose the creation of government-sponsored hiring centers for day laborers, which may include illegal aliens.
• Almost eighty-one percent of black Virginians
  favor requiring local police to check the immigration status of people
  they encounter during routine activities, such as traffic violations.
• Almost fifty-percent of black Virginians
  approve of groups of people known as Minutemen who look for illegal
  aliens along the Mexican border and in communities in order to report
  them to authorities.
• Sixty-six percent of black Virginians agree that illegal immigration takes jobs away from American workers.
• Seventy percenty of black Virginians agree that illegal alien workers in the labor market tend to lower the wages and salaries of American workers.
• Sixty percent of black Virginians agree that illegal immigration hurts American customs and way of life.
• Almost seventy-three percent of black Virginians agree that illegal immigration increases the dangers of terrorism.

Results from the California Field Poll released on April 11, 2006:

• 66% would support building a wall along major sections of the
  border between the U.S. and Mexico to stop
  illegal immigrants from entering the U.S.
• 59% would impose stiff penalties on employers and
  individuals who hire illegal immigrants.
• 54% would require undocumented workers who have
  lived in the U.S. for more than two years, but
  less than five years, to briefly leave the
  country and report to an American port of
  entry where they would be classified as
  temporary workers.
• Only 28% would allow illegal immigrants to obtain a
  driver’s license in California.
• 56% considered immigration a major issue in that year's (2006) upcoming gubernatorial elections. 

*Includes those unemployed and not looking for work.

The average (employed) American works 33.7 hours per week. The U.S. government considers full time employment to be at least 35 hours per week. Statistics above represent individuals ages 18-64. This data was gathered from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

View the latest unemployment numbers.

*Includes those unemployed and not looking for work.

The average (employed) American works 33.7 hours per week. The U.S. government considers full time employment to be at least 35 hours per week. Statistics above represent individuals ages 18-64. This data was gathered from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

View the latest unemployment numbers.

*Includes those unemployed and not looking for work.

The average (employed) American works 33.7 hours per week. The U.S. government considers full time employment to be at least 35 hours per week. Statistics above represent individuals ages 18-64. This data was gathered from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

View the latest unemployment numbers.

*Includes those unemployed and not looking for work.

The average (employed) American works 33.7 hours per week. The U.S. government considers full time employment to be at least 35 hours per week. Statistics above represent individuals ages 18-64. This data was gathered from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

View the latest unemployment numbers.