Yet this decade has seen the highest-ever rise in scores on a leading college placement exam. During the 1990s, student achievement on national tests in math, science, and reading also have increased. More students are graduating from high school. Those numbers are expected to increase by 45.2 percent over the next eight years. Thus, charges that immigrants are driving down high school graduation rates are patently false.
Immigrants contribute to the American economy.
The net fiscal impact is positive. Immigrants create jobs. Numerous studies have shown that most jobs are created by small and medium-sized businesses. More immigrants start small businesses than do natural-born citizens. Nearly half of all inner-city firms are owned by immigrants.