Over the past several years immigration has made itself second only to international terrorism as a major concern in the United States.

But Tamar Jacoby of the bi-monthly magazine, Foreign Affairs, believes that U.S. society is less divided on this issue than Congress, and he backs up his beliefs with poll results.

Public opinion polls show that a great majority of U.S. residents (between two-thirds and three-fourths) want Congress to take a stand on immigration. On the one hand, people would like tighter border control and, on the other, they’d like it to be easier for illegal immigrants to legalize their status.

Jacoby, author of “Immigration Nation,” which appeared in Foreign Affairs, points to a strange coalition of business organizations, labor unions and the Catholic Church. President George Bush, the liberal Democrat Edward Kennedy, the leader of the Republican majority in the Senate, Bill Frist, and almost all Democrats are coalition members.

The delays in Congress in deciding on immigration reform are of a purely political nature. The Republican legislators take into account the views of about 20 to 25 percent of the electorate, consisting mainly of white men without higher education. Based on the views of this electorate, immigrants are bad for the U.S. economy, so they support the idea of building a wall on the southern border, and speak firmly against the idea of granting illegal immigrants U.S. citizenship. Many Republicans, especially in the House of Representatives, see that 20 to 25 percent of the electorate as the group that will have a deciding voice in the November elections.

Tamar Jacoby of the Manhattan Institute, who specializes in immigration issues, tackles many immigration myths in his article. He doesn’t believe that immigrants take jobs away from locals. Based on the information published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be 56 million new jobs created in the United States between the year 2002 and 2012. Half of those jobs will not even require a high school diploma. Americans, who are getting better educated, are not quick to accept low-paying jobs for unskilled workers. If it weren’t for immigrants, the restaurant industry, which provides the highest number of jobs in the private sector (12.5 million), would collapse. A similar situation would take place in the construction industry.

The majority of immigrants come to the United States to work. They have the highest index of employment (94 percent) among all groups. An estimated two-thirds of immigrants pay taxes. The Social Security Administration receives about $7 billion from immigrants annually, which are not returned in benefits. Companies employing immigrants are more likely to stay in the United States, which also benefits the economy.

The majority of newcomers are young and ready to relocate. Among other Cities benefit from their labor, among them is New Orleans, while waiting for help in rebuilding the city after the damages done by hurricane Katrina.

According to Jacoby, immigrants don’t wait for someone to employ them, but create new jobs that haven’t been there before. Also if we were to assume that every one of the eight million immigrants here works 2000 hours for an hourly rate of $9, they generate at least $144 billion for the U.S. economy annually. They also enrich the country with their energy, hard work and traditional principles, which are again highly valued.