The January 3 report says 45 percent of immigrants live in the central city of a metropolitan area, compared with 28 percent of the U.S.-born population. Some 40 percent of the population of New York City is from another country. While 8 out of 10 people who arrived before 1970 are now naturalized citizens, that number drops to 1 in 10 for those arriving in the United States since 1990. Because the figures were compiled as part of the March 2000 Current Population Survey, estimates on the total number of immigrants living in the country tend to be understated, since many immigrants go uncounted in such government surveys.

Figures in the report help point out the unequal wages and living conditions that immigrants face, how the employers profit from the second-class status of immigrant workers, and the stratification imposed through racism, prejudice, and denial of citizenship rights. Some 36 percent of all foreign-born people working full-time, year-round jobs earned less than $20,000 as compared to 21 percent of native-born workers. Among workers from Central America 57 percent fell into that category, as opposed to 16 percent of those from Europe and 22 percent from Asia.

Immigrants without U.S. citizenship were more than twice as likely to live in poverty as naturalized citizens, with Latin Americans having the highest poverty rate compared with immigrants from Europe, at 22 and 9 percent, respectively. Among Latin Americans, those from South America experienced a lower poverty rate, 11.5 percent, compared with 24 percent for those from Central America.  
 
 
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