A recent report from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) shows that while most of the illegal immigration to this country over the past few decades has emanated from Latin America, it is also a growing problem from some Asian countries.

MPI estimates there are 285,000 Chinese nationals in this country illegally, up 307% from 1990. Even more striking, they estimate roughly 1.5 million people are here illegally from all Asian countries. In a public email from MPI on Tuesday, they noted that 900 Chinese aliens classified as “violent offenders” have been released onto our streets. And remember, Asia includes the Middle East. Take comfort in that thought.

The MPI study also shows a disturbing trend in illegal immigration from Africa, with the bulk of the estimated 342,000 illegal immigrants originating from Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Kenya.

3 Important Lessons & Takeaways From This Report:

First, much of the influx in illegal immigrants from non-Latin American countries is clearly the result of people overstaying their visas. While it is of urgent importance to complete the border fence to stem the flow of illegal immigration from across the southern border, the next GOP president must immediately implement a visa tracking system. It was required by Congress 19 years ago, after all.

Also, the increase in illegals from those who overstay their visas lays waste to those who say fixing unqualified birthright citizenship is a distraction. Thumb-sucking pundits like Charles Krauthammer contend that if we just secured the border, the entire problem will become moot. Clearly, the numbers show that we must eliminate all of the magnets otherwise we will face a growing visa problem in the long-run. Allowing people to scam the system and come here for the purpose of giving birth to American-born children will make it hard to deport illegal immigrants even with a successful visa tracking system in place.

Finally, the growth in illegal immigrants from China is a clear rebuke to those who contend the catalyst for illegal immigration is the lack of sufficient legal immigration. As I’ve noted before, most of our illegal immigration has stemmed from the very countries where we’ve admitted more legal immigrants than ever before. That is certainly true for Mexico and Latin America. But China is now another good example. Almost 72,000 Chinese immigrants were granted green cards in 2013, the most of any country after Mexico. Legal immigration from China has topped 745,000 over the past decade, up from 17,627 in the ‘70s, 170,897 in the ‘80s and 342,058 in the ‘90s, according to DHS data.

The pattern of illegal immigration, when juxtaposed to the time period and country of origin of legal immigration, clearly shows that when we balkanize our country with record immigration over such a short period of time, it fosters a climate that creates a chain reaction for relatives and communities of those recent immigrants to come join them in America – however they may come here. Even the most generous immigration caps will never suffice for the desired immigration levels precisely because precipitous immigration concentrated from specific countries will always entice more of their families and friends to come join them. And unless all caps are completely abolished, they will come here illegally in order to jump the massive line.

The world works on incentives and the more we incentivize balkanization and discourage assimilation, while granting illegal immigrants a panoply of benefits – including the ultimate benefit of citizenship – the more people will continue to come here illegally. (For more from the author of “Illegal Immigration From Asia Rises With Legal Immigration” please click HERE)

Watch a recent interview with the author below:

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