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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah's foreign-born population grew 21.6 percent between 2000 and 2005 -- to an estimated 192,916 persons -- according to data from the American Community Survey.
Nationally the number of immigrants grew just 14.7 percent over the same period, the survey shows. Utah is one of 46 states with a growing immigrant population according to the survey, which did not pinpoint the legal status of immigrants.
The Pew Hispanic Center estimates Utah's population of undocumented residents is between 75,000 and 100,000.
Benjamin Johnson, director of the Washington-based Immigration Policy Center, said the survey is proof that Congress needs to find a comprehensive solution to the immigration problem in the United States.
"There's no question the system needs to be fixed as far as legal immigration is concerned and undocumented," said Archie Archuleta, chairman of the Utah Coalition of La Raza. "Congress has really, miserably failed."
Archuleta said he believes the legal immigration process is slow, overloaded and undermanned, which allows immigrants to circumvent the system. He said he believes the nation's economic system will continue to attract workers.
The overall increase in the immigrant population is straining many communities, said John Keeley, spokesman for the Center for Immigration Studies. And because Congress has failed to act, state and local governments have been pushed to find their own solutions, he said.
"This is a real spiking in immigration, generally and illegal immigration specifically," he said. "The fundamental question is: Is there any level of immigration that is too much?"
------ Information from: The Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
