Homeownership and Immigration

U.S. homeownership rates are higher than ever. Interest rates are low and the economy is not as "bad" as the CBS Evening News and other media like to stress.

Moreover, homeownership rates are highest among naturalized immigrants. "Blacks, Asian and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics who immigrate to the U.S. and become citizens are more likely to own homes than members of the same ethnic group born in this country ...," reports the State Dept.

The "immigration debate" has been complicated by all sorts of domestic and international politics. Yet, a simple barometer of what naturalized immigrants do for the U.S. -- and what the U.S. does for them -- is very clear. And yet much too rarely cited.