Potential executive action by the White House, along with the recent surge in unaccompanied children attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, has once again brought the political spotlight to America’s immigration system.

Once upon a time, the American family of the popular imagination lived in the suburbs, had 2.5 children, and spent its weekends washing the car in the driveway. The United States has become increasingly diverse and significantly more urban over time, however, and such images no longer hold true for much of the country — even to the exclusion of that most American of icons, the family car.

In 2010 and 2011, the rate of poverty in the United States stayed roughly constant at 15% — some 46.2 million people, according to Census Bureau figures issued in September 2012. This represents the greatest total number of people designated as poor since the government began the count more than a half-century ago.

One of the most persistent arguments against efforts to stop man-made global warming is that environmental regulations — mandates to reduce carbon emissions or require polluters to pay, for example — put people out of work. Proponents of such laws argue that they can create jobs by encouraging technological innovations. Critics say they burden business.