Demographics
Immigrants are a vital, dynamic part of the U.S. population—especially when it comes to the workforce. 77.1% of immigrants are of working age (16–64), compared to just 62.0% of U.S.-born residents, making them key contributors to the economy as both taxpayers and consumers.
- 22.9 million immigrants are active in the U.S. workforce
- 74% of foreign-born residents are proficient in English
- 89.4% of all undocumented immigrants are of working age
- 5.2 million U.S. citizen children living with at least one undocumented family member
- Only 4.9% of immigrants are under 15, compared to 20.3% of U.S.-born residents
- 18% of immigrants are 65+, nearly identical to the 17.7% of U.S.-born seniors
Does ICE’s Criminal Alien Program (CAP) Target Serious Criminals?
Over the past several years, ICE has increased the number of partnerships with state and local police. There has also been a new emphasis on identifying “criminal aliens” who are detained in jails and prisons, and deporting them once they finish their sentences. However, many concerns have been raised about how these programs are being implemented. In fact, various reports have shown that while ICE claims they are targeting serious criminals, the majority of persons ICE identifies and deports do not actually have any serious criminal records. Read More
Spanish Language Media Holds President Obama To His Promises
When President Obama hit the talk show circuit last weekend, he also included a visit to Al Punto, Univision’s weekend news program with anchor Jorge Ramos. Ramos questioned the President about undocumented immigrants, health care reform and his promise to reform the U.S. immigration system within the first year of his presidency. A tiny soundbite from that interview circulated the media last week which focused on the timing of comprehensive immigration reform, but the real lesson from this interview is that people are watching the subtle shifts in language and wording the administration has been using to discuss immigration and whether those shifts represent a change in commitment. Mr. Ramos politely but firmly pressed the President to answer to his promises—“la promesa de Obama”—to the U.S. immigrant and Latino population. The answers show a president who remains committed to immigration reform but who is also facing a series of practical challenges that have consequences for his full political agenda. Read More
New Report: Good Immigration Policy Creates a Stronger American Middle Class
The myth that immigration is bad for U.S. workers has sullied the immigration debate for far too long. A new report by the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (DMI), “Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: 2009 Edition,” sets the record straight. In the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and in anticipation of a new round of legislative debates on comprehensive immigration reform, DMI’s report makes a rational, concise argument for why comprehensive immigration reform is needed to improve the conditions for middle class Americans. Read More
An Anti-Immigrant Hate-Fest on Capitol Hill
A motley collection of anti-immigrant zealots and talk-radio shock jocks of the far right descended upon Washington, DC, this week for an annual event dubbed “Hold Their Feet to the Fire.” The two-day marathon of angry rants on the air waves coincided with three days of lobbying visits to congressional offices organized by the nation’s largest anti-immigration group, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). Predictably, the assorted speakers and activists in attendance at this year’s hate-fest blame immigrants—particularly unauthorized immigrants—for virtually every economic and social ill to befall the United States, and demand that Congress continue to pursue the “deportation-only” approach to unauthorized immigration that has proven to be an utter failure for more than two decades. Read More
Birthright Citizenship: Myths, Facts and Why It Matters
The issue of birthright citizenship, although not traditionally a sexy topic, is not without controversy. In the 2008 election, for example, the legitimacy of both parties’ candidates was called into question—Republican candidate, Sen. John McCain, was born on a U.S. military base in the Panama Canal Zone and Democratic candidate, President Barack Obama, was born to a U.S. citizen mother and an immigrant father in Hawaii in 1961. Normally, the issue of birthright citizenship doesn’t get much attention. However, immigration restrictionists and select politicians often use the issue to rally extremists and distract from the important issues surrounding reforming our broken immigration system. Today, in light the upcoming federal holiday, Citizenship Day, the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) released a new report, Made in America: Myths and Facts about Birthright Citizenship, which challenges the myths so often heard about birthright citizenship. Read More
New Report Holds Immigration Detention System Up to the Light
Transparency and oversight have never topped Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) priority list—especially during the post-9/11 Bush administration when ICE’s detention system nearly tripled in size. Last month, however, ICE director John Morton announced a new plan to overhaul the flawed immigration detention system and broaden federal oversight. Sure, the new plan was announced shortly after ICE was forced by the ACLU under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to release a “comprehensive list of all deaths in detention” (which now totals 104 since 2003), but still, John Morton’s intention to make ICE more transparent and efficient seems sincere. The question, however, is whether or not ICE will actually be able to restructure its sprawling detention system after years of scant oversight and zero accountability. Read More
Immigration, Southern Manners, and South Carolina Demographics
Courtesy and demographics are not two issues commonly lumped together into one discussion. However, after Congressman Joe Wilson’s outburst during President Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress to discuss heath care reform last night, this seems an apropos time to remind the Congressman about the importance of courtesy, the reality of his state’s changing demographics, and the political pitfalls of being an anti-immigrant legislator. Read More
CIS Adds to Falsehoods about Health Care Reform
It would seem that the Center for Immigration Studies has decided to jump on the talk-radio bandwagon of far-right commentators who are loudly attempting to derail substantive health care reform through fear-mongering and falsehoods. Although CIS has so far steered clear of the baseless rants about “death panels” and “socialized medicine,” it has issued a new report that seeks to buttress an equally farcical claim: that health care reform will leave American taxpayers footing the bill for millions of unauthorized immigrants who will receive federally subsidized health insurance. Specifically, the report argues that H.R. 3200 (America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009) could give health insurance to 6.6 million unauthorized, low-income immigrants at an annual cost to the federal government of $30.5 billion. Read More
New Report Measures Widening Gap Between Republicans and Latino Voters
A New York Times article from 1882 stated, “It is a trite saying that in a free country public opinion rules. […] It often happens that a question of policy becomes of pressing importance before public opinion develops in regard to it.” More than one-hundred years later, this idea remains true—especially in regard to Latino voters and the Republican Party. Read More
Will Florida’s New Republican Senator Focus on Immigration Reform?
Immigration advocates around the country let out a heartfelt sigh when Florida Republican Senator, Mel Martinez, announced his resignation earlier this month. Senator Martinez, whose term was set to expire January 3, 2011, is Cuban-born and a long-time immigration supporter. Florida Republican Governor Charlie Crist, who plans to run for the Senate seat himself, appointed George LeMieux, his closest political advisor to fill the seat—a choice met with heavy criticism from Democrats. While no one is quite sure how George LeMieux will fare on issues critical to Florida voters (since LeMieux has never held public office before), one thing is sure: GOPers would do well to keep immigration reform at the top of the priority list considering that Latinos comprised roughly one-in-seven of the swing-state’s voters in the 2008 presidential election. Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
