Economic Impact
Immigrants are essential to the U.S. economy, filling roles from high-skilled tech sectors to agricultural labor and driving economic growth. They also contribute to the tax base and consumer spending. We champion reform that will maximize this effect and create a more diverse and competitive workforce.
Rep. Virgil Goode’s Attack on Children of Immigrants
Rep. Virgil Goode repeatedly used the derogatory term “anchor babies” during a Wednesday debate. Last week, the habitually offensive Representative Virgil Goode (R-VA) callously attacked the US-born children of immigrants. Goode repeatedly used the term "anchor baby," a notoriously derogatory term employed by anti-immigrant organizations and restrictionists to describe the children of non-citizens who were born in the US and therefore "facilitate" immigration through family reunification under the longstanding provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. In his attack, Goode claimed: Only those who want to coddle and cater to the illegals say that they are beneficial to the workforce...And I gave you one very specific: the anchor baby. Which means you come over in this country, have a kid, and the kid's an automatic citizen. A huge cost. Yet Goode's analysis is naive, simplistic and plainly misinformed. Aside from using dehumanizing rhetoric to suggest the government should repeal the 14th amendment which provides for natural-born citizenship, Rep. Goode overlooks the national benefits of family-based immigration: Read More
E Pluribus Unum and the GOP English Mandate
As expected, the Republican platform contains lots of tough immigration-enforcement language as well as an outright rejection of “amnesty.” Yet one of the more paradoxical sections is on immigrant integration and the English language. According to the platform: One sign of our unity is our English language. For newcomers, it has always been the fastest route to prosperity in America. English empowers. We support English as the official language in our nation, while welcoming the ethnic diversity in the United States and the territories, including language. Immigrants should be encouraged to learn English. English is the accepted language of business, commerce, and legal proceedings, and it is essential as a unifying cultural force. It is also important, as part of cultural integration, that our schools provide better education in U.S. history and civics for all children, thereby fostering a commitment to our national motto, E Pluribus Unum. Maybe immigrants should be encouraged to learn Latin so they can keep up with all of our American ideals.Did the Republican drafters really fail to catch the irony there? Ninety-nine percent of the GOP’s paragraph is indisputable. English is an empowering, unifying force. But making English the official language of the U.S. is not going to force anyone to learn English any faster. By including this point in their platform, the GOP stokes Americans’ misguided suspicions that immigrants don’t want to learn English. Shame on the GOP for playing into fears and stereotypes. Read More
DNC Live: National Hispanic Leadership Agenda
Yesterday the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA)--a nonpartisan association of Hispanic organizations and leaders--announced a bold new policy agenda at the DNC, calling upon elected officials, candidates, political parties, the media and the general public to consider and adopt the NHLA platform. The Hispanic Policy Agenda addresses prime policy issues facing Hispanics in six main issue areas: Education Civil rights Immigration Economic Empowerment Health Government Accountability NHLA Chair and President of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), John Trasvina, began by introducing the purpose of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda as being the establishment of a set of principles and priorities that the candidates need to adopt if they want to gain the support of the Latinos. "We need to make sure that the truth is spoken about immigration and the needs of the Latino community and we don't let others define what we are," said Trasvina. Read More
DNC Live: Janet Murguia Concludes NDN Immigration Forum
Janet Murguia, CEO of President of National Council of La Raza was the final speaker at NDN's Immigration Reform and the Next Administration forum event at the DNC. Murguia wanted to add another dimension to the conversation by pointing out that as a Latina, she and her fellow Latinos care about a lot of issues--yet immigration is the single issue that crosses across the community and is mobilizing Latinos across the country. Read More
Olympic Win Highlights Immigration Challenges
On Tuesday night, Henry Cejudo nabbed an Olympic gold medal for the U.S. and realized the dream that his mother, Nelly Rico, carried with her as she crossed the border from Mexico over twenty years ago. Rico—an undocumented immigrant—encouraged her children to work hard and aim high. Now her son is an American hero and the youngest American wrestler to win a gold in the Olympics. Read More
Immigrants Integrate as Census Predicts Minority Boom
Over five hundred immigrants gathered on July 4, 2007 to take the oath of citizenship. Last week the US Census Bureau projected that minorities will grow to become a majority by the year 2042. A recent New York Times article pointed out that the main reason for the accelerating change is significantly higher birthrates among immigrants. While some fear that demographic shifts threaten American identity, research and experience has shown that today’s immigrants integrate into American society just as generations of immigrants before them. Immigrants are learning English, buying property, intermarrying, becoming U.S. citizens, and otherwise weaving themselves into the fabric of this nation. Read More
Extremists Hijack Immigration Debate: Increased Reports of Hate Crimes and Discrimination Aimed at U.S.- and Foreign-Born Latinos
Information and examples on how the immigration debate has spurred discrimination, hate, and violence. Read More
The Social Security Administration No-Match Program: Inefficient, Ineffective, and Costly
This report provides an overview of SSA’s no-match letter program, a summary of DHS’s new supplemental proposed rule regarding no-match letters, and an overview of the unintended consequences of no-match letters that are sent to employers. Read More
Thinking Ahead About Our Immigrant Future: New Trends and Mutual Benefits in Our Aging Society
By Dowell Myers, Ph.D. There are two stories now being told about immigration and the future of America. Each has some basis in fact, although one is based on newer trends and is more optimistic than the other. These stories differ in their answers to three crucial questions: whether immigration to the United States is accelerating out of control or is slowing; how much immigrants are assimilating into American society and progressing economically over time; and how important immigrants are to the U.S. economy. The pessimistic story—in which immigration is portrayed as increasing dramatically and producing a growing population of unassimilated foreigners—draws upon older evidence. But more recent data and analysis suggest a far more positive vision of our immigrant future. Immigration has not only begun to level off, but immigrants are climbing the socio-economic ladder, and will become increasingly important to the U.S. economy as workers, taxpayers, and homebuyers supporting the aging Baby Boom generation. Read More
“On the Beat”: New Roles and Challenges for Immigrant Police and Firefighters
By Stewart J. Lawrence The mainstream media, conservative politicians, and even some police organizations continue to promote stereotypes of immigrants as insufficiently “loyal” to America to serve in law-enforcement jobs. Ironically, similar fears were expressed about earlier generations of Irish and Italian immigrants whose dedicated public service helped usher in the modern urban police department. Today, immigrants are once again a vital part of law enforcement as patrol officers and detectives, and in a wide range of police auxiliary roles. Immigrants are also making important contributions to local communities as municipal firefighters and seasonal workers contracted by the federal government to fight deadly and destructive wild fires. America’s streets are unquestionably safer and our neighborhoods more peaceful thanks to the growing number of immigrants available to serve and protect. Read More
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