Immigration 101

Immigration 101

Immigration in the United States is complex and ever-evolving. Start here to understand the fundamental aspects of immigration policy, its history, and its impact on both individuals and the country at large. Learn commonly used terms about immigration law and how the U.S. immigration system is designed. Explore layered topics like how and whether immigrants can become citizens, as well as what individual protections look like under the law.

Anti-Immigrant Groups Attempt to Incite Fear Over Administrative Action

Anti-Immigrant Groups Attempt to Incite Fear Over Administrative Action

As news trickles out of the White House that President Obama is planning to announce a program like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative for other worthy populations, the anti-immigrant community is preparing their fire. An early shot comes via a post in The Hill where… Read More

Immigrants Work in More Arduous Jobs than U.S. Natives, New Study Shows

Immigrants Work in More Arduous Jobs than U.S. Natives, New Study Shows

One of the reasons often cited to explain the importance of immigrant workers to the U.S. economy is the presumption that immigrants perform jobs that U.S. natives are unwilling to take. Numerous studies show that immigrant workers complement the native-born in various ways. But in spite of the… Read More

Nativist Group Falsely Blames Immigrants for Unemployment in Tennessee

Nativist Group Falsely Blames Immigrants for Unemployment in Tennessee

From the narrow, nativist perspective of groups such as the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), every immigrant worker who enters the U.S. economy is stealing a job from a native-born worker. In this view of the world, employment is a zero-sum game in which immigrants and the native-born… Read More

Texas Governor Invokes Nonsensical Statistics on Immigrant Crime in His State

Texas Governor Invokes Nonsensical Statistics on Immigrant Crime in His State

After more than a century’s worth of studies and reports, you’d think that politicians would have gotten the message: not only are the vast majority of immigrants not criminals, but immigrants are less likely to be criminals than native-born Americans. This is true for both unauthorized immigrants and… Read More

Restrictionists Spread Unfounded Rumors About Migrant Children and Disease

Restrictionists Spread Unfounded Rumors About Migrant Children and Disease

More often than not, anti-immigrant groups use their hateful rhetoric to blame immigrants for all of our nation’s ills. On a regular basis, restrictionist groups release reports that portray immigrants as criminals, terrorists, a threat to American workers, an economic and fiscal burden, or an obstacle to national unity,… Read More

The Facts About the Humanitarian Challenge at the Border

The Facts About the Humanitarian Challenge at the Border

What is our obligation as a country to the unaccompanied child migrants at our border? This seemingly straightforward question is frequently lost among the political debate surrounding the humanitarian challenge at our southern border. In a recent Senate homeland security committee hearing, several senators focused only on how to… Read More

Nativist Group Cherry Picks Data to Show False Decline in Central American Deportations

Nativist Group Cherry Picks Data to Show False Decline in Central American Deportations

The nativist Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) recently issued a report titled, “Records Reveal Few Central Americans Deported,” to support their arguments to detain and deport more Central American children. The report centers on a comparison that, according to CIS, shows a 40 percent decline in deportations… Read More

Immigrants Offset Population Decline and Aging Workforce in Midwest Metros

Immigrants Offset Population Decline and Aging Workforce in Midwest Metros

As Immigrant Heritage Month continues this June, it’s clear that an increasing number of places large and small across America recognize the value immigrants have brought and continue to bring to the United States. After all, metropolitan areas, as the drivers of the nation’s economy, are where the majority… Read More

What This Primary Season Teaches Politicians About Leaning-In To Immigration

What This Primary Season Teaches Politicians About Leaning-In To Immigration

Within minutes of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s historic primary defeat to an obscure Tea Party candidate on Tuesday, political strategists and media pundits began to weigh the role immigration reform played in his loss. Some even began to sound the death knell for immigration legislation this year. Read More

Homeland Security Secretary Responds to House Republicans and Flawed Anti-Immigrant Report

Homeland Security Secretary Responds to House Republicans and Flawed Anti-Immigrant Report

Only days after President Obama asked Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to hold off his deportation review in order to give House Republicans space to move immigration reform negotiations forward, some of those same House Republicans in the Judiciary Committee held an “oversight hearing”… Read More

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