Immigration at the Border
Get Out Your Wallets, Georgians! State Lawmakers Pass Costly Immigration Measure
Despite the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to uphold a preliminary injunction against provisions of Arizona’s SB 1070 earlier this week, state lawmakers in Georgia passed their own version of Arizona’s law (HB 87) last night, which allows police to investigate the immigration status of certain suspects and requires businesses to verify work eligibility of new hires, but not without controversy. Like other states, Georgia lawmakers mulled provisions of their enforcement-only immigration bills—provisions Georgia’s business community fears will hurt the state’s farming and restaurant industries and advocacy groups fear will lead to racial profiling. Some groups are even planning an economic boycott of Georgia—a boycott similar to Arizona’s which is still costing the state. Read More
22 Senators Demand President Obama Exercise Executive Action on Immigration
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is one of the letter's 22 signators. As it becomes increasingly evident that Congress is too mired in politics to reform our broken immigration system, a steady chorus demanding executive action is growing. This week, 22 U.S. Senators, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, sent a letter to President Obama asking him to grant “deferred action”?a stay from deportation?to DREAM Act-eligible students. The letter follows a campaign by immigrant rights and advocacy groups earlier this month calling on the Obama Administration to use executive authority to reform immigration policy. Read More
Two Years Under the Obama Administration, How Does DHS Measure Up?
Nearly two years ago, expectations ran high as President Obama took office and Secretary Napolitano took the reins of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In review of DHS’s first year under the Obama Administration, the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) found that while many promising changes were initiated, few were successful due to limiting political constraints. Today, two years out, we find a department still struggling to balance priorities, entrenched in an enforcement-heavy debate, claiming that without Congressional action, its hands are tied on administrative reforms. That claim, however, is inconsistent with the wide range of executive branch authority available to DHS and the President. Read More
Four Cheers for the Ninth Circuit’s Ruling on SB 1070
In a clean sweep for the rule of law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction yesterday against four key provisions of SB 1070—Arizona’s notoriously misguided attempt to drive undocumented immigrants from the state. The court’s comprehensive ruling left in place a lower court decision from July which temporarily blocked much of the measure from going into effect. Though the future of the case is far from settled, the upshot of the decision is clear: the federal government, and the federal government alone, sets the terms for enforcing federal immigration law. Read More
American Immigration Council Hails Decision Enjoining Enforcement of Arizona’s SB 1070
Washington, D.C – The American Immigration Council applauds yesterday’s decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upholding a preliminary injunction against the key provisions of Arizona’s SB 1070. As the court correctly recognized, Arizona’s misguided attempt to drive immigrants from the state interferes with the federal… Read More
Tuition Equity Legislation for Undocumented Students Picks Up Speed
Updated 04/12/11: The State of Maryland is well on its way to making higher education accessible to undocumented students, as both houses passed the Maryland DREAM Act and Governor O'Malley has pledged to sign into law. Last Friday, Maryland’s House of Delegate passed an in-state tuition bill (HB 470) by a vote of 74-66. On Monday, in the final hours of the 2011 legislative sessions, the General Assembly agreed on one version of the bill (the Senate passed a version last month) after Democrats compromised on an amendement. The bill, which now goes to Gov. O'Malley, allows unauthorized immigrants to access in-state tuition if they have been students at public high schools or universities in Maryland for three consecutive years. Read More
Filling the Leadership Void: What is President Obama’s Vision on Immigration?
Washington D.C. – More than two years into the Obama Administration, it is still unclear whether President Obama’s immigration agenda will ultimately be remembered as an enforcement-driven enterprise, or one that uses the full force of executive branch authority to improve our badly broken system. On the one hand, the… Read More
Farming Industry Urges State Lawmakers to Kill Costly Immigration Measures
For months, the business community and farming industry have warned state lawmakers that immigration enforcement legislation will hurt state economies, pointing to Arizona’s economic crash-and-burn as a prime example. This week, however, a group of agricultural leaders in Georgia upped the ante, sending a letter to state lawmakers urging them to consider just how much enforcement measures will cost the state. Georgia is one of the few remaining states (Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee) still contemplating Arizona-style enforcement measures. Meanwhile, advocates, legislators and business leaders in other states continue to warn lawmakers that these enforcement measures will cost their state much-needed revenue and jobs. Read More
Are the Wheels Falling Off DHS’s Immigration Enforcement Wagon?
Over the last few weeks, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has been on an enforcement tour defending the Administration’s record on border enforcement while criticizing conservative lawmakers’ “enforcement-first” legislative strategy (Napolitano has repeated called on lawmakers to stop “moving the goal posts”). Calling out legislators for using the border as an excuse to stall immigration reform is important, but maybe Secretary Napolitano should take a serious look at the egregious enforcement actions taking place right under her nose. Yesterday in Michigan, ICE agents apparently followed immigrants from their homes to a nearby elementary school where they were dropping off their children. Read More
Restrictionist Group Blames the Children of Immigrants for America’s Budget Woes
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) released another report today attempting to blame our economic woes and budget shortfalls on immigrants—this time using the children of immigrants, most of whom are U.S. citizens, as scapegoats for benefits usage (here Medicaid, food assistance, cash assistance, and housing programs). As are most restrictionists’ attempts to blame immigrants for all of America’s problems, the report is rife with methodological problems. Despite the headline that 57 percent of households headed by an immigrant with children used at least one benefits program, compared to 39 percent for native households, the results actually show that when controlled for income, immigrant households use benefits at the same rate as native born households. Read More
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