State and Local
States Make Progress on Helping DREAMers Afford College
For several years now, more and more states have begun to allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. In fact, a majority of young undocumented immigrants now live in a state that offers tuition equity regardless of immigration status. In 2014, additional… Read More
Fremont’s Anti-Immigrant Ordinance Out of Step with Other Cities in Nebraska
Last week, the residents of Fremont, Nebraska voted to keep a 2010 anti-immigrant housing ordinance on the books. While the small town, with a seven percent foreign born population, has chosen to continue down its current path of exclusion, other places in Nebraska are pursuing inclusive strategies… Read More
Farm Bureau Warns Enforcement-Only Immigration Reform Would Harm America’s Food Supply
The on-the-ground harm of enforcement-only state immigration policies is clear. The “self-deportation” style laws in Arizona, Alabama, and Georgia all dealt severe blows to the states’ economies, particularly the agricultural industries. A federal enforcement-only approach to immigration reform would have a similarly harmful impact, leading… Read More
New Mexico Governor Uses Anti-Immigrant Driver’s License Proposal as Fundraising Tool
Joan Friedland is a senior advisor at the National Immigration Law Center. For the fifth time in four years, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez is trying to get the legislature to repeal the 2003 law granting licenses to all eligible drivers, regardless of their immigration status. There’s… Read More
Fremont, Nebraska Has More to Gain from Welcoming Immigrants
Fremont, Nebraska, has become ground zero for one of the longest-standing anti-immigrant experiments in the United States. In 2010, the small, Midwestern town of 26,000 voted on an ordinance that would create unwieldy and costly housing permits to verify the immigration status of all Fremont renters and would… Read More
Michigan to Immigrants: You’re Welcome Here
It is clear that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder understands that immigration can be a potent boost to his state’s economy. It’s also an important component of economic revitalization for a city such as Detroit. Improving the nation’s broken immigration system could have enormous economic benefits for Michigan and states across the country, so Snyder joined former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, in Washington Friday to continue urging lawmakers to overhaul the U.S. immigration system. As Gutierrez explained, “Our laws aren’t serving our economy.” And Bloomberg noted that it is terrible economic policy to turn away foreign born entrepreneurs and innovators while also making it difficult for foreign-born graduates to remain in the country after earning degrees from our colleges and universities. State leaders recognize this as well, but they also know upgrading immigration laws requires congressional action. “We need comprehensive immigration reform. Bottom line,” Snyder said Friday. “To be blunt, we have a dumb system.” Read More
What Does the Anti-Immigrant Movement Have Planned for the States in 2014?
As Congress continues their protracted debate on immigration reform, state governments are taking the lead on moving positive measures forward. Thus, anti-immigrant groups like the Federation for American Immigration Reform and Numbers USA will be on the defensive in 2014, devoting time and resources towards preventing pro-immigrant state policies from taking root. They are certain to keep their eyes on the federal debate this year however, they have made public their intent to help repeal driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants in Oregon, organize against the Maryland TRUST Act (they were behind efforts to stop Maryland’s DREAM Act in 2012), and work where they can to block Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients from accessing driver’s licenses and higher education. Read More
Why 2013 Was the Year of Positive State Immigration Measures
States took the lead on immigration reform in 2013, and compared to previous years, the majority were positive measures to help integrate and improve the day-to-day lives of immigrants in their respective states. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) 2013 Immigration Report, 45 states passed 184 immigration-related laws in 2013 and adopted 253 resolutions. The number of immigration measures in 2013 is a 64 percent increase over 2012, a year when many states were waiting to see the Supreme Court’s decision on Arizona’s SB 1070. Also in 2012, the Department of Homeland Security began offering temporary legal status to young undocumented immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy sending a message to states that the federal government was serious about finding ways to normalize the status of the nation’s undocumented population. Read More
Immigrant Entrepreneurs Driving Growth in America’s Heartland
When Jordi Carbonell, originally from Spain, and his wife Melissa Fernandez opened their Cafe Con Leche coffee shop several years ago in southwest Detroit, the couple founded their business on the idea that the neighborhood needed a central gathering place to create a strong community. Today,… Read More
Immigrant Entrepreneurs are Investors in their Communities
Cedric Francois, a medical researcher from Belgium, came to Louisville, Kentucky, after hearing that researchers there were beginning work on the first hand transplant. Later, he co-founded two pharmaceutical companies. Suhas Kulkarni, an immigrant entrepreneur himself who founded Louisville-based IT firm Omnisys, understands the need for integrating and helping immigrant entrepreneurs get their start and is leading the area’s new Refugees and Immigrants Succeeding in Entrepreneurship (RISE) initiative. This is a collaborative effort among public and private organizations to support immigrants and refugees in the entrepreneurial endeavors in the Louisville area. RISE recognizes that Louisville “has an untapped pool of talent for city-wide economic development in the form of immigrants and refugees” and that “this population has the potential of becoming drivers of economic growth” for the region. Immigrant entrepreneurs are often vital assets in communities. They start businesses, create jobs, and encourage community revitalization efforts. Immigrant businesses can help revive dilapidated or aging retail corridors. And they provide an opportunity for immigrants to reinvest in the area. Take for example Vilmar Zenzen, originally from Brazil, who is opening a new upscale Brazilian steakhouse in downtown Louisville. Zenzen already operates another Brazilian steakhouse in Knoxville, Tennessee. Read More
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