Economics
Texas Dream Act Survives—Because Texans Showed Up
In a legislative session marked by political division and increasingly polarized rhetoric, the Texas Dream Act endured. The win affirms that all Texas high school graduates—regardless of immigration status—will continue to have access to higher education. Read More
The State Immigration Laws You Should Know About
In the course of the first year under the Trump administration, states and localities have increasingly pursued immigration policies that serve the best interests of their own communities. While there were extreme differences in these state-level approaches to immigration, overall more states enacted policies designed to protect, support, and welcome… Read More
The Dream Act Could Add Millions to Your Congressional District
Current and former recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative are asking Congress to recognize the impact they and other Dreamers have on the United States, and to subsequently pass legislation that protects them from deportation and places them on a path to citizenship. One of… Read More
Who Is in and out Under the RAISE Act
The Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act (RAISE Act) seeks to dramatically reshape American immigration by favoring youth and a narrow set of skills over family values and diversity. It does so by virtually eliminating all family-based legal immigration categories, except for some immediate relatives. In… Read More
Administration Unveils Legislation That Cuts Legal Immigration in Half and Abandons Family Values
The administration revealed legislation this week that seeks to drastically reshape American immigration, moving away from the family based immigration tradition that has both shaped our immigration policies for centuries and promoted family reunification, towards one that reduces people to numbers and rankings through a narrow and rigid point system. Read More
SOTU Shows Parties Moving Closer on Immigration Reform
During Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, President Obama made it clear that improved immigration policies go hand-in-hand with the economic recovery, and nudged the House of Representatives to make the next move on immigration reform. Read More
Without Citizenship, Immigration Reformers Could be Leaving Dollars on the Table
While President Obama’s State of the Union Address will reportedly focus on income inequality in the United States, it is also a likely bet that he will address the economic benefit of immigration reform even as Republicans are finalizing their immigration principles. As conversations around immigration reform proposals forge ahead, the economic benefits of citizenship versus simply providing legal status should not be overlooked. According to a new Center for American Progress (CAP) report, The Economic Case for a Clear, Quick Pathway to Citizenship, there is an important citizenship premium that should be factored in to economic calculations of reform. According to the report, the premium is “the bump to a country’s economy that arises after immigrants become citizens. This bump comes in the form of higher wages and more tax revenue collected from naturalized citizens, all of which spurs more overall economic activity.” Read More
Senator Jeff Sessions Has Erroneously Blamed Immigrants for U.S. Income Inequality
Despite the formal end of the recession in 2009, unemployment in the United States remains high, wages are still stagnant, and economic indices of all kinds are looking grim. A crisis of this magnitude requires bold action by U.S. lawmakers to realign U.S. economic policies in ways that promote the growth of both jobs and wages. Economists across the political spectrum agree that immigration reform—including a pathway to legal status for unauthorized immigrants already living here—should be a central part of any such effort to boost the economy. Nevertheless, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) thinks he knows better. In his opinion, what we need to do to alleviate the nation’s economic woes is to derail immigration reform. Apparently, if we can hang on to our broken immigration system a little longer, there will be brighter days ahead for the U.S. economy. Read More
16 Representatives Stuck in Reverse on Immigration
Despite the failure of the House to act on immigration reform last year, there was no doubt that the majority of Americans—and even the majority of Members of Congress—understood that immigration reform was an important component in creating economic opportunity for all. Last Friday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor reiterated that support during an exchange on the House floor when he said Republicans were working on an “appropriate path forward” on immigration policies. “Immigration reform could be an economic boon to this country. We’ve got to do it right,” Cantor said. Read More
How Immigrants on a Pathway to Citizenship can Revitalize Rust Belt Cities
Like Rust Belt cities such as Baltimore and Detroit, rural towns across America have experienced population declines in recent decades. Some places, however, are an exception to that trend thanks in part to the arrival of immigrants. For example, while other Iowa towns experienced population decline over the past several decades, West Liberty’s population grew because of immigration. As Steve Hanson, superintendent of West Liberty Community School District, notes, “in the last 20-30 years we would have had a population decline if we hadn’t had immigrants come in [for] jobs in the food manufacturing business. They provide a source of labor that wouldn’t have been there.” And West Liberty’s Mayor, Chad Thomas, said immigration has “kept a lot of storefronts and businesses open that probably otherwise would have closed.” Read More
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