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House VAWA Bill Threatens Protections for Immigrant Women and Children
This year, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is up for reauthorization. Last week, the Senate passed a reauthorization (S. 1925)—which provides protection to people who are the victims of domestic violence, rape, trafficking, sexual assault, stalking, and similar crimes—by a vote of 68-31. The House will takes up its own version next week, but […]
Read MoreChanges to Alabama’s Extreme Immigration Law Not Enough, Critics Say
Following numerous protests, lawsuits, damaging economic reports and problems enforcing the law, Alabama Rep. Micky Hammon of Decatur proposed a bill (HB 658) that tweaks key provisions of the state’s immigration enforcement law, HB 56. Last week, the Alabama House approved those changes, some of which scaled back provisions of the law and others which […]
Read MoreBorder Patrol Agents Abusing Role as Interpreters
Over the past year, advocates in states along the northern border of the United States have reported that Border Patrol agents frequently “assist” local law enforcement officers by serving as Spanish-English interpreters and participating in 911 dispatch activities. Capitalizing on their access to noncitizens, Border Patrol agents are using these opportunities to facilitate immigration enforcement. […]
Read MoreStudy Shows Self-Deportation is Irrational Behavior and a False Premise
Proponents of “attrition through enforcement” would have you believe that, given the right conditions, unauthorized immigrants will choose to leave the U.S. and return to their home countries. The Myth of Self Deportation, by Alexandra Filindra, questions the assumptions behind the attrition strategy and concludes that self-deportation is not rational because unauthorized immigrants have invested […]
Read MoreThe Myth of “Self-Deportation”
How Behavioral Economics Reveals the Fallacies behind “Attrition through Enforcement”
By Alexandra Filindra, Ph.D.
The concept of “self-deportation” rests on a deceptively simple premise. According to its supporters, if the federal government invests more in enforcing immigration laws, and if states and localities take on additional immigration control responsibilities, the costs and risks of staying in the United States will increase substantially for undocumented immigrants. Faced with a high risk of being caught and imprisoned, “rational” undocumented residents will “give up and deport themselves” returning to their home countries rather than remain in the U.S.
However, preliminary evidence from studies conducted in states where such enforcement laws have been enacted shows that immigration restrictionists have gotten it wrong. Immigrant population in these states has remained in place and the predicted exodus never materialized. Economic factors, rather than enforcement, have played a far more important role in reducing the rate of undocumented entry into the United States.
This report uses important research findings from cognitive psychology and behavioral economics to explain why restrictionists have gotten it wrong and people do not behave in the “rational” way that restrictionists expect them to.
SB1070 Author Shares Fears About America Becoming a “Minority, Majority” Nation
On the same day the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Arizona v. United States the Washington Post published an article featuring Michael Hethmon, general counsel for the Immigration Reform Law Institute. Hethmon is the lesser-known legal mind behind SB1070, and a variety of other anti-immigrant measures. His legal counterpart, Kris Kobach tends to get […]
Read MoreNebraska Upholds Bill that Provides Prenatal Care to Undocumented Women
In a move that brought together an unusual group of allies, Nebraska’s Republican-controlled legislature recently upheld a bill that allows undocumented pregnant women to access state-funded prenatal care, overriding a veto by Republican Governor Dave Heineman. Nebraska Right to Life, Nebraska Catholic Conference, Planned Parenthood, and Nebraska Appleseed actually came together to support LB599, a […]
Read MoreDHS’s Current Southern Border Enforcement Strategy a Bust, Group Says
A comprehensive new report finds that the fortification of the U.S.-Mexico border which began two decades ago has reached the limits of its effectiveness, has produced severe negative side effects, and should be systematically re-evaluated. In Beyond the Border Buildup: Security and Migrants Along the U.S.-Mexico Border, the Washington Office on Latin America and the […]
Read MoreLatinos in America: A Demographic Overview
Latinos in the United States are a diverse and fast-growing group that is amassing considerable economic and political power. As data from the 2010 Census and other sources demonstrate, Latinos now account for one-sixth of the U.S. population. Most Latinos were born in this country, but over one-third are immigrants. Latinos as a whole (both foreign-born and native-born) are sizeable shares of the population and electorate in New Mexico, California, and Texas, but the fastest growing Latino populations are in South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee. The Mexican population is by far the largest in size, but the number of Spaniards is increasing the fastest. Latinos work in a diverse range of occupations, and nearly half of Latino households are owner occupied. Latinos also wield significant economic clout. Latino businesses and consumers sustain millions of jobs and add hundreds of billions of dollars in value to the U.S. economy.
Read MoreSupreme Court Asks Hard Questions at Oral Arguments Over Arizona SB 1070
Almost two years to the day after Arizona enacted the notorious immigration law known as SB 1070, the Supreme Court heard arguments in what could be the first of many cases over the validity of the measure. Although most critics of the law have focused on its potential for civil rights violations, the only question […]
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