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Latinos 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 MoreYoung, Professional DREAMers Deserve Recognition
Earlier this week, numerous media outlets covered the story of Jose Godinez-Sampiero, a DREAM Act-eligible law school graduate whose application for a law license is currently pending before the Florida Supreme Court. Similar stories are playing out in California and New York, as young people brought to this country as children are now law school […]
Read MoreHuman Rights Abuses Along U.S.-Mexico Border Underscore Need for Reform
U.S. immigration and border-enforcement policies have precipitated a litany of human-rights abuses along the U.S.-Mexico border, from the needless deaths of border-crossers to inhumane conditions in immigration detention to the racial profiling of entire Latino and indigenous communities. That was the principal finding of the human rights groups which presented testimony at a recent hearing […]
Read MoreThe Council Applauds Supreme Court Decision Rejecting Retroactive Application of Immigration Law Provision
Washington, D.C.—Yesterday morning, the Supreme Court issued an important decision, Vartelas v. Holder, No. 10-1211, rejecting the retroactive application of a provision of a law passed by Congress in 1996 that has prevented many lawful permanent residents (LPRs) from returning to the United States after a trip abroad. Citing the “deeply rooted presumption” against applying […]
Read MoreMississippi Farming, Law Enforcement Groups Urge Lawmakers to Oppose State Immigration Law
Economists aren’t the only ones who think a patchwork of costly state immigration laws is a terrible idea. This week, Mississippi farming and law enforcement groups each sent separate letters urging state lawmakers to reconsider moving forward with Mississippi’s extreme immigration law, HB 488. The groups call the law an “unfunded mandate” and cite the […]
Read MoreMore States Introduce Costly Immigration Enforcement Bills in 2012
Despite the devastating consequences of state immigration laws in Alabama and Arizona, legislators in other states have introduced similar enforcement bills this year. Legislators in Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia introduced an array of costly immigration enforcement bills in their 2012 legislative sessions—some which are modeled on Arizona’s SB 1070. While study after study continues […]
Read MoreHolding the Obama Administration to Its Word on Prosecutorial Discretion
Signs that ICE is invested in the “Morton Memo” and subsequent guidance on prosecutorial discretion are beginning to show up at both ends of the legal spectrum. At one end, the New York Times reported yesterday that approximately one in six cases reviewed in a pilot program at the Denver immigration court may be indefinitely […]
Read MoreBorder Patrol to Roll Out New “Get Tough” Policy on Unauthorized Immigrants
This month, the U.S. Border Patrol is set to end the practice of sending unauthorized Mexican immigrants back to Mexico without any sort of punishment. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), the Border Patrol believes it now has sufficient resources and personnel “to begin imposing more serious consequences on almost everyone it catches from […]
Read MoreWashington Post Lists Treating “Immigrants as People” as “In” for 2012
You wouldn’t know it from listening to the ridiculous anti-immigrant rhetoric over the past year, but treating immigrants like actual human beings is a concept some hope catches fire in 2012. The Washington Post recently added “immigrants as people” on “The List: 2012”—their annual zeitgeist-inspired list of ins and outs for the new year. Granted, […]
Read MoreWashington Post Lists Treating “Immigrants as People” as “In” for 2012
You wouldn’t know it from listening to the ridiculous anti-immigrant rhetoric over the past year, but treating immigrants like actual human beings is a concept some hope catches fire in 2012. The Washington Post recently added “immigrants as people” on “The List: 2012”—their annual zeitgeist-inspired list of ins and outs for the new year. Granted, […]
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