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USCIS Announces Fee Increases
Almost from the beginning of his tenure as Director of USCIS back in 2009, Alejandro Mayorkas has been warning that a fee increase was imminent. Today, the other shoe finally dropped, as USCIS announced a weighted fee increase of approximately ten percent on applications and petitions submitted to the agency. The fee for naturalization applications, […]
Read MoreA Lopsided Approach to Border Violence Doesn’t Solve Anything
During a debate of the defense authorization bill this week, Republican members of Congress are expected to push for the deployment of even more troops to the border. This is in addition to the 1,200 National Guard troops President Obama already requested to address border violence and the flow of drugs and guns across the […]
Read MoreThe Anti-Immigrant Movement and the Politics of Exceptionalism
The capacity of these groups to stymie attempts to reform our broken immigration system should not be underestimated.
Read MoreMore Detention Abuse Highlights Need for Federal Oversight
Last week, the Associated Press reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is investigating allegations of sexual assault by a guard in one of their facilities on female detainees. The detainees, on their way to be deported, were groped while being patted down and at least one was propositioned for sex, according to ICE officials. […]
Read MoreConflating Immigration and Climate Change: When Wedge Issues Collide
Today in Politico, hard right, conservative Gary Bauer continues the restrictionist tradition of blaming immigrants for everything from pot holes to climate change. In his editorial, Bauer cites a 2008 report by the restrictionist group Center for Immigration Studies and seeks to link climate change legislation and immigration reform legislation (and a half dozen other […]
Read MoreTens of Thousands March in Protest of Arizona’s SB 1070
Tens of thousands of protesters from across the country gathered in Phoenix over the weekend to protest Arizona’s SB 1070. According to some reports, as many as 20,000 protesters carried flags, banners and signs reading “Do I Look Illegal?” and “Where’s the change? Mr. President, how can we trust you for re-election?” across a five […]
Read MoreDo We Really Have to Explore Dora’s Immigration Status?
Absurdity takes many forms in the immigration debate. For example, restrictionists have blamed immigrants for everything from global warming and our mortgage crisis to the swine flu epidemic and leprosy. (Where did my other sock go? Immigrants!) But this week, we reach a new level of absurdity—the exploitation of a bi-lingual cartoon character. In a […]
Read MoreStraight from the Horse’s Mouth: Police Chiefs Blast Arizona Law (SB 1070)
Yesterday, a delegation of police chiefs from across the country (Arizona included) met with Attorney General Eric Holder to deliver the message that enforcing Arizona’s law (SB 1070) will divert precious law enforcement resources away from fighting crimes and break down the trust that police have spent years cultivating with local communities. Attorney General Holder […]
Read More1,200 National Guard Troops to the Border: A Bargaining Chip or More Political Pandering?
Yesterday, President Obama met with Senate Republicans to discuss, among other things, moving forward with comprehensive immigration reform. But what came out of the meeting was a letter to Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, requesting 1,200 troops to be sent to the U.S.-Mexican border and a $500 million request for additional […]
Read MoreThrowing Good Money After Bad: Immigration Enforcement
Immigration Enforcement without Immigration Reform Doesn’t Work
This week, the Senate will consider amendments to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill that would add thousands of additional personnel along the border (including the National Guard), as well as provide millions of dollars for detention beds, technology, and resources. Yesterday, bowing to pressure, President Obama announced that he would send 1,200 National Guard troops to the border and request $500 million for additional resources. All of this attention on resources for the border ignores the fact that border enforcement alone is not going to resolve the underlying problems with our broken immigration system.
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