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Is Unwelcoming Immigration Law Choking The US Economy?
Mindful Money October 4, 2012 The US may have to make dramatic changes to its unwelcoming immigration system if the country is to hold onto its strong entrepreneurial culture. Research by the Kauffman Foundation argues that the country’s “unwelcoming” immigration system has led to a “reverse brain drain” that is hampering entrepreneurship in vital areas […]
Read MoreAnti-Immigrant Activists Still Pushing the Myth of Voter Fraud by Noncitizens
In the world of anti-immigrant activists who specialize in stamping out “voter fraud” by non-U.S. citizens, there are few symbols more potent than that of the bus. Apparently, a bus is the favored mode of transportation among the legions of immigrants who want to subvert the U.S. electoral process by illegally casting ballots. Many a […]
Read MoreAuthor of Torture Memos Challenges Legality of DACA
As a high-ranking Justice Department attorney after 9/11, John Yoo authored an infamous legal memo arguing that the President, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, possessed irrevocable authority to order the torture of alleged “enemy combatants.” Although the memos were subsequently revoked, Yoo has remained an ardent defender of presidential power—except, it appears, when it […]
Read MoreAgriculture Industry Harmed by Restrictive State Immigration Laws
The American agricultural industry is facing billions of dollars in losses due to labor shortages resulting from recent anti-immigrant laws passed in various states around the country. The American farming industry is heavily dependent on undocumented workers, and according to a recent article in Time Magazine, has had an extremely difficult time replacing those who […]
Read MoreLifting Up Cities That Are Welcoming Immigrants
When it comes to immigration policymaking at the state and local level, all eyes have been focused for quite some time on train wrecks like Arizona and Alabama. These are places in which policymakers have chosen to deal with unauthorized immigration by embarking on a path of economic self-destruction—blindly lashing out at immigrants and Latinos […]
Read MoreCongress Pits One Form of Legal Immigration Against Another
We recently noted that the only point of agreement in the Republican and Democratic platforms on immigration was on the need for an infusion of green cards for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) graduates with advanced degrees from American colleges and universities. A recent poll conducted for the Partnership for a New American Economy […]
Read MoreImmigration Reform News and Impact on US Homeland Security
Right Side News September 18, 2012 House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) announced Friday he plans on introducing legislation this week that would eliminate the visa lottery green card program and reallocate its 55,000 annual visa allotment to foreign graduates of U.S. universities with PhDs and Master’s degrees in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and […]
Read MoreCitizenship Day 2012: Realizing the Potential of the Immigrant Vote
For many aspiring immigrants, achieving citizenship means full participation in civic life—and that means the right to vote. Every year, thousands of immigrants become naturalized U.S. citizens and exercise their new right. In the 2010 national elections, naturalized citizens comprised 6.4% of all voters. The voter registration rate among immigrants as a whole has risen since 2000. Just as importantly, a growing number of U.S.-born children of immigrants are now coming of age and becoming voters.
However, the full potential of the immigrant vote has not been reached. There are more than eight million legal immigrants in the United States who are eligible to naturalize but have not yet done so. The latent electoral power of these voters-in-waiting is enormous. In many parts of the country their votes could potentially swing elections. As described in a series of Immigration Impact blog posts by Rob Paral, there are numerous counties across the country where the number of Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) who have arrived since 1985 exceeds the margin of victory in the Obama-McCain election. Moreover, the voter rolls of many counties would grow dramatically if LPRs who are eligible to naturalize actually did so and registered to vote. Although this could not happen in time for the 2012 election cycle, it could make a difference in future elections. In many U.S. counties, the number of Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) who have arrived since 1985 exceeds the Obama-McCain margin of victory.
Republicans Ready ‘STEM Jobs Act’
Computerworld US September 14, 2012 WASHINGTON – The U.S. House is moving closer to acting on legislation that makes green cards available to as many as 55,000 foreign nationals who have earned an advanced degree in a science, technology, engineering or math, the so-called STEM fields. U.S. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who as head of the […]
Read MoreImmigrant Integration is a Two-Way Street
The process by which immigrants integrate into the economic and social fabric of the United States is very much a two-way street. Naturally, immigrants must harbor the desire to climb the socioeconomic ladder of success. But there must be a ladder for them to climb. If the community within which immigrants live and work makes […]
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