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Immigration Stunts in Face of Faltering Economy
Several reports including the Pew Hispanic Research Center’s new study have come out over the past few months showing that the undocumented population is shrinking. However, while some restrictionists continue to hold on to the notion that the decrease in immigration is primarily due to remarkably harsh stepped-up enforcement measures, Jeffrey Passel of Pew told […]
Read MoreMenendez-Kennedy Raids Bill Reintroduces Rule of Law to DHS
Last week, Senators Menendez (D-NJ) and Kennedy (D-MA) introduced a bill that promises to reintroduce the rule of law and the basic principles of fairness and humanity to the enforcement of our country’s immigration laws. The Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act (S.3594) seeks to establish minimum standards of treatment for […]
Read MoreOne in Ten Latinos Asked for Papers for LWL: Living While Latino
The current climate of undeterred public immigrant-bashing along with an immigration policy of “attrition through enforcement” has cultivated unfettered hatred and bigotry against an entire ethnic population. A recent survey by the Pew Hispanic Center shows its toll: half of all Latinos, immigrant and non-immigrant, say that their situation in this country is deteriorating and […]
Read MoreVoodoo Science Raises Specter of Immigration-Fueled “Overpopulation”
In a September 2 Washington Post op-ed, “How Many Americans?,” Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies presents a nightmare scenario in which immigrant-fueled population growth in the U.S. degrades the environment and strains infrastructure and the economy over the next half century. The arguments upon which Camarota builds his case are commonplace among […]
Read MorePhoenix Mayor Demands Immigration Reform at Police Conference
This week the Police Foundation sponsored a two day conference, “The Role of Local Police: Striking a balance between immigration enforcement and civil liberties.” One of the highlights was a speech by Mayor Phil Gordon of Phoenix, a vocal supporter of immigration reform and opponent of the antics of Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County. […]
Read MoreOlympic Win Highlights Immigration Challenges
On Tuesday night, Henry Cejudo nabbed an Olympic gold medal for the U.S. and realized the dream that his mother, Nelly Rico, carried with her as she crossed the border from Mexico over twenty years ago. Rico—an undocumented immigrant—encouraged her children to work hard and aim high. Now her son is an American hero and […]
Read MoreVoodoo Science Blames Climate Change on Immigrants
According to the anti-immigrant group, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), immigrants to the US are now to blame for extreme weather, rising sea levels, changing ecosystems, melting glaciers, and dying polar bears. Forget conservation and sustainability, CIS has released yet another junk science report claiming that the key to reducing global CO2 emissions is […]
Read MoreImmigrants Integrate as Census Predicts Minority Boom
Over five hundred immigrants gathered on July 4, 2007 to take the oath of citizenship. Last week the US Census Bureau projected that minorities will grow to become a majority by the year 2042. A recent New York Times article pointed out that the main reason for the accelerating change is significantly higher birthrates among […]
Read MoreIt’s the Economy Stupid
NOTE: This story first appeared on The Huffington Post.
Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced its latest gimmick — Operation Scheduled Departure, a pilot program of voluntary deportation with no precedent, no incentives, and essentially no sensible basis. Meanwhile, on Wednesday the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a “think tank” that has been referred to as a “thinly disguised anti-immigration organization,” published a highly contested study claiming that severe enforcement measures are driving down the US’ “likely undocumented” immigrant population. Yet while ICE runs in circles, rounding up undocumented workers as CIS pats them on the back, the government fails to recognize that undocumented immigration is based more on the economics of survival than the politics of immigration enforcement–a costly misjudgment.
Read MoreWasted Talent and Broken Dreams: The Lost Potential of Undocumented Students
The current political debate over undocumented immigrants in the United States has largely ignored the plight of undocumented children. Yet children account for 1.8 million, or 15 percent, of the undocumented immigrants now living in this country. These children have, for the most part, grown up in the United States and received much of their primary and secondary educations here. But without a means to legalize their status, they are seldom able to go on to college and cannot work legally in this country. Moreover, at any time, they can be deported to countries they barely know. This wasted talent imposes economic and emotional costs on undocumented students themselves and on U.S. society as a whole. Denying undocumented students, most of whom are Hispanic, the opportunity to go to college and join the skilled workforce sends the wrong message to Hispanics about the value of a college education-and the value that U.S. society places on their education-at a time when raising the educational attainment of the Hispanic population is increasingly important to the nation’s economic health.
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