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Yet Another City Gives Local Immigration Enforcement Proposals a Thumbs Down
This week, city leaders in the Houston suburb of Tomball, Texas, joined a host of other local leaders when they voted not to pursue harsh immigration enforcement measures at a city council meeting. Council members cited costly lawsuits while city residents expressed fear of being branded unwelcoming and “racist.” The ordinances under consideration would have […]
Read MoreExplaining the Recent Decline in Unauthorized Migration
Immigration Enforcement in a Time of Recession
Recent estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center indicate that the number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States has declined by roughly one million since 2007—bringing the total size of the unauthorized population to approximately 11.1 million. Coming after the release of similar estimates by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in January, these figures have provoked considerable speculation as to how much of the decline is attributable to the current recession, and how much is the result of heightened immigration enforcement. DHS, for instance, was quick to take credit for the drop, citing the money and manpower that have been poured into immigration enforcement by the Obama administration. However, immigration researchers were just as quick to point out that unauthorized immigration has always responded to the state of the U.S. economy, and that the downward trend captured by both Pew and DHS matches up closely with the beginning of the recession in December 2007.
A Closer Look at the Seven Lawsuits Challenging Arizona Law S.B. 1070
Almost immediately after Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed S.B. 1070 into law, lawsuits were filed in federal court in Arizona challenging the law. The lawsuits all seek the same result—a halt to the law’s enforcement—although each suit argues different grounds. Some suits cite civil liberty violations, racial profiling and unlawful regulation of federal immigration law, […]
Read MoreEnding Birthright Citizenship Won’t Solve Our Immigration Problems
The people who brought you SB1070 in Arizona are now preparing to challenge one of the fundamental principles of the U.S. Constitution—birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship, or the principle of jus soli, means that any person born within the territory of the U.S is a citizen, regardless of the citizenship of one’s parents. This principle was […]
Read MoreHammering Out Future Immigration Flows: Immigration Commissions in Context
Today the Washington Post reported that Senate Democrats are working on a plan to create an immigration commission to help determine future levels of employment-based immigration as part of a comprehensive immigration reform bill. While some disagree as to how future immigration flows should be regulated, immigration advocates agree that planning for future flows of […]
Read MoreNot All States Target Immigrants or the Slightly Suntanned
Despite the commotion around Arizona’s SB 1070, a recent report shows that more laws expanding immigrants’ rights are being enacted than those contracting them. The Wilson Center’s study, Context Matters: Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities, found that in 2007, 19 percent of 313 bills expanding immigrant rights were enacted and only 11 […]
Read MoreHow Much Will Arizona’s Immigration Bill (SB1070) Cost?
Washington, D.C.– Frustrated by Congress’ failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform, states across the country continue considering legislation that relies heavily on punitive, enforcement-only measures which not only fail to end unauthorized immigration but also have the potential to dig their state’s finances deeper into a hole. The latest example of this kind of policy […]
Read MoreThe Folly of Repealing Birthright Citizenship
Washington D.C. – This Sunday, the editorial pages of the Washington Post included a piece penned by journalist George Will on the topic of birthright citizenship. Will highlights a scholar who argues against giving those born in the United States birthright citizenship and characterizes the repeal of a 150 year-old constitutional tenet as “a simple […]
Read MoreImmigrants, African Americans and the Struggle for Civil Rights
In a new report released today by the Immigration Policy Center, Before Brown, There was Mendez: The Lasting Impact of Mendez v. Westminster in the Struggle for Desegregation, author Maria Blanco examines the impact of a federal circuit court’s 1947 decision which found the segregation of Mexican American school children in California unconstitutional. It is […]
Read MoreHow Expanding E-Verify Would Hurt American Workers and Business
Expanding mandatory E-Verify would threaten the jobs of thousands of U.S. citizens and saddle U.S. businesses with additional costs—all at a time when we need to stimulate our economy. Expanding E-Verify now would be in direct contradiction to the goal of creating jobs and would slow America’s economic recovery.
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