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Citizenship 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.
Press Release: More Than 150 University Presidents and Chancellors From All 50 States Sign Letter to the President and Congress Supporting Visa Reform
University presidents and chancellors with a combined student body of over 4 million students and a total endowment of over $240 billion support visa reform Today, 165 chancellors and presidents of American universities sent a letter to President Barack Obama and to all members of Congress urging members of both parties to find a bipartisan […]
Read MoreImmigrant Roots of Mega Millionaires
Millionaire Corner September 13, 2012 First and second generation Americans make up a disproportionate share of the nation’s mega millionaire investors, according to the latest Millionaire Corner research, which tracks a high degree of upward mobility among Americans born in another country, or who have foreign-born parents. Twelve percent of all Americans – about 36.7 […]
Read MoreMayor Bloomberg Gives Washington Economic Tips
The Epoch Times September 13, 2012 NEW YORK—Mayor Michael Bloomberg has long been lauding the city’s economic recovery to New Yorkers. On Wednesday, he showcased his advice to Washington. Bloomberg’s speech at a forum hosted by The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. came at an appropriate time. This week marks four years since the Lehman […]
Read MoreThe Economic Advantages of U.S. Citizenship
Becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen has many benefits – citizens can vote and run for public office, bring family members to the U.S., hold certain jobs reserved for citizens, and they are protected from deportation. There are also a range of economic benefits to citizenship, highlighted by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) in their new […]
Read MoreClearing Up the Controversy over the Number of ICE “Removals”
It is by now well-known that more immigrants have been deported on an annual basis since President Obama took office than at any time in U.S. history. Late last month, however, Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) issued a statement seeking to cast doubt on this widely accepted fact by alleging that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) […]
Read MoreCUNY F-1 International Student May Seek Roundabout Route to Permanent Residency
New York Daily News September 7, 2012 Q. I came in United States with an F-1 international student visa at age 18. I am about to get my bachelor’s degree from a CUNY college, having maintained my student status. Since I came here after having turned 16, I know I don’t qualify for the Obama […]
Read MoreA Look Backward and Forward at Immigration Platforms
Eight years ago, the similarities between the Republican and Democratic platforms on the issue of immigration reform were striking. The 2012 immigration planks for both parties are equally striking, but for the opposite reason. Where 2004 demonstrated a unified vision of a broken system requiring reform, 2012 represents a virtual breakdown in agreement at least […]
Read MoreNativist Group Trivializes the 2012 Latino Vote
The nativist Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has an implicit message for the Republican Party heading into the 2012 elections: stop worrying about Latino voters and just play to your predominantly Anglo base. Such is the kamikaze message contained within a new CIS report, innocuously titled Projecting the 2012 Hispanic Vote. The report dismisses the […]
Read MoreInspector General Finds Serious Problems with US-VISIT Program
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently released results of their investigation into the US-VISIT program. US-VISIT was created after 9/11 to track noncitizens’ entries into and exits from the U.S. to identify national security threats, individuals entering with fraudulent identities, and visa overstays. Through US-VISIT, fingerprints and digital photographs […]
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