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The Harmful Effects of Using Border Patrol as Interpreters Along the Northern Border
Most people are aware of increasing collaboration between state and local police and federal immigration officers. Programs like 287(g) and the Secure Communities program, as well as state laws like SB1070, create a new role for local police, who are now put in the position of identifying immigrants for possible deportation. It has meant that […]
Read MoreBorder Patrol Agents as Interpreters Along the Northern Border: Unwise Policy, Illegal Practice
Advocates along the Northern Border report a recent, sharp increase in the use of U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents to provide interpretation services to state and local law enforcement officers and emergency responders. This most often occurs when an officer or responder encounters an individual who does not speak English and proactively reaches out to USBP for assistance. But it has also occurred when USBP agents respond to an incident report in lieu of, or in addition to, local law enforcement officers. In other cases, USBP agents have reportedly begun responding to 911 emergency assistance calls, especially if the caller is known or perceived not to speak English. Much of this activity appears to have been precipitated by the fact that the U.S.-Canada border has undergone a dramatic transformation, including an influx of newly assigned USBP agents.Immigrants, their advocates, and community members are reporting—and official statistics confirm—that there are simply too many USBP agents on the ground, apparently with too much time on their hands, who lack adherence to stated priorities.This special report by Lisa Graybill for the Immigration Policy Center lays out the problems with border patrol agents serving as translators and make recommendations intended to promote Title VI compliance, maintain the integrity of the USBP mission on the Northern Border, and protect the rights of immigrants and their families who call the Northern Border home.
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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 MoreImmigrant Detention and the Private Prison Industry
The latest data on immigration enforcement show that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained a record high of 429,247 noncitizens in the 2011 fiscal year, an increase of 18 percent over 2010. Immigration detention has been steadily increasing over the last two decades. A new report by Justice Strategies suggests this increase is largely […]
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 MoreAlbrecht Signs Letter Asking Congress, President to Help Foreign Students Get Green Cards
HJ News September 19, 2012 Utah State University President Stan Albrecht is one of more than 100 college and university presidents who signed a letter addressed to President Barack Obama and Congress calling for a bipartisan action in getting top international students green cards upon graduation. The letter, dated Sept. 13, urges Washington, D.C., lawmakers […]
Read MoreSTEMming the Decline of Foreign-Born Tech Graduates
The Washington Post September 19, 2012 NOT MANY PARTS of the Democratic and Republican party platforms are interchangeable. An exception is the nearly identical passages expressing support for keeping foreign-born students in this country after they earn advanced degrees from U.S. universities in science, technology, engineering and math, the so-called STEM fields. The rationale is […]
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 MoreBeyond Rhetoric: How U.S. Communities Welcome Immigrants
New America Media September 18, 2012 On January 11, 2011, Jhuma Acharya arrived in Providence, RI after a journey that began in 1992, in Bhutan, a country tucked between India and China whose government forced ethnic minorities to leave their homes. At age 15, Acharya fled Bhutan with his family to a refugee camp in […]
Read MoreForeign Graduates In STEM Fields Can Boost U.S.
Politico September 18, 2012 American universities’ reputation for excellence, advanced research and innovation attracts the best and brightest students from around the world. These foreign graduates in science, technology, engineering and math — the STEM fields — are behind many crucial innovations and new businesses that are key to U.S. economic growth. These foreign graduates […]
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