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President Obama Continues To Walk Immigration Tightrope
President Obama delivered a heartfelt commencement address this weekend at Miami-Dade College that once again showed the difficult tightrope he walks on immigration. On the one hand, he reminded his listeners yet again how important immigration reform, including passage of the DREAM Act, is to the continued moral and economic vitality of the country. On […]
Read MoreNew Report Underscores Economic Folly of S.B. 1070-Type Laws in California
Fans of Arizona’s SB 1070 and its many imitators fail to mention one critical feature of their beloved legislation: its economic destructiveness. A dramatic example of just how destructive an SB 1070 clone could be is detailed in a new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) and the Immigration Policy Center (IPC). The […]
Read MoreRevitalizing the Golden State
California is home to nearly 10 million immigrants, more than one quarter of the state’s population. Of those, 2.7 million are undocumented, and the vast majority of them have been living in the United States for more than 10 years. California’s immigrant contributions to the Golden State cannot be overstated. From Cesar Chavez, the pioneering agricultural labor-rights leader in the 20th century to Sergei Brin, the Russian entrepreneur behind one of the 21st century’s most revolutionary companies, Google Inc., the foreign born and their descendants are woven into the state’s cultural and economic fabric.
Still, that reality has not prevented some Californians, frustrated with our broken federal immigration system, to call for an Arizona-style “papers please” approach. The stated goal of this new wave of state-based enforcement legislation is to trigger a mass exodus of undocumented immigrants, by making “attrition through enforcement” the policy of state and local government agencies. The threshold question that proponents of S.B.1070-style legislation have failed to answer is whether that goal serves the economic interests of the state’s constituents.
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren Demands Investigation into ICE’s Secure Communities Program
Some would argue that ICE’s Secure Communities program has been fraught with problems ever since it launched in 2008—from concerns over the lack of federal oversight to questions regarding the criminality of immigrants targeted. But after months of back and forth over how and whether jurisdictions are able to opt-out of this immigration enforcement program […]
Read MoreDissecting the HALT Act: Last Safety Valves in Immigration System Under Attack
Washington D.C. – Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 26, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement will hold a hearing on the “Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation Act” (HALT Act), a bill that would suspend discretionary forms of immigration relief until January 21, 2013—the day after the next Presidential inauguration. Today, the Immigration Policy Center […]
Read MoreOne Year After SB 1070, States Are Still Grappling with Cost of Immigration Measures
One year ago this month, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer put her star on the political map when she signed SB 1070, a controversial immigration law which required state and local law-enforcement officials to inquire about immigration status during any lawful stop, detention, or arrest. Some states learned from Arizona—the numerous protests, Supreme Court challenge, costly […]
Read MoreImmigration and North Carolina
Diversely skilled immigrants create North Carolinian wealth. Since the late 1950’s Research Triangle Park (RTP) at the center of the Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh communities has played a critical role in diversifying the economy of North Carolina. A state economy that was once based on manufacturing and agriculture has emerged as one of […]
Read MoreImmigration and North Carolina
Diversely skilled immigrants create North Carolinian wealth. Since the late 1950’s Research Triangle Park (RTP) at the center of the Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh communities has played a critical role in diversifying the economy of North Carolina. A state economy that was once based on manufacturing and agriculture has emerged as one of […]
Read More22 Senators Demand President Obama Exercise Executive Action on Immigration
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is one of the letter’s 22 signators. As it becomes increasingly evident that Congress is too mired in politics to reform our broken immigration system, a steady chorus demanding executive action is growing. This week, 22 U.S. Senators, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, sent a letter to President Obama asking him […]
Read MoreTwo Years Under the Obama Administration, How Does DHS Measure Up?
Nearly two years ago, expectations ran high as President Obama took office and Secretary Napolitano took the reins of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In review of DHS’s first year under the Obama Administration, the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) found that while many promising changes were initiated, few were successful due to limiting political […]
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