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Utah Attorney General Pushes Sensible Immigration Policies
Republican Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has become a poignant and effective advocate for smart immigration policies, including the DREAM Act. On Monday, Shurtleff spoke at the Immigration Law and Policy Conference, in Washington D.C., where he concluded that the “biggest casualty in the immigration debate is the truth.” Shurtleff understands prosecutorial discretion, and is […]
Read MoreOne Quarter Of U.S. Tech Start-Ups Founded By An Immigrant: Study
Reuters October 2, 2012 SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A new study showing that immigrants founded one quarter of U.S. technology start-up companies could fuel calls to relax immigration rules ahead of next month’s U.S. presidential elections, where the economy and immigration are key issues. The study “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Then and Now,” shows that […]
Read MoreThose Who Put Food on Our Tables Need a New Immigration Process
Huffington Post October 1, 2012 Yes, politicians can overcome partisanship and unite around something: making New York state the next yogurt capital However, that can’t happen without a new immigration process. And our political leaders have not been able to break through the logjam of inaction on immigration. Coupled with an enforcement crackdown by the […]
Read MoreDREAM Act Would Create 1.4 Million Jobs: Report
Huffington Post October 2, 2012 Contrary to popular belief, a more lenient immigration system may make it easier for native-born Americans to find work. The DREAM Act, a bill that would provide a path to citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants that finish high school and some college or military service, would create 1.4 […]
Read MoreAuthor of Torture Memos Challenges Legality of DACA
As a high-ranking Justice Department attorney after 9/11, John Yoo authored an infamous legal memo arguing that the President, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, possessed irrevocable authority to order the torture of alleged “enemy combatants.” Although the memos were subsequently revoked, Yoo has remained an ardent defender of presidential power—except, it appears, when it […]
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 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 MoreSchumer To Push High-Skilled Immigration Bill
The Hill September 17, 2012 Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is planning to introduce a bill on Wednesday that is aimed at increasing the pool of green cards available to foreign-born graduates with advanced degrees in science, math and technology fields, according to three people familiar with the legislation. The measure is similar to a high-skilled […]
Read MoreParties Lock Horns Over Legislation to Boost High-Skilled Immigration
The Hill September 16, 2012 The fight over high-skilled immigration legislation is coming to a head again next week after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement on a bill by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas). Smith plans to introduce a bill early next week that would eliminate the diversity green card program and reallocate […]
Read MoreCitizenship 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.
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