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Senator Proposes New Permanent Visa Quotas for Graduates of U.S. Schools
U.S. Politics Today July 17, 2012 As controversial as many immigration issues have become in the U.S., most politicians and economists recognize the economic benefits of granting permanent residency to skilled workers. Immigration based on employment makes all the more sense when the visa recipient obtained an advanced degree at an American university and will […]
Read MoreWhy the Administration Should Avoid a Fight Over Anti-Detainer Laws
Yesterday’s TIME Magazine carried a story on what it billed as the Obama administration’s “next immigration battle”—the spread of state and local laws around the country preventing jails from holding immigrant detainees on behalf of the federal government. California and Chicago appear poised to join the list, and federal officials have floated the possibility of […]
Read MoreVoter ID Laws Tackle Non-Existent Problem of Immigrant Vote Fraud
It is election season and voter-fraud hysteria is in the air. A raft of restrictive voter ID legislation from coast to coast is aimed primarily at one imaginary problem: fraudulent voting by immigrants who are not U.S. citizens. Supporters of these laws like to pretend that hordes of non-citizens are stampeding into voting booths and […]
Read MoreChicken Little in the Voting Booth: The Non-Existent Problem of Non-Citizen Voter Fraud
A wave of restrictive voting laws is sweeping the nation. The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law counts “at least 180 restrictive bills introduced since the beginning of 2011 in 41 states.” Bills requiring voters “to show photo identification in order to vote” were signed into law in Alabama, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Adding insult to injury, Alabama, Kansas, and Tennessee went a step further and required voters to present proof of U.S. citizenship in order to vote. In addition, Florida, Colorado, and New Mexico embarked upon ultimately fruitless “purges” of their voter rolls for the ostensible purpose of sweeping away anyone who might be a non-U.S. citizen.
All of these actions have been undertaken in the name of preventing voter fraud, particularly illegal voting by non-citizens. Proponents of harsh voter laws often assert, without a shred of hard evidence, that hordes of immigrants are swaying election results by wheedling their way into the voting booth. However, repeated investigations over the years have found no indication that systematic vote fraud by non-citizens is anything other than the product of overactive imaginations.
Fighting Phantoms: No Evidence of Widespread or Systematic Vote Fraud by Non-Citizens
Immigrants Critical to Our Economic Future
Sun Journal Maine July 06, 2012 As the presidential campaign heats up so will the debate over the role of immigrants in our economy and our communities. That has been an ongoing conversation in Lewiston-Auburn for the past 10 years and a hot-button topic in southwestern border states for decades. But the controversy will likely […]
Read MoreStudy Shows More Foreigners than US Citizens Applying for US Patents
workpermit.com July 4, 2012 A new study has revealed that foreign students and researchers file 76 percent of patents at America’s top universities. The study, released Tuesday, follows another recently published report that found that US immigrants are more likely to start a business than non-immigrants. The Partnership for a New American Economy, the group […]
Read MoreGroups Seek Information on CBP’s “Translation” Activities in Northern Border States
Washington, D.C. – Last week an alliance of immigration advocacy groups represented by the Legal Action Center filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The FOIA requests seek information regarding CBP policies on providing translation assistance to other law enforcement agencies and on participating in 911 dispatch activities. […]
Read MoreDHS’s NSEERS Program, While Inactive, Continues to Discriminate
For a long time after 9/11, immigration reform was only discussed as a national security issue, and many policies were put in place aimed at stopping terrorists from entering the country. Unfortunately, some of these policies—such as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program—targeted particular ethnic groups, promoted profiling, and resulted in discrimination and […]
Read MoreAfrican Immigrants in America: A Demographic Overview
Immigrants from Africa constitute a highly diverse and rapidly growing group in the United States. As Census data demonstrate, the African foreign-born population doubled in size between 2000 and 2010. Nearly half of African immigrants are naturalized U.S. citizens, and seven-in-ten speak only English or speak it “very well.” Just under three-quarters of African immigrants are black, while roughly one-fifth are white. The largest numbers of African immigrants are found in California, New York, Texas, Maryland, and Virginia. The top countries of origin for African immigrants are Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana, and Kenya. Two-fifths of African immigrants have at least a bachelor’s degree, and more than one-third work in professional jobs.
Read MoreUS Turning Away Talent Needed for Innovation: Report
Smart Planet June 26, 2012 A new study reports that 76% of patents from America’s top 10 patent-generating universities in 2011 had a foreign-born inventor. However, many of the innovators are restricted from staying within the US to build new enterprises. That’s the gist of a new report, “Patent Pending: How Immigrants Are Reinventing The […]
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