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Tuition Equity Legislation for Undocumented Students Picks Up Speed
Updated 04/12/11: The State of Maryland is well on its way to making higher education accessible to undocumented students, as both houses passed the Maryland DREAM Act and Governor O’Malley has pledged to sign into law. Last Friday, Maryland’s House of Delegate passed an in-state tuition bill (HB 470) by a vote of 74-66. On […]
Read MoreFilling the Leadership Void: What is President Obama’s Vision on Immigration?
Washington D.C. – More than two years into the Obama Administration, it is still unclear whether President Obama’s immigration agenda will ultimately be remembered as an enforcement-driven enterprise, or one that uses the full force of executive branch authority to improve our badly broken system. On the one hand, the President continues to voice support […]
Read MoreFarming Industry Urges State Lawmakers to Kill Costly Immigration Measures
For months, the business community and farming industry have warned state lawmakers that immigration enforcement legislation will hurt state economies, pointing to Arizona’s economic crash-and-burn as a prime example. This week, however, a group of agricultural leaders in Georgia upped the ante, sending a letter to state lawmakers urging them to consider just how much […]
Read MoreHouse Subcommittee Battles Diversity in U.S. Immigration System
Opponents of immigration reform are often quick to differentiate their disdain for unauthorized immigration and their alleged support of legal immigration. But finding evidence of their support for legal immigration has always been difficult. Over the past several months, the House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement has conducted several hearings where some members have […]
Read MoreSecure Communities Program Continues to Take Heat for Targeting Non-Criminals
At a conference last week, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano raised a few eyebrows when she implied those who are fingerprinted through ICE’s Secure Communities program are presumably guilty of a crime—a particular sticking point considering the program’s reputation for sweeping up non-criminals. Although ICE officials claim the program targets criminal aliens, nearly 28% of people […]
Read MoreThe Diversity Immigrant Visa Program: An Overview
This fact sheet provides an overview of the diversity visa program, the requirements and security checks currently in place, and demographic information about recipients.
Read MoreTuition Equity Could Be Coming Soon to a State Near You
BY SUMAN RAGHUNATHAN, PROGRESSIVE STATES NETWORK Those who follow state immigration policy may have taken note of an interesting phenomenon—the recent momentum behind state level tuition equity proposals. Just this week, Oregon’s Senate passed a Republican-sponsored tuition equity bill which proposes to level the playing field for promising and motivated undocumented students by ensuring that […]
Read MoreThe U.S. Economy Still Needs Highly Skilled Foreign Workers
It might seem that persistently high unemployment rates over the past few years have rendered moot the debate over whether or not the United States really “needs” the highly skilled foreign workers who come here on H-1B temporary visas. But the demand for H-1B workers still far outstrips the current cap of only 65,000 new H-1B visas that can be issued each year. In fact, from fiscal year 1997 to 2011, employers exhausted this quota before the fiscal year was over (except from 2001 to 2003, when the ceiling was temporarily increased). As a number of studies make clear, the presence in a company of highly skilled foreign workers whose abilities and talents complement those of native-born workers actually creates new employment opportunities for American workers. Yet the arbitrary numerical limits placed on H-1Bs are incapable of responding to the changing demand for H-1B workers. This is unfortunate, given that the international competitiveness of the U.S. economy will continue to depend heavily on the contributions of H-1B professionals and other high-skilled workers from abroad for many decades to come.
Read MoreTide Turning Against Authors of Restrictive Immigration Measures
Over the last few weeks, the media has slowly picked up on the tepid response state legislatures have given to copycat immigration enforcement measures, noting the gradual cooling of enthusiasm and support for these highly divisive measures. Lawmakers, under pressure from business groups, have already shot down enforcement measures in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, […]
Read MoreNew Report Highlights Economic Destructiveness of S.B. 1070-Style Laws
The fans of anti-immigrant laws such as Arizona’s infamous SB 1070 often claim that they are trying to save the jobs and tax dollars of average, hard-working Americans. However, as a new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) and the IPC makes clear, this is a claim without credibility. The report, entitled A […]
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