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New ABA Study Documents Serious System-Wide Problems in the Removal Process
For over a year, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration and the law firm of Arnold & Porter LLP engaged in a comprehensive review of the current removal process. The law firm poured over hundreds of articles, reports, legislative materials, and other documents, and interviewed scores of participants in the system, including lawyers, judges, […]
Read MoreThe 2010 Mid-Term Elections and the Impatient Latino Vote
Today, America’s Voice released a report, The Power of the Latino Vote in the 2010 Elections: They Tipped Elections in 2008; Where will they be in 2010? The report analyzes forty battleground “Races to Watch” where the Latino vote will be pivotal to both parties. The report notes that “as the Latino electorate grows in […]
Read MoreNew Data on Federal Court Prosecutions Reveal Non-Violent Immigration Prosecutions Up
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) reports that federal immigration prosecutions rose to record levels during fiscal year (FY) 2009. In the past, federal court resources were appropriately allocated to pursue immigration-related prosecutions against individuals with criminal backgrounds. Recently, however, priorities have shifted, and large numbers of federal immigration prosecutions have focused on non-violent border crossers, creating the appearance that immigrants are committing more crimes. However, the fact is — the federal government’s shift in resources has meant spending billions of dollars prosecuting non-violent immigration violators while more serious criminals involved in drugs, weapons, and organized crime face a lower probability of prosecution.
Read MoreNapolitano Unveils Enforcement-Heavy Immigration Budget for DHS
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano unveiled yesterday, exemplifies the enforcement mentality which pervades the federal government’s approach to immigration. The two immigration-enforcement components of DHS—Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—consume 30% of the department’s total […]
Read MoreDear Reps. Smith and Miller, Don’t Confuse Your Talking Points with Facts
Representatives Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Gary Miller (R-CA) would like the public to think that they have the same concerns as most Americans today, releasing a joint statement expressing anxiety over the 15 million Americans currently without work. On its face, their statement—“we must enforce our current immigration laws to ensure illegals do not take […]
Read MoreSupreme Court Protects Immigrants’ Access to Court Review
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision ensuring that immigrants facing deportation have fair process in the review of their cases. The Court ruled that individuals who seek to reopen their deportation orders have the right to appeal to the federal courts if the immigration court refuses to reopen the case. The Court’s decision […]
Read MoreGranting Temporary Protective Status (TPS) to Unauthorized Haitians Now an Urgent Matter
Tuesday’s devastating earthquake in Haiti is the latest and deadliest tragedy to befall one of the world’s poorest countries. As the death toll mounts and the full measure of the destruction is taken in, the call for urgent humanitarian relief is already being answered by the United States. Presumably, those relief efforts will be supplemented […]
Read MoreThe Economic Benefits of Immigration Reform
A new report, “Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” by Dr. Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, finds that comprehensive immigration reform that includes a legalization program for unauthorized immigrants and enables a future flow of legal workers would result in a large economic benefit—a cumulative $1.5 trillion in added U.S. gross domestic product over 10 years. In stark contrast, a deportation-only policy would result in a loss of $2.6 trillion in GDP over 10 years.
Read MoreSenator Graham is Further Evidence that Immigration Reform is a Bipartisan Effort
Do not be misled by recent events. U.S. Senator and possible immigration reform bill co-sponsor Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is no liberal. Lately, Sen. Graham has drawn the ire of county Republican parties in South Carolina by voting for the White House’s bank bailout plan as well as Democrat-sponsored climate change legislation. These votes resulted in […]
Read MoreAnd They’re Off! Immigration Reform for a New Decade
Thousands of organizations, activists, and citizens are already out of the gate and will spend 2010 racing towards the finish line of fixing our broken immigration system. Some dedicated students have even embarked on a 1,500 mile walk from Miami to Washington D.C. in hopes of bringing attention to the human needs and costs behind […]
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