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Four Cheers for the Ninth Circuit’s Ruling on SB 1070
In a clean sweep for the rule of law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction yesterday against four key provisions of SB 1070—Arizona’s notoriously misguided attempt to drive undocumented immigrants from the state. The court’s comprehensive ruling left in place a lower court decision from July which temporarily […]
Read MoreTuition 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 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 MoreYet Another State Leaves Immigration Enforcement Bill on Cutting Room Floor
The legislative graveyard got a little bit bigger this week as lawmakers in Mississippi pronounced a series of restrictive immigration measures dead. More than 30 immigration-related bills—including an Arizona-style enforcement bill—failed to meet a legislative deadline due to disagreements over the laws’ impact on the business community. Mississippi joins nine other states (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, […]
Read MoreHouse Subcommittee Hearing Highlights U.S. Need for Foreign Scientists and Engineers
Today, a House Immigration Subcommittee hearing underscored the U.S. economy’s reliance on scientists and engineers from abroad. The hearing, entitled “H-1B Visas: Designing a Program to Meet the Needs of the U.S. Economy and U.S. Workers,” was characterized by considerable disagreement among witnesses and subcommittee members as to how the H-1B program for highly skilled […]
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 MoreLegal Action Center Pursues Campaign to Protect Judicial Review
Washington D.C. – In a continuing effort to protect the right to judicial review and promote greater federal court oversight of immigration decisions, the American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center (LAC) recently submitted an amicus brief in another case involving a sua sponte motion to reopen. A three-judge panel in this case, Salado-Alva v. Holder, […]
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.
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