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Steve King’s Tall Tales About Immigrants and Crime Don’t Add Up
There is no denying that Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has a vivid imagination. As he sits in Border Patrol vehicles at night, he apparently sees hundreds of DREAM Act-eligible drug mules with muscular calves hauling heavy loads of marijuana across the border. How does he know these drug mules would meet the rather stringent criteria […]
Read MoreHearing Highlights Similarities Between Senate Immigration Bill and House Border Bill
Ostensibly, the July 23rd hearing of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security was about the many differences between the Senate’s immigration-reform bill and the House’s border-enforcement bill. The hearing was even titled “A Study in Contrasts: House and Senate Approaches to Border Security.” However, while highlighting very real differences between the […]
Read MoreAn Unlikely Couple: The Similar Approaches to Border Enforcement in H.R. 1417 and S. 744
The House of Representatives and the Senate have embarked upon very different paths when it comes to immigration reform. On June 27, the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill—S. 744 (the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act)—that seeks to revamp practically every dysfunctional component of the U.S. immigration system. The House leadership, on the other hand, favors a piecemeal approach in which a series of immigration bills are passed, each addressing a different aspect of the larger immigration system. To date, the most popular of these piecemeal bills has been H.R. 1417 (the Border Security Results Act), which was passed unanimously on May 15 by the House Committee on Homeland Security. H.R. 1417 is, in marked contrast to S. 744, an enforcement-only bill which does not acknowledge the existence of any other component of immigration reform.
Nevertheless, the border-enforcement provisions of S. 744 aren’t all that different from those contained within H.R. 1417. Both bills share the arbitrary and possibly unworkable goals of “operational control” (a 90 percent deterrence rate) and 100 percent “situational awareness” along the entire southwest border. The Senate bill also added insult to injury in the form of the Corker-Hoeven (“border surge”) amendment, which seeks to micromanage border-security operations and would gratuitously appropriate tens of billions of dollars in additional funding, and hire tens of thousands of additional Border Patrol agents, before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has even determined what resource and staffing levels are needed to do the job.
Faith Groups Make The Religious Argument For Immigration Reform
As the focus on immigration reform turns to the House of Representatives, faith leaders continue to push for members of Congress to support a comprehensive measure to improve immigration policies. In late May, evangelical groups launched a $250,000 national ad campaign that featured pastors urging people to support congressional immigration reform efforts. And after the […]
Read MoreA Guide to S.744: Understanding the 2013 Senate Immigration Bill
This guide to provide policymakers, the media, and the public with an easy-to-understand guide to the main components of S. 744 and the purpose behind them.
Read MoreThe Civics Lessons Many Undocumented Immigrants Have Already Learned
If the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform bill becomes law, many undocumented immigrants who apply for and become Registered Provisional Immigrants (RPIs) would have to pass an English and civics test before becoming Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs). These tests are administered so New Americans can show their commitment to this country by demonstrating that they speak […]
Read MoreLocal Welcoming Initiatives Help Build a Nation of Neighbors
While attention has been focused on federal immigration efforts these last few months, states and cities continue to encourage and promote immigration as well. From well-established programs like Welcoming America and its many state-level affiliates, Cities of Migration, the Building Resilient Regions research group, and the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration, to new […]
Read MoreImmigrants are Key Driver of U.S. Talent and Economic Competitiveness
U.S. workers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have been important contributors to American innovation, job creation, rising incomes, and global economic competitiveness throughout the years. And not surprisingly, immigrants have played a critical role in American innovation through STEM fields and all parts of the U.S. economy. A new report by Gordon […]
Read MoreBeyond the Border Surge, What Else Is In the Senate Compromise?
On Monday, the Senate voted 67 to 27 to invoke cloture on Leahy 1183, an amendment to substitute the current version of the Senate’s immigration reform bill, S. 744, with a revised version of the bill that includes a host of amendments that have been referred to as the Corker/Hoeven compromise—or, more simply, the border […]
Read MoreAmerica’s Assimilating Hispanics
The Wall Street Journal June 17, 2013 As immigration reform moves through Congress, one claim by opponents is that this time immigration is different because the country’s latest arrivals aren’t assimilating. On the contrary, however, the evidence overwhelmingly shows that today’s immigrants are acculturating and moving up the economic ladder like previous generations. The media’s […]
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