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Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses…But Don’t Let Them Work?
Every year, thousands of people flee persecution in their home countries and seek safe haven in the United States. Many of them spend their entire savings on the journey, travel under life-threatening conditions, and arrive on our shores with not much more than the clothes on their backs. Those who are lucky find long-lost relatives, […]
Read MoreMandatory E-Verify: An Enforcement Proposal Even Conservatives Don’t Like
Rep. Lamar Smith may find himself whistling in the wind this week as members of his own party continue to blast his E-Verify proposal. Smith’s bill, The “Legal Workforce Act” H.R. 2885, which continues to get marked up this week by the House Judiciary Committee, would make E-Verify mandatory nationwide. Conservative lawmakers, Tea Partiers, and […]
Read MoreBetter Immigrant Integration Leads to Economic Growth
Over the weekend, more than 27,000 people became American citizens during 285 naturalization ceremonies held across the country in honor of Citizenship Day (September 17). Becoming a citizen, however, is hard work. A new country, new rules, high costs, and little targeted support for new immigrants make what should be a journey of exploration and […]
Read MoreLamar Smith’s E-Verify Arguments Defy Logic and Lack Evidence
Facing opposition from the left and the right, Rep. Lamar Smith appears to be willing to do and say just about anything to pass his “Legal Workforce Act,” (H.R. 2885), which would make E-Verify mandatory for all U.S. businesses. Smith continues to tout E-Verify as a magic bullet that will create jobs for millions of […]
Read MoreIllinois County “Just Says No” to Costly Immigration Detainers
As public debate over Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) controversial enforcement policies continues, a county in Illinois recently voted against using one tool in ICE’s enforcement arsenal—immigration detainers. Detainers are requests (not commands) from ICE to local law enforcement agencies that ask local agencies to notify ICE prior to releasing an individual from custody. ICE […]
Read MoreTen Years After 9/11, Is the U.S. Deporting Those Who Threaten to Do Us Harm?
This past weekend, the U.S. commemorated the ten-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Life and travel in the U.S. has changed in some significant ways over the past decade, and many observers have noted that immigration policy, in particular, has been deeply affected. The fact that the terrorists were foreign nationals that arrived legally […]
Read MoreExperts Challenge Conventional Wisdom on Border Security
No one should be shocked by this election season’s default response to immigration questions, “We must secure the border.” It’s the same tired sound bite as last election cycle. While border security might make for an easy rhetorical punching bag, it seems to be an area the most vocal politicians know the least about and […]
Read MoreU.S. Sentencing Commission Data Reveals Dysfunction of U.S. Immigration System
Federal courts and prisons are being overwhelmed by the broken U.S. immigration system. That is one of the central points to emerge from data contained in a new report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. It is also a point that is easily missed if you are looking at the wrong numbers. For instance, the numbers […]
Read MorePress Release: Statement on the House Immigration Subcommittee Hearing on the “American Specialty Agriculture Act”
Statement on the House Immigration Subcommittee Hearing on H.R. 2847: The “American Specialty Agriculture Act” We are encouraged that Congress is considering a new program for the immigrant workers who are essential to America’s farms, which generate over $360 billion in annual sales and countless additional jobs in related industries, from manufacturing farm supplies to […]
Read MoreLamar Smith Introduces New Agricultural Twist to His Anti-Immigrant Agenda
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has added a novel new twist to his anti-immigrant agenda: letting more immigrant workers into the country. In defiance of logic, the man who believes that immigrants merely steal jobs from U.S. citizens now wants to import migrant agricultural workers. At a hearing today of […]
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