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The Fiscal Bottom Line on Immigration Reform
The Costs of Enforcement-Only and the Benefits of Comprehensive Reform
Tax Day is an appropriate time to take stock of a few fiscal bottom lines about immigration enforcement and immigration reform. The federal government spends billions of taxpayer dollars every year on border and interior enforcement measures intended to deter unauthorized immigration. While these efforts have failed to solve the problem of unauthorized immigration, they have had a negative impact on American families, communities, and the economy. Were the United States to adopt a different approach by implementing comprehensive immigration reform, the legalization of currently unauthorized immigrants alone would generate billions of dollars in additional tax revenue as their wages and tax contributions increase over time.
Support for Immigration Reform Picks Up Steam
Congress certainly has a lot on their plate as they reconvene from a long recess this week—a jobs bill, financial reform and now the confirmation of a new Supreme Court Justice. Over the weekend, however, congressional leaders put immigration reform at the top of their legislative to-do lists, calling for bipartisan cooperation to pass reform […]
Read MoreNew Report on the Benefits of Legalization Comes Up Short
A new report released by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) this week attempts to assess the economic benefits of a legalization program on immigrants and native born workers. The report, Immigrant Legalization: Assessing the Labor Market Effects, however, falls short on research and methodology. While the report accurately concludes that legalization would not […]
Read MoreImmigration Reform with Legalization Does Help U.S. Economy and Newly Legalized
Washington D.C. – A new report from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), entitled Immigrant Legalization: Assessing the Labor Market Effects, yields both some enlightening and some potentially misleading results about the likely impact of a legalization program. Because the PPIC report focuses on legal status acquired under current immigration law, it does not […]
Read MoreTwo Pieces of Refugee Legislation Show Promise of Bipartisan Reform Effort
Regardless of the prolonged and often controversial fight over comprehensive immigration reform, immigration bills do occasionally make it through Congress. Such bills tend to be very specific, concrete, almost technical changes to existing laws. Not surprisingly, many of those bills are tied to issues that have broad bipartisan support like perfecting refugee provisions or making […]
Read MoreImmigration Advocates Call for an End to ICE’s Failed 287(g) Program
Today, a group of immigration reform advocates called for an end to the controversial 287(g) program, labeling it a “failed experiment.” Speakers from labor organizations and immigration advocacy groups said the expansion and continued failure of this enforcement program is a “worrying signal on the President’s commitment” to reforming our immigration system. They went as […]
Read MoreThe Face of America’s Tomorrow: The Growing Political Impact of Latinos
A recent editorial in the Washington Post reminds us that the U.S. Census will have a lasting impact—not only for funding of public services and representation in Congress, but also for securing the role of historically undercounted minority groups such as Latinos. ICE’s ramped up enforcement strategy over the last several years has made it […]
Read MoreSo-Called ‘Smart Enforcement’ Cuts Corners on Immigrants Rights
In a March 29 meeting with immigration advocates that I attended, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief John Morton asked to be judged on ICE’s record, not on rumors. But that’s just why I’m concerned. At a hastily called meeting following the leak of a memo setting quotas for non-criminal removals, Morton repudiated the February […]
Read MoreTip of the ICEberg
The irony of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s acronym—ICE—has never been lost on anyone, including the agency itself. Shortly after its formation, posters appeared in government offices of an iceberg as big as the one that sunk the Titanic with the motto: ICE—What you see is just the tip of the iceberg. The idea was to […]
Read MoreLocal Enforcement of Immigration Laws Through the 287(g) Program
Updated 04/02/10
Since 2004, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) has greatly expanded its partnerships with local police through the 287(g) program. As of March 2010, more than 1,075 local officers have been trained and certified through the program under the 67 active Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) in 24 states. However, while the number of MOAs has increased, the numerous problems surrounding them have also become more apparent. Recent reports have found that 287(g) agreements are costing localities millions to implement while ICE provides little oversight and support to the program. Additionally, crime-solving activities are being compromised, the trust between police and community is eroding, and accusations of racial profiling and civil rights violations are on the rise. Furthermore 287 (g) agreements are being used as political tools that interfere with the kind of true community policing that protect and serve our communities.
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