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Anti-Immigrant Activists Still Pushing the Myth of Voter Fraud by Noncitizens
In the world of anti-immigrant activists who specialize in stamping out “voter fraud” by non-U.S. citizens, there are few symbols more potent than that of the bus. Apparently, a bus is the favored mode of transportation among the legions of immigrants who want to subvert the U.S. electoral process by illegally casting ballots. Many a […]
Read MoreCrovitz: Washington’s New Twist on Human Sacrifice
Wall Street Journal September 30, 2012 In the 1990s, just before the handover of Hong Kong to China, there was a going-away lunch for the Canadian consul general. When I entered the venue, I thought it must be the wrong place. The hundreds of ethnic Chinese gathered for the lunch in the colony’s largest hotel […]
Read MoreThe Harmful Effects of Using Border Patrol as Interpreters Along the Northern Border
Most people are aware of increasing collaboration between state and local police and federal immigration officers. Programs like 287(g) and the Secure Communities program, as well as state laws like SB1070, create a new role for local police, who are now put in the position of identifying immigrants for possible deportation. It has meant that […]
Read MoreImmigrant Detention and the Private Prison Industry
The latest data on immigration enforcement show that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained a record high of 429,247 noncitizens in the 2011 fiscal year, an increase of 18 percent over 2010. Immigration detention has been steadily increasing over the last two decades. A new report by Justice Strategies suggests this increase is largely […]
Read MoreLifting Up Cities That Are Welcoming Immigrants
When it comes to immigration policymaking at the state and local level, all eyes have been focused for quite some time on train wrecks like Arizona and Alabama. These are places in which policymakers have chosen to deal with unauthorized immigration by embarking on a path of economic self-destruction—blindly lashing out at immigrants and Latinos […]
Read MorePress Release: Statement from Partnership for a New American Economy on Senate and House Introduction of Four Bills to Give Green Cards to Foreign Students Earning Advanced STEM Degrees
The Partnership commends the introduction of four bills that would keep more of the world’s top science, technology, engineering and math (“STEM”) minds here in America. The four bills, introduced by Senate Immigration, Refugees and Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Senator Charles Schumer, Senate Immigration, Refugees and Border Security Subcommittee Ranking Member Senator John Cornyn, House […]
Read MoreNo Paid Sick Days for Immigrant Caregivers Risky to Workers, U.S. Economy
By Elisa Batista, Women Immigrants Fellow, New America Media. In 91-year-old Elda Frank’s apartment is a scenario that plays out every moment of every day. An immigrant caregiver with no paid sick days scrambles for backup when she becomes ill on the job. In caregiver Paula Osorio’s case, she called Frank’s son, Bruce, and offered […]
Read MoreCitizenship Day 2012: Realizing the Potential of the Immigrant Vote
For many aspiring immigrants, achieving citizenship means full participation in civic life—and that means the right to vote. Every year, thousands of immigrants become naturalized U.S. citizens and exercise their new right. In the 2010 national elections, naturalized citizens comprised 6.4% of all voters. The voter registration rate among immigrants as a whole has risen since 2000. Just as importantly, a growing number of U.S.-born children of immigrants are now coming of age and becoming voters.
However, the full potential of the immigrant vote has not been reached. There are more than eight million legal immigrants in the United States who are eligible to naturalize but have not yet done so. The latent electoral power of these voters-in-waiting is enormous. In many parts of the country their votes could potentially swing elections. As described in a series of Immigration Impact blog posts by Rob Paral, there are numerous counties across the country where the number of Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) who have arrived since 1985 exceeds the margin of victory in the Obama-McCain election. Moreover, the voter rolls of many counties would grow dramatically if LPRs who are eligible to naturalize actually did so and registered to vote. Although this could not happen in time for the 2012 election cycle, it could make a difference in future elections. In many U.S. counties, the number of Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) who have arrived since 1985 exceeds the Obama-McCain margin of victory.
What Early DACA Application Numbers Tell Us About the Future of the Program
It hasn’t even been a month since the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) first started accepting requests for deferred action under its Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, yet the New York Times reported this week that the first approvals are already on their way. The Times also reported that the agency […]
Read MoreAlabama Doubles Down, Appeals Ruling on HB 56
Late last month, after a panel of federal judges unanimously struck down major provisions of Alabama HB 56, a statement issued by Gov. Robert Bentley gave reason to hope the state would graciously concede defeat. Calling it time “to move past court battles,” Bentley said Alabama should turn its focus to the handful of provisions […]
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