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High-Skilled Immigration and Entrepreneurship in the Senate’s Immigration Bill
On the road to reform, the Senate’s Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act contains several changes and new provisions for skilled immigration and entrepreneurship. Specifically, the bill provides balanced reforms to the H-1B nonimmigrant visa for high-skilled individuals, various provisions for highly skilled individuals through permanent employment-based immigration, and a new INVEST visa […]
Read MorePress Release: New Poll Shows Significant Support Among Majority of Republicans for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation
Survey Finds 67 Percent of Republicans Support the Senate Gang of Eight’s Immigration Bill; Americans Believe Reform Will Help Bolster U.S. Economy In conjunction with Americans for Tax Reform, the Partnership for a New American Economy and the National Immigration Forum Action Fund released poll findings today showing strong support among Republicans – and Americans […]
Read MoreNapolitano Hearing Points the Way Forward on Immigration Reform
At an April 23rd hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano delivered two messages on behalf of the Obama administration. First, the administration strongly supports the Senate immigration reform bill—S.744, “The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.” Secondly, the administration has, contrary to the claims of its critics, significantly […]
Read MoreFormer Bush Administration Official Explains Why Immigration Bill Is Good For The Economy
Following the introduction of the Senate immigration reform bill earlier this week, the Senate Judiciary Committee held its first hearing about the measure today. It gave the senators a chance to air their various complaints about the bill – that it does not protect LGBT couples or that the bill micro-manages the hiring process for […]
Read MoreImmigration Bill Praise Further Marginalizes Opponents
Now that the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” has officially introduced its immigration bill, the public, analysts, and newspaper editorial boards are all having a chance to weigh in about the sweeping overhaul of the nation’s broken immigration system. The reaction from many has been positive because, while it is not a perfect measure, the legislation […]
Read MoreSenators Close To Introducing Immigration Reform Bill
After months of negotiations, the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” is ready to introduce the Senate immigration reform bill this week. Details about the measure—like the billions it would earmark for border security and the new visa program it would create based on work skills—have been leaking ahead of an expected announcement. And the proposal would […]
Read MoreAn Immigration Stimulus: The Economic Benefits of a Legalization Program
As the legislative debate over immigration reform heats up, a central point of contention will be whether or not to create a pathway to legal status for all or most of the 11 million unauthorized immigrants now living in the United States. In evaluating the pros and cons of a legalization program, it is important to keep in mind that legalization is not only a humanitarian act; it is also a form of economic stimulus. The example of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) demonstrates that workers with legal status earn more than workers who are unauthorized. And these extra earnings generate more tax revenue for federal, state, and local governments, as well as more consumer spending which sustains more jobs in U.S. businesses. Recent studies suggest that the economic value of a new legalization program would be substantial, amounting to tens of billions of dollars in added income, billions of dollars in additional tax revenue, and hundreds of thousands of new jobs for native-born and immigrant workers alike. In short, a new legalization program for unauthorized immigrants would benefit everyone by growing the economy and expanding the labor market.
Read MoreDespite Governor’s Best Efforts, New Mexico Keeps Driver’s Licenses for the Undocumented
By Joan Friedland, Senior Advisor to the National Immigration Law Center. New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez has failed in her fourth attempt to persuade the New Mexico legislature to repeal the state’s driver’s license law. The law, in effect since 2003, provides access to driver’s licenses for eligible applicants, regardless of their immigration status. This […]
Read MoreImmigration Reform is an LGBT Issue
By Victoria Neilson, Legal Director, Immigration Equality. This week the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in two cases, Hollingsworth v. Perry and United States v. Windsor, that will forever change the course of the struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality. While we are hopeful that the Court will strike down […]
Read MoreHearing and Report Highlight Lack of Due Process in Immigration System
This week, Senator Christopher Coons of Delaware presided over a public hearing to discuss what so many of us know: the immigration courts are failing to provide a fair, efficient, and effective system of justice. Many of the concerns raised by Senator Coons, as well as some of the witnesses, during Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee […]
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