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Are SSA No-Match Letters Putting American Jobs at Risk?
BY TYLER MORAN, NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER The Social Security Administration (SSA) just announced it will resume its practice of notifying employers of discrepancies in employee paperwork through “no-match letters”—a mechanism which threatens countless American jobs. Despite the Administration’s clear assertion that the letter “makes no statement” about a worker’s immigration status, employer confusion over […]
Read MoreDebunking the Myth of “Sanctuary Cities”
There is much confusion about the term “sanctuary city.” The term is often used derisively by immigration opponents to blast what are best described as community policing policies. Critics claim that these cities and states provide “sanctuary” to undocumented immigrants, but research shows that the opposite is true. In fact, community policing policies are about providing public safety services, not sanctuary, to both immigrant residents and the entire community. Crime experts, including hundreds of local police officers, have found that cities with community policing policies continue to work closely with DHS and have built bridges to immigrant communities that have improved their ability to fight crime and protect the entire community.
Historically, the federal government has enforced civil immigration law, and state and local police have focused on enforcing criminal law. However, propelled by increased frustration with the nation’s broken immigration system and by growing anti-immigrant sentiment, politicians’ demands for state and local police to take on an increased role in immigration enforcement have grown exponentially. This culminated in the passage of Arizona’s notorious SB1070 law in 2010, which would turn Arizona state and local police officers into deportation agents.
Q&A Guide to Arizona’s Immigration Law
One year after the passage of Arizona’s tough new immigration law (SB1070), both opponents and proponents are attempting to assess the impact the new law may have on residents of Arizona—citizens and immigrants alike. A federal district court ruling preliminarily enjoined large parts of the controversial law, meaning that those portions of the new law cannot be implemented, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the preliminary injunction. Other lawsuits have been filed challenging the constitutionality of the law and have yet to be ruled on, opponents have mounted boycotts, and numerous polls show that a majority of the public both supports the Arizona law and comprehensive immigration reform. Furthermore, despite criticism of SB1070 from Republicans, Democrats, police officials, religious leaders, and civil-rights leaders, legislators in many states have introduced or are considering introducing similar legislation.
Read MoreCongresswoman Zoe Lofgren Demands Investigation into ICE’s Secure Communities Program
Some would argue that ICE’s Secure Communities program has been fraught with problems ever since it launched in 2008—from concerns over the lack of federal oversight to questions regarding the criminality of immigrants targeted. But after months of back and forth over how and whether jurisdictions are able to opt-out of this immigration enforcement program […]
Read MoreDissecting the HALT Act: Last Safety Valves in Immigration System Under Attack
Washington D.C. – Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 26, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement will hold a hearing on the “Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation Act” (HALT Act), a bill that would suspend discretionary forms of immigration relief until January 21, 2013—the day after the next Presidential inauguration. Today, the Immigration Policy Center […]
Read MoreImmigration and North Carolina
Diversely skilled immigrants create North Carolinian wealth. Since the late 1950’s Research Triangle Park (RTP) at the center of the Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh communities has played a critical role in diversifying the economy of North Carolina. A state economy that was once based on manufacturing and agriculture has emerged as one of […]
Read MoreImmigration and North Carolina
Diversely skilled immigrants create North Carolinian wealth. Since the late 1950’s Research Triangle Park (RTP) at the center of the Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh communities has played a critical role in diversifying the economy of North Carolina. A state economy that was once based on manufacturing and agriculture has emerged as one of […]
Read MoreBy the Numbers: How the FY 2011 Budget Impacts Immigration
After the threat of a government shutdown last week, Congress finally managed to approve a budget that will keep the government running through the 2011 fiscal year. Included in that budget, however, are a host of cuts that will impact immigrants and immigration programming in the fiscal year to come. As policy experts and economists […]
Read MorePresident Obama Leads Meeting on Immigration, But What Happens Next?
Yesterday, President Obama hosted a White House meeting with 70 national leaders—including Mayor Bloomberg, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Sharpton, evangelical leader Leith Anderson and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, among others—to discuss the challenge of fixing our broken immigration system. While some advocates praised President Obama’s renewed commitment to immigration reform—and the fact that the […]
Read MoreFiled Under “M” for “Myth Busted”: Unauthorized Immigrants Pay Taxes, Too
Sadly, myth and misinformation continue to be a major part of the immigration debate. One of the biggest myths perpetuated by restrictionist groups is that the roughly 12 million unauthorized immigrants currently living in the U.S. use a variety of public services yet paying nothing in taxes. Hard data recently released by the Institute for […]
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