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How Skilled Immigrants Create Jobs
Wall Street Journal June 20, 2012 President Obama thrust immigration back into the spotlight last week with his executive order halting deportations for certain young illegal immigrants. In the context of America’s jobs crisis, however, this is the wrong immigration issue to focus on. Our most pressing immigration problem marched across platforms at American colleges […]
Read MoreNew Data Reveals Immigrants’ Voting Potential at the Local Level
Newly obtained data from the DHS Office of Immigration Statistics provide another indication that immigrants in the United States hold untapped electoral power. There are 8.1 million legal immigrants who arrived in this country between 1985 and 2005 and who are likely eligible to become naturalized U.S. citizens with the power to vote. If these […]
Read MoreJob-Stealing Immigrants?
Wall Street Journal June 18, 2012 Thanks to the endless television replays this weekend, just about everyone now knows that a reporter interrupted President Obama’s Rose Garden remarks Friday on his new immigration policy. Less discussed has been what the reporter said. Why do you favor foreigners over American workers?” shouted Neil Munro of the […]
Read MorePresident Obama Issued a Directive, Not an “Executive Order” or “New Law”
Immigration hardliners were predictably quick to criticize President Obama’s recent announcement that DHS will use discretion to halt the deportations of eligible immigrant youth. They wasted no time hurling some base-stirring claims—“administrative amnesty,” “end-runs around Congress,” “executive fiat.” However, while folks are free to criticize the President, they should at least strive for accuracy. The […]
Read MoreMigrants Keep Small-Business Faith
Wall Street Journal June 13, 2012 Immigrants are more inclined to own small businesses than native-born Americans and are increasingly opening shop in areas beyond the major cities in which they have traditionally settled, a trend that is energizing local economies and reshaping communities. Immigrants accounted for 18% of the country’s 4.9 million small-business owners […]
Read MoreImmigrant-Owned Small Businesses Contribute More to Economy Than You’d Think
In the never-ending debate over the impact that immigration has on the U.S. economy, the role of immigrant small businesses usually goes unnoticed. While mention is sometimes made of the fact that two in five Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants, the little businesses—the majority that employ under 100 people—are often forgotten. In large […]
Read MoreHouse Votes on Immigration Demonstrate Need for Bolder Executive Action
Last week, the House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill that demonstrates how out of step they are with the public on immigration. House Members passed a series of amendments designed to stop the Obama administration from pursuing humane immigration policies, voting to block funds for any prosecutorial discretion activities, including the new 3 and […]
Read MoreProsecutorial Discretion: A Statistical Analysis
In August 2011, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would review more than 300,000 pending removal proceedings to identify low-priority cases meriting favorable exercises of prosecutorial discretion. The initiative was officially launched in November 2011 and is expected to continue for much of 2012. To date, DHS has released statistics on three occasions measuring the progress of the initiative. This fact sheet provides background information about the case-by-case review process and a statistical assessment of those figures.
Read MoreWhere Creators Are Welcome
The Economist June 9, 2012 MOST governments say they want to encourage entrepreneurs. Yet when foreigners with ideas come knocking, they slam doors in their faces. America, surprisingly, is one of the worst offenders. It has no specific visa for foreigners who wish to create new companies. It does offer a visa for investors, but […]
Read MoreBad for Business: How Anti-Immigration Legislation Drains Budgets and Damages States’ Economies
This session, state legislatures are once again considering harsh immigration-control laws. These laws are intended to make everyday life so difficult for unauthorized immigrants that they will choose to “self-deport” and return to their home countries. Proponents of these laws claim that the departure of unauthorized immigrants will save states millions of dollars and create jobs for U.S citizens. However, experience from states that have passed similar anti-immigration measures shows that the opposite can occur: the impact of the laws can hinder prospects for economic growth, and the costs of implementing, defending, and enforcing these laws can force taxpayers to pay millions of dollars.
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