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The Advantages of Family-Based Immigration
Since the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1965, legal immigration to the United States has been based primarily on the family ties or the work skills of prospective immigrants. Under the provisions of current immigration law, the family-based immigration category allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs), or “green card” holders, to bring certain family members to the United States. There are 480,000 family-based visas available every year. Family-based immigrants are admitted to the U.S. either as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or through the family preference system.
The contributions of family-based immigrants to the U.S. economy, local communities, and the national fabric are manifold. They account for a significant portion of domestic economic growth, contribute to the well-being of the current and future labor force, play a key role in business development and community improvement, and are among the most upwardly mobile segments of the labor force. This fact sheet provides an overview of the economic and social advantages associated with family-based immigration. In particular, it highlights the direct benefits resulting from the participation of family-based immigrants in the labor force, their contributions to the community, and the key—yet often underestimated—value of the unpaid care work provided by immigrant women.
1. Families are crucial to the social and economic incorporation of newcomers.
Lindsey Graham Defended By Conservative Pro-Immigration Reform Groups
Huffington Post March 13, 2013 Two conservative pro-immigration reform groups are stepping in to support Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the members of the Senate “gang of eight,” as he comes under fire in his state from an organization that seeks to reduce immigration. … There are other efforts to bolster Graham’s push. Partnership […]
Read MoreGroups File Legal Claims Against Border Patrol In Abuse Cases
While the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) immigration officers have broad authority to detain and ultimately deport noncitizens, they are generally not authorized to detain U.S. citizens and certainly cannot deport them. Yet, that is essentially what happened to a four-year-old U.S. citizen. In March 2011, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a component of […]
Read MoreIncluding LGBT Immigrants in Immigration Reform Helps Protect Vulnerable Individuals
Roughly 11 million unauthorized immigrants live in the United States, and their backgrounds and stories are incredibly diverse. DREAM activists helped to change the picture of the 11 million by shining light on young people affected by our broken immigration system, while grassroots movements are highlighting the stories of families. But a new report from […]
Read MoreCato Report Finds Poor Immigrants Use Fewer Public Benefits than Natives
Among the most contentious debates surrounding national immigration reform concerns immigrant use of welfare programs. Opponents of immigration routinely assert low-skilled immigrants consume more public resources than natives, thereby imposing an unfair fiscal burden on U.S. taxpayers.
Read MoreImmigrant entrepreneurs’ hard path to a living
The Washington Post March 9, 2013 John and Caroline Schneider operated a German lager beer saloon in the basement of New York’s 97 Orchard St. in the 1870s. John dealt with patrons in the front, while Caroline prepared customer meals in a tiny back apartment, where the couple also slept, ate and lived. Meanwhile, upstairs […]
Read MoreLawsuit Seeking Damages on Behalf of Four-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Wrongly Detained and Returned to Guatemala
In March 2013, the American Immigration Council and Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, later joined by the Legal Aid Justice Center, filed a lawsuit alleging that CBP officers at Dulles Airport in Virginia unlawfully detained a U.S. citizen child for more than twenty hours, deprived her of contact with her parents, and then effectively deported her to Guatemala. The case was one of ten complaints filed the same week to highlight CBP abuses along the northern and southern borders.
Read MoreRecognizing Immigrant Women’s Needs in Immigration Reform
While the recent debate over reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act may have reminded the nation that there are “women’s issues” in immigration law, it doesn’t necessarily follow that most people regard immigration reform as a woman’s issue. Despite the fact that immigrant women make up a growing […]
Read MoreState Level Immigration Legislation and the Essential Economy
We often take for granted the important role “behind the scenes” workers – farm labor, restaurant work, and home health care – play in driving our economy. That’s one of the many conclusions of a new report from the Essential Economy Council, which studied the economic and social value of industries that make up what […]
Read MoreCollege and University Presidents Urge More Than 1,200 Fellow Education Leaders to Join the Push for Smart Immigration Reform to Attract and Retain the World’s Leading Minds
In an open letter to more than 1,200 university and college presidents across the country, the presidents of Cornell University, Arizona State University, and Miami Dade College are urging their fellow leaders in higher education to join them in pushing for smart immigration policies that will help attract and retain the world’s best and brightest. […]
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