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Summary of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009
Summary of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act (CIR ASAP) of 2009.
Read MoreEssential to the Fight: Immigrants in the Military Eight Years After 9/11
From the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, immigrants have made significant contributions to the United States by serving in our military forces. Today, immigrants voluntarily serve in all branches of the U.S. military and are a vital asset to the Department of Defense. To recognize their unique contribution, immigrants serving honorably in the military who are not yet U.S. citizens are granted significant advantages in the naturalization process. Over the past eight years, Congress has amended military-related enlistment and naturalization rules to allow expanded benefits for immigrants and their families and encourage recruitment of immigrants into the U.S. Armed Forces. Without the contributions of immigrants, the military could not meet its recruiting goals and could not fill its need for foreign-language translators, interpreters, and cultural experts. This latest Special Report reflects on the vital role immigrants have and continue to play in keeping our nation safe.
Read MoreHouse Hearing Shows 287(g) “Sets Police Profession Back to 1950’s”
In response to evidence piling up suggesting that the 287(g) program is experiencing an array of problems, the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law and the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a hearing today to learn more about the program’s alarming effects. Members […]
Read MoreSenators Lay Out 2009 Priorities at Progressive Media Summit
Last week at the 2009 Senate Democratic Progressive Media Summit Democratic Senators laid out priorities for 2009. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid spoke with great force about the need to enact immigration reform and his intention to do so in the coming year. While he prefaced his comments by stating that immigration is the issue […]
Read MoreRethinking the Effects of Immigration on Wages: New Data and Analysis from 1990-2004
By Giovanni Peri, Ph.D.A crucial question in the current debate over immigration is what impact immigrants have on the wages of native-born workers. At first glance, it might seem that the simple economics of supply and demand provides the answer: immigrants increase the supply of labor; hence they should decrease the wages of native workers. However, the issue is more complicated than this for two reasons that have been largely overlooked. First, immigrants and natives tend to differ in their educational attainment, skill sets, and occupations, and they perform jobs that often are interdependent. As a result, immigrants do not compete with the majority of natives for the same jobs. Rather, they “complement” the native-born workforce—which increases the productivity, and therefore the wages, of natives. Second, the addition of new workers to the labor force stimulates investment as entrepreneurs seize the opportunity to organize these new workers in productive ways that generate profits. When these two factors are included in the analysis of immigration and wages, it becomes clear that immigration has a positive effect on the wages of most native-born workers.
Read MoreTargets of Suspicion: The Impact of Post-9/11 Policies on Muslims, Arabs and South Asians in the US
In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. government began a campaign of aggressive immigration enforcement targeted at Muslims, Arabs and South Asians. Rather than first seeking to identify suspected terrorists, the government initiated harsh law enforcement actions against whole communities with the hope that some of those caught might be terrorist suspects.
Read MoreThe Lessons of 9/11: A Failure of Intelligence, Not Immigration Law
In the hours following the deadly terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States government took the extraordinary step of sealing U.S. borders to traffic and trade by grounding all aircraft flying into or out of the country and imposing a lock-down on the networks of transportation and commerce that are the lifeblood of our economy and society. Given the uncertainty over what might happen next, these emergency procedures were a necessary and appropriate short-term response to the attacks.
Read MoreDistrict Court Blocks Unlawful Removal of Venezuelan Asylum Seeker Under Alien Enemies Act
In a May 21 decision, a federal district court in Georgia ordered the federal government to refrain from disappearing a Venezuelan man under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA).
Read MoreImportant Update Regarding F, M, and J Visa Interview Appointments
On Tuesday, May 27, the international education and exchange community was presented with yet another challenge: Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed U.S. embassies worldwide to pause scheduling new F, M, and J visa interview appointments. While this action immediately affects plans of foreign students and exchange visitors, it does not stop program operations. The […]
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