Restrictionists
Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) NOT an Immigration Benefit
There is a lot of confusion surrounding Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs)—what they are, who has them, and the purposes for which they are used. Immigration restrictionists take advantage of this confusion and often bring up ITINs in an effort to make it seem as if undocumented immigrants are receiving special benefits or quasi-legal immigration status. The fact is that ITINs are used to pay taxes—some legal immigrants have them, some undocumented immigrants use them, and some people who don’t even live in the U.S. have them if they need to pay U.S. taxes. Read More
Immigrant Homebuyers Play Crucial Role in Housing Market Revival
Earlier this week, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University released a new housing report which provides a rather grim analysis of the current housing crisis. Real home prices continue to fall and foreclosures continue to mount despite recent federal interventions. Because of job losses, decreased home prices, and tougher credit eligibility requirements, homebuyers are finding it more and more difficult to purchase homes. But, as the report notes, immigrants could be a key element to recovery. Read More
PASS ID Act Not An Immigration Solution
Introduced by Sen. Akaka (D-HI) last week with 5 co-sponsors, the “Providing for Additional Security in States’ Identification Act” (PASS ID) (S. 1261) would give states a breather from the costs and restrictions imposed by the REAL ID Act, which became law in 2005 without Congressional hearings and as part of must-pass war funding bill. The PASS ID Act, however, would do little for immigrant access to licenses and nothing for a common sense approach to immigration reform. PASS ID would repeal the REAL ID Act, which numerous states have vociferously opposed as a burdensome, unfunded mandate and akin to creation of a national ID system. Currently, 23 states have passed laws and resolutions opposing the REAL ID Act, including Arizona whose former governor, Janet Napolitano, is now the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). But PASS ID—like REAL ID—sets national standards for driver’s licenses. Driver’s licenses won’t be accepted for federal purposes if they don’t meet the national standards. Read More
Pots, Kettles and the Restrictionist Movement
At a c-o-n-f-e-r-e-n-c-e hosted by Pat Buchanan and the American Cause this weekend, America’s best and brightest conservative strategists discussed how Republicans could regain a majority in America. Peter Brimelow, owner of the anti-immigrant website VDare.com, suggested an English-only initiative with the aim of “winning over working class… Read More
Faith Leaders Crusade for Immigration Reform
It’s no secret that faith and religious leaders have not always seen eye-to-eye with Washington on politically controversial issues—right to life, gay rights, capital punishment, etc. Immigration, however, is not one of those issues. In fact, many interfaith groups have been the most vocal in calling on the new Administration and 111th Congress to “enact humane and equitable immigration reform in 2009.” Last week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement urging President Obama to keep his promise to fix our broken and outdated immigration system. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the bishops' conference, said: Only through comprehensive reform can we restore the rule of law to our nation’s immigration system. Now is the time to address this pressing humanitarian issue which affects so many lives and undermines basic human dignity. Read More
President Obama Calls on Congress for a “Fair, Practical and Promising Way Forward” on Immigration Reform
This morning, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his dedication to comprehensive immigration reform at the Esperanza USA National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. “This promise means upholding America’s tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants,” he said. The President also gave a general outline… Read More
New Report Links Hate Crime and Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric
The Washington Post highlighted a report by civil rights leaders linking the recent spike in hate crimes against Hispanics and people perceived to be immigrants with inflammatory rhetoric present in the immigration debate. The report, published by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF), looks at FBI hate crime statistics and calls for a more civil discourse that informs progress rather than "dehumanizing, racist stereotypes and bigotry” that so often permeate the debate. Michael Lieberman, Washington counsel for the Anti-Defamation League, echoed these sentiments, “The tone of discourse over comprehensive immigration reform needs to be changed, needs to be civil and sane.” Read More
FAIR Takes Aim at Virginia’s Immigrants and Children
In a new report, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)—an anti-immigrant hate group headquartered in Washington, DC—claims that “Virginia’s illegal immigrant population costs the state’s taxpayers nearly $1.7 billion per year for education, medical care and incarceration.” However, the statistical gymnastics in which FAIR engages to produce this number render it virtually meaningless. FAIR dramatically exaggerates the fiscal “costs” imposed by undocumented immigrants by including the schooling of their native-born, U.S.-citizen children in its estimate and completely discounts the economic role that undocumented workers play as consumers who help support Virginia businesses. Read More
Assembly Line Injustice at Immigration Court
A new study by Appleseed, a non-profit organization focused on reforming the American justice system, highlights the extent to which misguided deportation-only strategies have led to a breakdown in our immigration court system. The study, based on interviews with more than one hundred practitioners, academics, and government officials, found that America’s immigration courts are overwhelmed by the number of cases flooding the system. Significantly, the vast majority of those facing deportation are neither criminals nor security threats: From 2004 to 2006, only 126 cases in Immigration Court (or 0.0155 percent of all cases) involved terrorism or national security concerns, and the percentage of cases involving allegations of any type of crime amounted to only 13 percent. The vast majority of immigrants in Immigration Court present no danger to the security of the United States. Read More
E-Verify All the Time
Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day where Bill Murray finds himself living the same day over and over and over again? Welcome to the world of E-Verify, the federal electronic employment verification system (EEVS) that purports to accurately confirm workers’ authorization for employment. Again and again policymakers have attached mandatory E-Verify proposals to any moving piece of legislation—whether it is related to the issue or not. Just today two amendments were offered to the DHS appropriations bill to expand the E-Verify system, and both were rejected. Subcommittee chair David Price (D-NC) argued that E-verify must be taken up as a part of comprehensive immigration reform – not as part of the budget. But E-verify amendments are likely to continue into the near future. Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
