Immigration Reform
The last time Congress updated our legal immigration system was November 1990, one month before the World Wide Web went online. We are long overdue for comprehensive immigration reform.
Through immigration reform, we can provide noncitizens with a system of justice that provides due process of law and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. Because it can be a contentious and wide-ranging issue, we aim to provide advocates with facts and work to move bipartisan solutions forward. Read more about topics like legalization for undocumented immigrants and border security below.
States Contemplating Enforcement Legislation Continue to Walk the Line
From Arizona to Florida, SB1070-style immigration legislation continues to rear its ugly head—as do a string of other restrictive immigration bills. Also on the rise, however, are the voices of opposition who continue to decry this legislation as bad for local businesses, a threat to community safety and a burden on state economies. This week, legislatures in Georgia, South Dakota and Tennessee introduced or contemplated Arizona-style legislation, while states like Virginia and Mississippi considered a wide range of restrictive immigration bills—not, however, without grave objections from members of the community whose lives and livelihoods stand to be harmed by these restrictive immigration laws. Read More
Will “Stepping on the Gas” of Immigration Enforcement Drive Us Into A Brick Wall?
Today, the newly re-named Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement held its first hearing on worksite enforcement, which, as expected, did not delve into important policy questions surrounding worksite enforcement. The Republican members of the subcommittee called on the usual suspects to minimize the Obama administration’s enforcement efforts, even though Deputy Director of ICE, Kumar Kibble, stated quite clearly that ICE has achieved record numbers of investigations, audits, fines, and deportations. One can't help but wonder if subcommittee hardliners would be satisfied had the Administration's enforcement numbers been doubled or even tripled. For that matter, after listening to the majority members, one wonders whether any amount of enforcement would be sufficient to meet their expectations. Read More
President Obama’s Plans for Winning the Future include Immigration Reform
Washington, D.C. – Last night in his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called on Republicans and Democrats to work together to “win the future” by taking on challenges that have been decades in the making—challenges like updating our current immigration laws to meet the needs of the… Read More
House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement
Washington D.C. – Today, the newly named House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement held its first hearing of the new session entitled, “ICE Worksite Enforcement – Up to the Job?” The name change seems to be a signal that Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith and Subcommittee Chairman Elton Gallegly… Read More
“100,000 Strong” Initiative Strengthens U.S.-China Relations, But Does It Go Far Enough?
Chinese President Hu Jintao’s State Visit put all eyes on Washington, D.C. last week. While much of the political buzz focused on human rights, trade and the economy, President Hu’s visit stood out in its effort to show mutual cross cultural respect. Part of that ongoing effort is the “100,000 Strong” initiative—a program Secretary of State Hilary Clinton officially launched in 2010 in Beijing to “increase dramatically the number and diversify the composition of American students studying in China. Also last week, First Lady Michelle Obama announced $2.25 million in private sector funding to support the initiative and urged thousands of Washington, D.C. youth to “study in China, work together and make America and the world stronger.” However, while the “100,000 Strong” initiative certainly facilitates a deeper cultural understanding, does it go far enough in providing opportunities for a deeper understanding of foreign business practices? Read More
Dear Mr. Smith, Your Pants are on Fire. Sincerely, The Facts
In response to a recent Roll Call article calling out the nativist lobby, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith wrote a letter to the editor making a series of claims—many of which he’s been making for the last 20 years—which simply don’t stack up to the facts. These myths also conveniently obsure the lack of any denial of ties to the nativist lobby. While many of Smith’s easy-to-swallow myths may stir the extreme end of a conservative base, they serve as a yet another distraction from having an open and honest immigration debate. Read More
Immigration Reform and Job Growth
Legalizing Unauthorized Immigrants Would Boost the U.S. Economy With the U.S. unemployment rate hovering at 10%, some have questioned whether or not now is really the right time for comprehensive immigration reform that includes the creation of a pathway to legal status for unauthorized immigrants already living in the United States. Underlying this uncertainty is the fear that native-born Americans will lose out on scarce jobs if currently unauthorized immigrants acquire legal status—despite the obvious fact that unauthorized immigrants are already here and in the labor force. However, the best available evidence suggests that neither legal nor unauthorized immigration is the cause of high unemployment, and that the higher wages and purchasing power which formerly unauthorized immigrants would enjoy were they to receive legal status would sustain new jobs. Read More
How Expanding E-Verify Hurts the Economy and American Workers
By Tyler Moran, National Immigration law Center. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report, Employment Verification: Federal Agencies Have Taken Steps to Improve E-Verify, but Significant Challenges Remain. GAO’s verdict on E-Verify (a program to verify the employment eligibility of new hires) is in: this program is not yet ready for prime time. According to GAO, risks posed by mandatory E-Verify range from encouraging employers to skirt the rules to job losses for native born and immigrant work-authorized people alike. Policymakers who want to roll out this flawed program as quickly as possible should heed the report’s warning that “significant challenges remain” with E-Verify. Read More
Living the Legacy: MLK Day in 2011
Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is a day that provides Americans with the opportunity to reflect on our ongoing struggle for social justice and equality and a chance to renew our vision of what kind of country and people we want to be. This year, MLK Day falls in the middle of a profound period of grieving—not just for the victims of last weekend’s tragedy in Tucson, but for the entire country. Americans want to believe this nation has moved beyond the violence that seems common in many other countries around the world. We like to think of ourselves as a peaceful society that solves our political disagreements with civic solutions rather than violence and angry rhetoric. Yet many public voices fell short this week as politicians and pundits continued pointing fingers and putting each other on the defense. However, a few remarkable and unsuspected voices did emerge this week, giving us hope and reason to believe that we can rise above our worst instincts and learn from our mistakes. Read More
New Study Finds Low-Skilled Immigration Has Negligible Impact on Wages of Native-Born
Earlier today, Public Policy Professor at Georgetown University Harry J. Holzer presented his new report, Does Low-Skilled Immigration Hurt the US Economy? Assessing the Evidence. Contrary to the myth that “immigrants steal American jobs,” Prof. Holzer concludes that low-skilled immigration likely has little to no effect on most U.S. workers, though changes in immigration policy would obviously alter the effect. While admitting that wage depression is an issue for low-skilled native-born workers, Holzer insisted that immigration contributed very little, if at all, to this effect, and that “we’ve been scapegoating [low-skilled] immigrants for little reason.” Read More
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