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The Restrictionists

What the Bible Really Says about Immigration

by Bruce and Judy Hake

Comprehensive immigration reform is one of the most pressing problems for the United States.  This is expected to be a key issue for Congress in 2010.

Many faith-based organizations are motivated by the Bible in advocating for reform.  To counter this, the restrictionists have tried to preempt, issuing a report that purports to prove that the Bible justifies a harsh stance on immigration.

Building on an article we wrote in 1998, in a new article published on January 1, 2010 in Bender's Immigration Bulletin, we debunk the restrictionist argument and show that the Bible actually does support a generous attitude towards immigrants and immigration. Indeed, it mandates such a view.

There are both religious and non-religious people on both sides of the debate over comprehensive immigration reform.  One does not need to be religious in order to advocate for the rights of immigrants.  But religion is very important for many people involved in the debate.  That being so, it is important to have an accurate view of what the Bible really says about immigration, and we have tried our best to show that.

 

Published On: Tue, Jan 26, 2010 | Download File

The Immigration Policy Center's Top 10 Resources of 2009

As the year comes to a close, The Immigration Policy Center brings you its top 10 list of resources from 2009.

Published On: Fri, Dec 18, 2009 | Download File

Fuzzy Math: The Anti-Immigration Arguments of NumbersUSA Don't Add Up

According to the anti-immigration group NumbersUSA, immigration to the United States is all about arithmetic: immigration increases the U.S. population, and more people presumably means more pollution, more urban sprawl, more competition for jobs, and higher taxes for Americans who must shoulder the costs of

Published On: Tue, Jun 02, 2009 | Download File

A Stimulus for Fear: Anti-Immigration Groups Raise Specter of Undocumented Construction Workers and Call for Ensnaring All U.S. Workers in

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), as well as the Heritage Foundation, have recently claimed that up to 300,000 construction jobs created by the economic stimulus bill could be filled by undocumented immigrants. Yet numerous reports indicate that rushing to implement E-Verify on a national scale would be a costly mistake that would ensnare U.S. citizens in database errors and wouldn't actually stop undocumented immigrants from getting jobs.

Published On: Mon, Mar 09, 2009 | Download File

Separating Fact from Fiction in the Immigration Debate: IPC's Responses to Nativist Claims

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) released a report detailing the disturbing links between three immigration restrictionist groups: the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), Numbers USA, and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). These groups describe themselves as "advocates of lower immigration," yet the report depicts much darker motives underlying their work.

Published On: Tue, Feb 03, 2009 | Download File

The High Price of Being "America’s Toughest Sheriff": Crime and Spending Soar in Maricopa County

Over the past few year, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona has transformed his police department into an immigration-enforcement agency. Read the IPC fact sheet on two independent reports by the East Valley Tribune and the Goldwater Institute describing a Sheriff's department where crime-solving is down and racial profiling and budget expenditures are way up.

Published On: Wed, Dec 17, 2008 | Download File

U.S. Latinos Slammed by Immigration Debate Gone Ugly

A new 2008 National Survey of Latinos by the Pew Hispanic Center reveals disturbing new evidence that Latinos--U.S. citizens as well as legal immigrants and undocumented immigrants--are feeling the effects of the immigration debate gone ugly. Read this fact sheet to find out why, regardless of immigration status, Latinos are feeling anxious and discriminated against amid sanctioned public immigrant-bashing and stepped-up immigration enforcement measures.

Published On: Thu, Oct 09, 2008 | Download File

Separating Fact from Fiction: Refugees, Immigrants and Public Benefits

Anti-immigrant activists like to stir up anger by distorting the facts with dishonest claims.

Published On: Mon, Sep 08, 2008 | Download File

What Happens When Local Cops Become Immigration Agents? Arizona Sheriff

Using the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office case files, interviews with top-ranking officers, and other sources of data, reporters at the East Valley Tribune uncovered startling facts about the enormous price--both financial and social--of Sheriff Arpaio's immigration enforcement activities.

Published On: Wed, Aug 06, 2008 | Download File

Attrition Through Recession: CIS Report Marred by Inaccuracies, Contradictions, and Wishful Thinking

Most researchers agree that undocumented immigration to the United States is driven largely by economics. Yet, in a new report entitled "Homeward Bound: Recent Immigration Enforcement and the Decline in the Illegal Alien Population," CIS

Published On: Wed, Jul 30, 2008 | Download File