Perspectives on Immigration

Perspectives offers fresh ideas and alternative viewpoints on immigration policy from writers inside and outside the immigration debate.

Made in America: Myths & Facts about Birthright Citizenship

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is enshrined in U.S. history as the cornerstone of American civil rights, ensuring due process and equal protection under the law to all persons. Equally important, however, is the Fourteenth Amendment’s affirmation that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are, in fact, U.S. citizens. Each year, bills are introduced in Congress to deny U.S. citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants and, in some cases, the children of immigrants who are in the country on temporary visas. In this series, the Immigration Policy Center explores the issue of birthright citizenship and presents a strong case for maintaining and celebrating our tradition of birthright citizenship—a tradition which is intimately tied to our heritage of civil rights. (September 16, 2009)

A Conversation about the Economic Effects of Immigration on African Americans

Anti-immigrant groups have repeatedly tried to drive a wedge between African Americans and immigrants by capitalizing on the myth that immigrants take American jobs—particularly jobs that would otherwise go to African Americans. That myth, as anti-immigrant groups present it, is simply not true, says Gerald Jaynes, a professor of Economics and African American Studies at Yale University. In a new Perspectives piece for the Immigration Policy Center, A Conversation about the Economic Effects of Immigration on African Americans, Jaynes dispels the myth that immigrants take “black jobs” and instead suggests we find solutions on how to lift up all low-wage American workers. (July 14, 2009)

Immigration Reform Cited as an Economic Necessity and a Net Gain

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has culled the words of leading economists and numerous experts who agree that immigration reform is an economic necessity and a net gain to the U.S. economy. From the White House Council of Economic Advisors to the Fiscal Policy Institute, all recognize that immigration reform is an economic imperative that improves wages and working conditions for all workers, increases tax revenues for federal, state, and local governments, and enables newly legalized workers to spend more on American goods and services. (April 28, 2009)

ImmigrationImpact.com: Rev. Al Sharpton Demands Sheriff Arpaio�s Resignation

In an act of solidarity with the immigrant community, National Action Network’s Reverend Al Sharpton and ACORN’s Chief Organizer and CEO, Bertha Lewis called for Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s resignation and an end to racial profiling on a national media call today. Never one to miss the national spotlight, Sheriff Arpaio is currently the focus of a Department of Justice investigation for abuses of the 287(g) program, “alleged patterns of discriminatory police practices, and discrimination based on a person’s national origin.” Rev. Al Sharpton charged Sheriff Arpaio with egregious civil and human rights violations. (April 7, 2009)

ImmigrationImpact.com: Napolitano Navigates Border Problems in a Broken Immigration System

Late last week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano met with Mexican officials and announced yet another re-focus of her agency's objectives: hundreds of border patrol agents will be paying just as much attention to what goes into Mexico as to who comes out of it. (April 6, 2009)

ImmigrationImpact.com: �Progressive� Peddlers of Fear 2.0

This just in: "Immigrants are breathing all our American air," or so the new anti-immigrant front group, Progressives for Immigration Reform (PFIR), would have you believe. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it's not too far off from the laundry list of anti-immigrant topics posing as economic, environmental and social justice issues on PFIR's website. Read the full post at ImmigrationImpact.com. (March 31, 2009)

Read more...

ImmigrationImpact.com: Immigrants Choosing to Weather Economic Storm in Home Countries

While many of the Bush administration's "attrition through enforcement" tactics are being re-evaluated and scaled-back, potential migrants in Mexico and elsewhere are expressing less interest in coming to the U.S. as economic conditions have also forced many immigrants in the U.S. to return to their home countries. Read the full post at ImmigrationImpact.com. (March 30, 2009)

Read more...