Perspectives on Immigration

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Missing the Target: Anti-Immigrant Ordinances Backfire

In the wake of congressional failure to pass immigration reform legislation this year, hundreds of state and local governments across the country are considering thousands of legislative proposals that target undocumented immigrants. The “English only” resolution that the Culpeper, Virginia, County Board of Supervisors passed on August 9th is but one such resolution. IPC Research Associate Walter Ewing rebuts the arguments of “English Only” supporters and finds in this Perspective that, in fact, today's Latino immigrants are integrating into U.S. society as successfully as did their Irish, German, and Italian predecessors. (Walter Ewing, August 2007)

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Serving the Under-Served: Banking for Undocumented Immigrants

Calvin E. Bellamy, March 2007

In recent years, there has been a great deal of controversy over the efforts of some banks to offer financial services to individuals without Social Security numbers, many of whom are undocumented immigrants. More and more banks now allow people to open checking and savings accounts and to apply for credit cards and home mortgages using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or an identification card issued by a foreign consulate in the United States.

The Sins of the Fathers: The Children of Undocumented Immigrants Pay the Price

Alfredo Gutierrez, January 2007

How should the U.S. treat the children who come to the U.S. with their undocumented parents?  If they grow up here like children who are born here, should they be able to go to college or to enlist in the military?  Or should their futures be limited because of a decision to immigrate in which they had no voice? Former Arizona State Senator Alfredo Gutierrez and talk show host on Arizona’s Radio Campesina Network argues against requiring children of undocumented immigrants to pay the price for their parents' decision. Congress will face this issue when it considers the DREAM Act as part of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Sometimes Imperfect Reform is Better Than Perfect Deportation

Alfredo Gutierrez, December 2006

Former Arizona state senator Alfredo Gutierrez, who hosts a daily talk show on Arizona’s Radio Campesina Network, discusses the need for comprehensive immigration reform. In this Perspective, Gutierrez argues that the Latino community knows what it wants: for undocumented immigrants to be legalized with a path to citizenship. After years of legalistic attempts to marginalize, exclude, fire, fine, jail, and deport undocumented workers throughout the United States, the newly elected Democratic majority in Congress now has in its hands the dreams of millions.
 

Less Rhetoric and More Substance on Immigration

Benjamin Johnson, November 2006

Voters rebuffed anti-immigration hardliners in this month’s midterm elections. Despite their best efforts to use immigration as a wedge issue, many of the hardliners were rejected by voters who want more than just tough talk and a 700-mile fence to nowhere. As a result, the stage is set for Congress to find a workable solution to the immigration issues we face. And, with a bit of luck, Congress will be able to deal with a host of other social and economic issues that, in the past, have been linked falsely to immigration.

The Rush to Limit Judicial Review

Jill E. Family, September 2006

A provision of the House immigration bill that hopefully has been set aside for the year would “severely [restrict] access to the federal courts for individuals in removal (deportation) procedures” and do it under the guise of reducing the number of immigration cases in the federal courts. Jill Family, Associate Professor at the Widener University School of Law, analyzes this provision for the Immigration Policy Center at link.

The Top Ten Ways America Gets Immigration Wrong

Michele Wucker, August 2006

The most striking thing about today’s immigration debate is how many times America has been here before—and how many times it has made the same mistakes. With respect to David Letterman, here is a list of the biggest errors that U.S. policymakers have made in designing immigration policy. As Congress wrestles to find the right mix of immigration enforcement and immigration reform, it should keep in mind what it has done wrong in the past so that it has a chance to get it right this time.