Special Report

Our most in-depth publication, Special Reports provide detailed analyses of special topics in U.S. immigration policy.

Breaking Down the Problems: What's Wrong with Our Current Immigration System?

While some characterize our immigration crisis as solely an issue of the 11 to 12 million unauthorized immigrants living in this country, our problems extend beyond the number of undocumented people to a broader range of issues. The lack of a comprehensive federal solution has created a slew of lopsided, enforcement-only initiatives that have cost the country billions of dollars while failing to end unauthorized immigration. The first step, however, in devising solutions to our problems is understanding the scope of them. IPC’s latest report addresses several key areas, including how our current immigration system functions, the structural failure of our system, issues stemming from an inadequate federal response and long-delayed immigration reform. (October 21, 2009)

Untying the Knot: A Three-Part Series on Immigration and Unemployment

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) released a three-part report, Untying the Knot, which seeks to debunk the frequently misrepresented relationship between immigration and unemployment. The reports, prepared by Rob Paral and Associates, examines data from the Census Bureau and found that there is no apparent relationship between the number of recent immigrants in a particular locale and the unemployment rate among native-born whites, blacks, Latinos, or Asians. Even now, at a time of economic recession and high unemployment, there is no correlation between the number of recent immigrant workers in a given state, county, or city and the unemployment rate among native-born workers. (August 18, 2009)

The Disparity between Immigrant Workers and Unemployed Natives

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) released the third and final installment of a three-part report, Untying the Knot. The final report, by Rob Paral and Associates, reveals that unemployed natives and employed recent immigrants cannot simply be “swapped” for one another since unemployed natives and employed immigrants tend to have different levels of education, live in different parts of the country, and have experience in different occupations and different levels of work experience. The report also shows that immigrants tend to fit into the labor force in areas where there are insufficient numbers of comparable native workers. In other words, removing immigrants would not automatically lead to job openings for natives.(August 17, 2009)

Migration Trends From Mexico

Migration Trends From Mexico: What are the Impacts of the Economic Crisis and U.S. Enforcement Strategy? By Wayne Cornelius and members of the Mexican Migration Field Research and Training Program Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, University of California, San Diego

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The Unemployment and Immigration Disconnect (Part I)

With Congress once again poised to consider comprehensive immigration reform, a key question confronting lawmakers is to what extent immigration and unemployment are related. Opponents of immigration reform frequently argue that immigrants “take” jobs away from many native-born workers, especially during economic hard times. Yet an analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau clearly reveals that this is not the case. In fact, there is little apparent relationship between recent immigration and unemployment rates at the regional, state, or county level. (May 19, 2009)

Immigration and Native-Born Unemployment Across Racial/Ethnic Groups (Part II)

One of the most contentious issues in the debate over immigration reform is whether or not the presence of immigrants in the U.S. labor force—especially undocumented immigrants—has a major adverse impact on the employment prospects of African Americans. However, data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal that this is not the case. In fact, there is little apparent relationship between recent immigration and unemployment rates among African Americans, or any other native-born racial/ethnic group, at the state or metropolitan level. (May 19, 2009)

Debunking the Myth of �Sanctuary Cities�

There is much confusion about the term "sanctuary city." The term is often used derisively by immigration opponents to blast what are best described as community policing policies. In fact, these community policing policies are about providing safety, not sanctuary, to the residents of U.S. communities.  Read this report to find out why crime experts, including hundreds of local police officers, say that cities with community policing policies help build bridges to immigrant communities that have improved their ability to fight crime and protect the entire community. (March 3, 2009)

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