Special Report

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Hidden Victims Evaluating Protections for Undocumented Victims of Human Trafficking

In the United States, human traffickers most frequently exploit the desperation of undocumented immigrants as a means of obtaining victims. Until recently, their lack of legal status precluded undocumented trafficking victims from receiving government protections typically available to other crime victims and kept them from remaining in the United States to assist in the prosecution of their abusers. To address this problem, Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). Under this law, undocumented immigrants who are victims of “severe” forms of human trafficking may be eligible for temporary non-immigration status and a limited number of public benefits. Despite the legal innovations of the TVPA, the number of people who have actually received protection under the law is relatively low, especially when compared to estimates of how many trafficking victims are in the United States. However, ultimately, the main problem is that there is insufficient evidence regarding the actual number of qualifying cases of “severe” human trafficking in the United States. (December 2005)

Economic Growth & Immigration: Bridging the Demographic Divide

This report examines the relationship between immigration and sustained U.S. economic growth. As the U.S. labor force ages and becomes better educated, the economy is continuing to create a substantial number of jobs for individuals with low levels of formal education and that favor younger workers. These trends are creating a critical demographic gap between U.S. labor supply and demand that immigration can help fill. (Fall 2005)

Beyond the Border Buildup: Towards a New Approach to Mexico-U.S. Migration

A proper understanding of the causes of international migration suggests that punitive immigration and border policies tend to backfire, and this is precisely what has happened in the case of the United States and Mexico. Rather than raising the odds that undocumented immigrants will be apprehended, U.S. border-enforcement policies have reduced the apprehension rate to historical lows and in the process helped transform Mexican immigration from a regional to a national phenomenon. The solution to the problems associated with undocumented migration is not open borders, but frontiers that are reasonably regulated on a binational basis. (September 2005)

A Lifeline to Renewal: The Demographic Impact of Immigration at State and Local Levels

Immigrant numbers should be taken in the context of native population growth or decline to better understand the impact of immigration. (August 2005)

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Five Myths About Immigration: Common Misconceptions Underlying U.S. Border-Enforcement Policy

The current crisis of undocumented immigration to the United States has its roots in fundamental misunderstandings about the causes of immigration and the motivations of immigrants. A growing body of evidence indicates that current border enforcement policies are based on mistaken assumptions and have failed. Undocumented migrants continue to come to the United States, rates of apprehension are at all-time lows, and migrants are settling in the United States at higher rates than ever before. Developing effective and realistic immigration policies requires overcoming five basic myths about immigration. (August 2005)

No Way In: U.S. Immigration Policy Leaves Few Legal Options for Mexican Workers

Current immigration policies are completely out of sync with the U.S. economy’s demand for workers who fill less-skilled jobs, especially in the case of Mexican workers. While U.S. immigration policies present a wide array of avenues for immigrants to enter the United States, very few of these avenues are tailored to workers in less-skilled occupations. It should come as no surprise, then, that immigrants come to or remain in the United States without proper documentation in response to the strong economic demand for less-skilled labor. (July 2005)

From Refugees to Americans: Thirty Years of Vietnamese Immigration to the United States

Thirty years after the fall of the Saigon government, Vietnamese Americans celebrate the fact that they have moved far beyond their refugee origins and become successful economic and political players in U.S. society. (June 2005)

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