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Legalization

Immigration reform affords chance to improve economy

Published on Tue, Mar 09, 2010

As President Barack Obama discusses immigration reform with congressional leaders, it is important to keep in mind that such reform would deliver a much-needed boost to the U.S. economy. Contrary to the views of some, immigration is an economic resource that can be maximized to the benefit of both immigrant and native-born workers. A comprehensive immigration reform package that includes a pathway to legal status for unauthorized immigrants already living in the United States would increase their wages, and therefore their purchasing power and tax contributions, which would support hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs at a time of high unemployment, and generate billions of dollars in government revenue at a time of gaping budget deficits.

Published in the The Hill

Immigrant groups try to steal thunder from tea party

Published on Fri, Apr 16, 2010

Immigrant-rights groups sought to tap some of the "tea party" thunder Thursday by using the anti-tax-and-spending movement's nationwide protests to argue illegal immigrants must be legalized because they are eager to pay their full taxes.

But tea partiers, rallying on the day federal income-tax returns were due, didn't buy it.

The collision between two of the big political movements in America is expected to escalate heading in to this year's midterm elections as both push the political parties from different directions.

Published in the Washington Times

Josiah McC. Heyman, Ph.D

Josiah McC. Heyman, Ph.D is Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at University of Texas El Paso. His current work addresses border security, including a comprehensive review of U.S. border policies since 9/11. He is also doing research on access and barriers to health care for immigrants, and Latinas/os more generally, in El Paso. Previous work has examined U.S. border enforcement, U.S. border officers, and border communities and cultures. 

65,000 Bay Area immigrants could benefit from deportation policy, study states

Published on Sun, Aug 05, 2012

IPC's own Wendy Sefsaf was quoted in a Mercury News article about DREAMers living in the Bay Area.  In that area alone, there are about 65,000 immigrants who could benefit from Obama's new deportation policy coming into effect August 15, 2012.  But the Bay Area isn't the only region of the country with hopeful DREAMers:  Read more...

Published in the Mercury News

Catching Up with Luca Marty

September, 2012

Luca Marty is a J-1 trainee from Italy at a travel agency in Bethesda, Maryland,near Washington, DC,where he is learning how to create customized trip plans that often combine visits to centers of culture and the arts, such as Rome and Florence, with a relaxed experience in the Italian countryside in places like Tuscany and Umbria. Read more...

Arizona Law Blocked, Inflaming Tensions over Immigration

Published on Wed, Jul 28, 2010

"The consensus from most of my colleagues is that it probably will go to the Supreme Court," said Mo Goldman, an immigration attorney in Tucson, Ariz., and a board member of the American Immigration Council.

AIC's Goldman, who applauded the decision, conceded the law was popular but said a backlash "remains to be seen."

"I think the majority of people just want to see our immigration system fixed by Congress and maybe this law ... will put additional pressure on Congress to get the job done, finally," he said.

Published in the Investors Business Daily

IPC's Mary Giovagnoli in Mother Jones

Published on Tue, Jan 15, 2013

The Director of the Immigration Policy Center, Mary Giovagnoli, was quoted in this recent Mother Jones article on Marco Rubio's immigration plan:

"Rising conservative star and tea party favorite Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is "riding to the immigration rescue," according to the Wall Street Journal editorial page. While a bipartisan group of senators is at work on a comprehensive immigration reform proposal, Rubio is touting ideas of his own, which Journal editorial writer Matthew Kaminski says will seek to "triangulate, if you will—the liberal fringe that seeks broad amnesty for illegal immigrants and the hard right's obsession with closing the door.""

Published in the Mother Jones

Trainee FAQs

FOR PROSPECTIVE TRAINEES:

1. What occupational categories can the American Immigration Council sponsor?

2. How long can the training program be?

3. What are the fees?

4. What is the refund policy?

5. How fast is the expedite service vs. standard processing?

6. How will webcam interviews affect processing times?

7. Can the American Immigration Council sponsor an international trainee who was previously in another J-1 training program or other J-1 progam?

8. Can the American Immigration Council sponsor a J-1 trainee applicant who has recently completed F-1 practical training?

9. What are the minimum qualifications for an international trainee?

10. Is there a minimum age or age limit?

 

FOR CURRENT TRAINEES:

1. How and when do I apply for a Social Security number?

2. Do I need a Social Security number in order to begin my training or internship?

3. Do I need to pay taxes?

4. I lost my passport!

5. I lost my DS-2019!

6. I lost my I-94 card!

7. Can I travel outside of the United States during my training or internship?

8. My address has changed. Who should I contact?

9. Are J-2 dependents allowed to work in the US during my training or internship?

 

FOR PROSPECTIVE TRAINEES: ^

1. What occupational categories can the American Immigration Council sponsor?Read more...

Two Systems of Justice Paper Highlighted in Voxxi and the Huffington Post

Published on Thu, Mar 21, 2013

The IPC and LAC's Special Report, "Two Systems of Justice:  How the Immigration System Falls Short of American Ideals of Justice," was highlighted in a piece by Voxxi, which was then reposted by the Huffington Post:

"The United States’ justice system is supposed to operate equally for all defendants, but a new report reveals that the immigration system operates under a different set of rules for immigrants facing deportation.

The American Immigration Council issued on Tuesday a report that reveals the immigration system fails to provide “a fair process” to immigrants in removal proceedings and “lacks nearly all of the procedural safeguards we rely on and value in the U.S. justice system.” The report, titled “Two Systems of Justice: How the Immigration System Falls Short of the Ideals of Justice”, also explores the major operational differences between the criminal justice system and the immigration removal system."

You can read the full report here.

Published in the Voxxi