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Report urges alternative to mass deportation of illegal immigrants

Published on Sun, Feb 12, 2012

BISBEE — A special report issued earlier this month by the Immigration Policy Center called “Discrediting ‘Self Deportation’ as Immigration Policy” argues that forcing all illegal immigrants to leave the United States would make life difficult for everyone.

The strategy called “attrition through enforcement” was conceived by national immigration restrictionist organizations, including the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Center for Immigration Studies and Numbers USA.

“While these groups favor severe restrictions on all immigration and support mass deportation, they are also proponents of this strategy. Recognizing the current political reality, they have sought to market the idea of attrition through enforcement as a kinder, gentler alternative to the harsh, expensive, and unworkable strategy of mass deportation,” states the Immigration Policy Center report.

“According to CIS (Center for Immigration Studies), attrition through enforcement involves reducing the number of unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S., and deterring future unauthorized immigrants from coming, by stepping up enforcement of existing laws and increasing the incentives for immigrants to ‘deport themselves.’ As Numbers USA puts it: ‘There is no need for taxpayers to watch the government spend billions of their dollars to round up and deport illegal aliens; they will buy their own bus or plane tickets back home if they can no longer earn a living here,’” it continues.

According to its Web site, the Immigration Policy Center is the research and policy arm of the American Immigration Council. IPC’s mission is to shape a rational conversation on immigration and immigrant integration. In its report, the group points out that attrition through enforcement has not resulted in a significant reduction in the unauthorized immigrant population, and it has had a devastating impact on communities.Read more...

Published in the The Sierra Vista Herald

The Bay State's New Senator Gains Diverse Constituents

Released on Wed, Jan 20, 2010

Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown will shortly step into the Senate seat held for nearly half a century by one of the most loyal champions of immigrants to ever sit in Congress. Because of that history, Bay Staters have come to expect that their Senators will understand the important contributions of immigrants to the growth and well-being of their state.  Regardless of politics or ideology, as the new Senator gets down to the business of representing his entire state, understanding the significant role of immigrants will become essential. 

Of all the New England states, Senator Brown's immigrant and new American constituents are  perhaps the most diverse and numerous, continuing the tradition of generations of immigrants who helped build Massachusetts. The Immigration Policy Center has compiled research that shows immigrants, Latinos, and Asians are a political and economic powerhouse in Massachusetts, contributing billions to the state economy, and are part of the very economic engine that keeps the Bay State running strong.

IPC research finds: Read more...

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2012 Creative Writing Contest 1st Place Winner

 

America, The Magical Land

By: Alexander Tymouch

Chicago, IL

 

There is a magical place in this world,

Where people come to look for freedom and happiness.

They sail for weeks through the swaying ocean,

When they finally arrive at the mesmerizing new land,

They try to keep their own ways at first.

They celebrate the same holidays,

Wear the same clothes,

And eat the same food.

They do everything the same as before,

But eventually…

They start to learn from one another

And exchange their cultures.

It’s like an experienced cook came and learned to dance,

While a graceful dancer came and learned to sew.

A talented tailor came and learned to bake,

While a baker came and learned to farm.

They thought they were doing it for their own benefit,

But in fact they were making history.

These people learned different cultures

And shared their own cultures too.

And while they were as different as they could be,

They became friends more quickly

By teaching one another

And learning from one another.

And just like that, a new country was born.

But what is truly unbelievable,

Is the fact that this was all created

By ordinary families of immigrants

In that same beautiful, magical place,Read more...

ICE strives to improve migrant-detainee care

Published on Tue, Jan 26, 2010

WASHINGTON - The head of U.S. immigration enforcement on Monday announced plans for an overhaul of the government's controversial detention system for people who face deportation.

The moves described by John T. Morton, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, address oversight, medical care and tracking of detainees at facilities in Arizona and across the country.

Published in the Arizona Republic

Quick Fact: Americans want Reform

67% of voters said “We would be better off if people who are in the United States illegally became legal taxpayers so they pay their fair share,” vs. 28% who said “We would be better off if people who are in the United States illegally left the country because they are taking away jobs that Americans need.”

Read More »

National report offers ‘damning critique’ of 287(g)

Published on Mon, Apr 05, 2010

The Immigration Policy Center in Washington, D.C., released on Friday what it called a “damning critique” of the federal 287(g) program.

The report on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement program issued by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General highlights what the IPC calls “numerous shortcomings that lead to abuse and mismanagement and raises serious questions about the wisdom of state and local immigration enforcement partnerships with ICE.”

Published in the Nashville City Paper

Katherine Benton-Cohen, Ph.D.

Katherine Benton-Cohen, Ph.D. is an Arizona native, and now lives in Washington, D.C., where she is associate professor of history at Georgetown University. She is the author of Borderline Americans: Racial Division and Labor War in the Arizona Borderlands (Harvard University Press, 2009), and a former fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She is currently writing a book about the Dillingham Commission of 1907‐1911, the largest study of immigrants in U.S. history, which led to the immigration restrictions and quotas of the 1920s.

Mexico's Felipe Calderón expected to discuss Arizona immigration law before Congress

Published on Thu, May 20, 2010

He cites a report out early this year by the left-leaning Center for American Progress and the American Immigration Council. It concluded that if illegal immigrants were granted legal status, their wages would go up, as would their earning power, meaning increased tax revenues of $4.5 billion to $5.4 billion in the first three years.

Published in the Washington Post

Lynn Tramonte

Lynn Tramonte is the Deputy Director at America’s Voice. She is the organization’s primary liaison to Capitol Hill and policy groups in Washington, DC. Prior to joining America’s Voice, Lynn worked at the National Immigration Forum for eight years doing legislative and communications work. She is a veteran of numerous legislative battles, including the comprehensive immigration reform debates in 2006 and 2007, and led the nationwide campaign to defeat federal legislation that would turn state and local police into immigration agents and undermine community policing. Lynn is a nationally respected advocate, coalition‐builder, and writer.