Legalization

Program that IDs jailed illegal immigrants sought for deportation gets high marks

Published on Mon, Feb 22, 2010

For nearly a year, Fairfax County's Adult Detention Center has quietly helped pilot a far-reaching program designed to identify criminal illegal immigrants and assist the federal government in removing them from the United States.

Published in the Washington Post

Migrant filing of taxes up, Illegal immigrants can file returns with ITINs

Published on Sat, Apr 10, 2010

Alondra Velasco is part of the underground economy, but she's a legitimate taxpayer in the eyes of Uncle Sam.

The 22-year-old Rialto resident works at a Mexican restaurant. She gets paid in cash because she's in the country illegally and doesn't have a Social Security number.

Like millions of Americans, Velasco will file a tax return this year, reporting her income and earnings to the Internal Revenue Service.

Published in the Contra Costa Times

US immigration: Flagged up

Published on Sun, May 02, 2010

Brandon Hernandez is a typical American teenage boy. Clad in sneakers and baggy sweatshirt, the ninth-grade student is standing outside Central High School in Phoenix with a friend, flirting in vain with groups of girls passing by.

School has finished for the day and Brandon, who was born in Arizona to Hispanic parents, should be looking forward to the weekend. But the 14-year-old is worried: the state’s new immigration law could make him a target of police searching for illegal immigrants, he says.

Published in the The Financial Times

Is immigration enforcement a waste of money?

Published on Wed, May 26, 2010

The United States has spent billions to try to stop illegal immigration over two decades, yet the population of unauthorized foreign residents has grown dramatically.

Those who back other ways to deal with the problem raised this point on Wednesday while President Obama and Congress prepare to send additional personnel to the borders and spend millions more for detention, technology and enforcement.

“All of this attention on resources for the border ignores the fact that border enforcement alone is not going to resolve the underlying problems with our broken immigration system,” says the Immigration Policy Center, an advocacy group that favors comprehensive reform.

Published in the Sun Sentinel

Immigrant Cycle Familiar To United States

Published on Sat, Jul 03, 2010

"When we look at history, you see that immigration goes up in times of economic prosperity and down when the economy is not doing so well," said Michele Waslin, senior policy analyst with the Washington, D.C.-based Immigration Policy Center. The influx spurred opposition from many citizens, who said Irish immigrants were taking Americans' jobs and opposed the immigrants' religion. Politicians demanded laws to make it harder for foreigners to become U.S. citizens.

In 1875, the U.S. passed its first restrictive immigration law. It prevented prostitutes and convicts from entering the country.

"Throughout history, it is the laws that really define who is legal and who is illegal," Waslin said. "At different parts of U.S. history, different groups have been illegal depending on what law there was at the time."

Published in the Arizona Republic

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Update – February 28, 2014

Latest Research

Immigrants make cities more economically competitive. A recent post on Immigration Impact highlights a recent report from Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA) describing five ways immigrants make cities more economically competitive. Specifically, immigrants 1) contribute to a dynamic labor force and spur economic growth, 2) are more likely to start businesses and create jobs in their cities, 3) are critical to helping cities counteract population decline, keeping economies vibrant and strong, 4) make cities more attractive by raising housing values, and 5) contribute to a talented workforce through higher levels of education.Read more...

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Arizona Sheriff Not Relenting After Court Ruling

Published on Fri, Jul 30, 2010

"Sheriff Joe Arpaio and some other folks there decided they can make a name for themselves in terms of the intensity of the efforts they're using," said Benjamin Johnson, executive director of the pro-immigrant American Immigration Council. "There's no way to deny that. There are a lot of people getting caught up in these efforts."

Published in the CBS News

Employment Authorization and Asylum: Strategies to Avoid Stopping the Asylum Clock

This Practice Advisory discusses how the asylum employment authorization document (EAD) clock operates, both in theory and in practice. The advisory addresses EOIR’s interpretation and implementation of the asylum clock and provides an analysis of and strategies around clock-stopping events.

Published On: Tuesday, February 28, 2006 | Download File

What the Drop in Illegal Residency Means for Immigration Reform

Published on Fri, Sep 03, 2010

But Mary Giovagnoli, director of the more liberal Immigration Policy Institute, sees the Pew study as extra motivation to pass comprehensive immigration reform, including a legalization program for those already in the country. "I think it overall provides us with a healthy reality check on the fact that despite the claims that the country's being overrun and that all of these problems are the result of illegal immigrants, the amount of illegal immigration is, in proportion to the overall population and even in terms of overall numbers, declining," she says. "We need to seize upon that and build a smart immigration overhaul where now, with these statistics in play, we can figure out how to get it right."

The number of illegal immigrants has historically vacillated alongside the country's economic fortunes, Giovagnoli points out. "One of the overall best ways to ensure that we don't have continued loops of illegal immigration is to ensure that we have a combination of improvements to our permanent legal system and to our guest worker programs," she says. "We know that enforcement alone can't handle the situation."

Published in the Atlantic Monthly

Mandamus Litigation Against DOL Delays in Wage Determinations and Labor Certifications

This Practice Advisory provides basic information about mandamus actions and suggests strategies and practice tips for bringing a mandamus action against the Department of Labor (DOL).

Published On: Thursday, August 18, 2011 | Download File