Just the Facts

Immigration Fact Checks provide up-to-date information on the most current issues involving immigration today.

Deciphering the Numbers on E-Verify's Accuracy

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released various sets of data regarding the accuracy and error rates of the E-Verify employment-verification system. Although the numbers change often depending on the time period, the number of employers using the system, and the number of queries to the system, DHS generally claims that E-Verify is highly accurate and efficient. However, it is important to understand exactly what the DHS numbers mean in order to have a clear picture of how well E-Verify is performing. Most importantly, E-Verify is not simply an immigration-enforcement tool. If it were to become a mandatory, nation-wide program, it would affect every single person who works in the United States, including U.S. citizens. Even tiny error rates would mean big problems for large numbers of citizens and other legal workers. Under mandatory E-Verify, 60 million new hires would have to be verified annually, and up to 3 million U.S. workers per year would have to navigate government bureaucracy to fix database errors. Read more...

Published On: Wed, Feb 11, 2009 | Download File

How Expanding E-Verify in the Stimulus Bill Would Hurt American Workers and Business

Expanding mandatory E-Verify as part of the stimulus package would threaten the jobs of thousands of U.S. citizens, decrease productivity, saddle U.S. businesses with additional costs, and hinder the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) ability to provide benefits to needy and deserving Americans – all at a time when we need to stimulate our economy. The fact is: expanding E-Verify now would decelerate the Stimulus Package and slow America’s economic recovery.

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Published On: Thu, Feb 05, 2009 | Download File

Separating Fact from Fiction in the Immigration Debate: IPC's Responses to Nativist Claims

Today, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) released a report detailing the disturbing links between three immigration restrictionist groups: the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), Numbers USA, and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). These groups describe themselves as "advocates of lower immigration," yet the report depicts much darker motives underlying their work. The SPLC report makes clear that they are in fact a full-throated anti-immigrant lobby and not interested in a balanced debate.

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Published On: Tue, Feb 03, 2009 | Download File

2008 Election Results Lesson Learned: Conservative and GOP Leadership Calling for New Strategy on Hispanic Voters

IPC has prepared a quotes page to remind policymakers, the press, and the public about the enormous influence of the immigrant, Latino, and Asian vote in the 2008 elections.

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Published On: Wed, Jan 28, 2009 | Download File

Election 2008 Recap: The Electoral Landscape and What it Means for Immigration Reform

IPC has prepared a fact sheet to remind policymakers, the press, and the public about the enormous influence of the immigrant, Latino, and Asian vote in the 2008 elections.

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Published On: Wed, Jan 28, 2009 | Download File

Top 5 Immigration Myths of this Campaign Season: Ending the Immigration Spin - Just the Facts

As the campaign season rolls onward and the intensity of the debate escalates, five recurring myths must be dispelled to clear the way for honest dialogue.

Published On: Thu, Jan 01, 2009 | Download File

The High Price of Being "America’s Toughest Sheriff": Crime and Spending Soar in Maricopa County

Over the past year and a half, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona has transformed his police department into an immigration-enforcement agency, gaining international publicity in the process. Yet a growing number of elected officials, media outlets, and religious and civic leaders have criticized Sheriff Arpaio’s tactics and their impact on his community. In addition, two independent reports by the East Valley Tribune and the Goldwater Institute describe a Sheriff’s department where crime-solving is down and racial profiling and budget expenditures are way up.

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Published On: Wed, Dec 17, 2008 | Download File

De-Romanticizing Our Immigrant Past: Why Claiming "My Family Came Legally" Is Often a Myth

Many people assume that their family immigrated to the U.S. legally, or did it “the right way.” In most cases, this statement does not reflect the fact that the U.S. immigration system was very different when their families arrived, and that their families might not have been allowed to enter had today’s laws been in effect. In some cases, claiming that a family came “legally” is simply inaccurate—undocumented immigration has been a reality for generations.

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Published On: Tue, Nov 25, 2008 | Download File

Latino New American Voters Wield Influence in New States: Immigrant Latinos Top Native-Born Latinos in Preference for Obama

Latinos weren't the only group that flexed its muscles this past Election Day. New Americans--naturalized citizens and the U.S.-born children of immigrants who were born during the current era of immigration that began in 1965--make up another important demographic group that demonstrated its ability to swing an election.

Published On: Wed, Nov 12, 2008 | Download File

IPC Report Reveals the Growing Political Power of Immigrants and Their Children

Examines the growing electoral clout of New Americans: naturalized immigrants and the U.S.-born children of immigrants raised during the current era of immigration that began in 1965.

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Published On: Mon, Nov 03, 2008 | Download File