IPC In The News

What the Drop in Illegal Residency Means for Immigration Reform

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: Atlantic Monthly | 09/03/10

Fewer illegal immigrants living in U.S.

The report findings closely mirror results released in July by the Immigration Policy Center that said illegal immigrants make up about 2.2 percent of Oklahoma's work force, contributing $580.3 million in economic activity and $257.8 million in gross state product.

Published In: Tulsa World | 09/02/10

Prospects Remain Grim for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

The best bet for reforming the immigration system this year lies with smaller bills, and immigrants rights groups have attempted to push for these measures instead. If this happens, the future of comprehensive immigration reform is still unclear, according to Mary Giovagnoli, director of Immigration Policy Center.

“We don’t have a good measure anymore of what will happen once we get something discreet like the DREAM Act passed,” she says. “But when the sky doesn’t fall in and if people still get re-elected after supporting DREAM, it may show members of Congress that leaning into the immigration issue and voting for comprehensive immigration reform could help them politically.”

Published In: The Washington Independent | 08/30/10

Why We Should Applaud ICE's Immigration Initiative

As Mary Giovagnoli writes on the Immigration Policy Institute's Immigration Impact blog, 17,000 out of the close to 400,000 people deported in 2009, is not exactly a significant number. Still, I want to argue that these types of small tweaks to the immigration system are crucial to obtaining larger reforms down the road.

Published In: The Huffington Post | 08/30/10

Is immigration an Ohio problem? Numbers say no

The Immigration Policy Center, which is on the opposite end of the immigration debate from the federation, argues that their inclusion as a cost of illegal immigration is misleading.

"They are U.S. citizens and denying them education, health care, financial assistance, etc.. would put them at a disadvantage compared to other U.S. citizens," spokeswoman Michele Waslin wrote in an e-mail. "In financial terms, it could probably cost the state much more in the long run to have a population of poorly educated, unhealthy citizens."

Published In: Lancaster Eagle Gazette | 08/30/10

Anti-Immigration Groups Demand End to ‘De Facto Amnesty’

Because ICE officials already said the memo should not be official policy and denied plans for mass amnesty, it’s unclear what the groups hope to accomplish. If anything, immigrants’ rights groups argue the Obama administration has been too harsh on illegal immigration. Mary Giovagnoli of the Immigration Policy Center, argued in June the issue is a “right-wing conspiracy theory” and that no amnesty plans have been pushed by the administration or Congress.

Published In: The Washington Independent | 08/25/10

Swatting babies with the Constitution doesn't improve immigration system

Texas Solicitor General James Ho wrote an analysis for the Immigration Policy Center (posted on immigrationpolicy.org) looking at the Senate debate when the amendment was passed, as well as applicable Supreme Court rulings, and concluded that "birthright is protected no less for children of undocumented persons than for descendants of Mayflower passengers."

Published In: Texas Star Telegram | 08/21/10

Under 'Secure Communities,' all fingerprints would go in database

"We question how (ICE is) setting their priorities," said Michelle Waslin, senior policy analyst at the Washington-based Immigration Policy Center, which is against Secure Communities. "Are they truly focusing on the most dangerous criminals, or are they also picking up people who have not been convicted of any or a relatively minor crime?"

Published In: Durango Herald | 08/20/10

Has Obama Failed the Immigration Reform Movement?

Robin Templeton of GritTv and Seth Hoy of AlterNet jumped on the issue this week. Both argue that, in far too many cases, the citizenship of an immigrant's children has little bearing on whether or not she stays in the country, let alone become a U.S. citizen.

Published In: The Huffington Post | 08/19/10

'Dangerous drugs' tops criminal deportations list

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Richard Rocha said immigrants who are counted as criminals have been convicted of crimes or have a record of a conviction for a crime. But immigration advocates are skeptical of the definition because ICE enforcement includes detaining people before they've been convicted, its definition of crimes includes misdemeanors and minor traffic offenses and its definition of a criminal immigrant has been inconsistent, said Michele Waslin, a senior policy analyst at the Immigration Policy Center.

Published In: Associated Press | 08/19/10