IPC In The News

Candidates for fall elections confront political minefield of illegal immigration

“The rhetoric surrounding the proposed repeal of birthright citizenship is divisive and runs counter to American values,” said a statement last week from the Immigration Policy Center.

Published In: Kansas City Star | 08/14/10

Immigrant Rights Activists Defend 14th Amendment

The non-partisan Immigration Policy Center rejects Graham’s views on birthright citizenship. “We are talking about changing the U.S. Constitution, the 14th Amendment, the cornerstone of civil rights,” said senior policy analyst Michele Waslin. “Repealing birthright citizenship would affect every American and every child born in the U.S.”

Published In: Immigrant Magazine | 08/13/10

The Senate Unanimously Passes Border Security Bill

“You can make the argument that it can reinforce the Obama administration efforts to disentangle the border issues from the immigration issues,” Mary Giovagnoli, director of the pro-reform Immigration Policy Center, told TWI. “But that’s probably not how it’s going to play out.”

Published In: The Washington Independent | 08/12/10

Estimate: 1 US kid in 15 born to an illegal immigrant

The Immigration Policy Center, an immigrant-rights organization in Washington, D.C., said in a news release that without data on children with two illegal parents, the report "offers no real clarity."

Whether the change would strip citizenship from one baby or 1 million, it's a mean-spirited plan that wouldn't help the country with its illegal-immigration issues, said Michele Waslin, senior policy analyst with the Immigration Policy Center. Waslin also said calling these children "anchor babies" is both offensive and inaccurate.

Published In: Arizona Daily Star | 08/12/10

Illegal Immigrants Account for 8% of U.S. Newborns, Study Shows

Because some of these children have one parent who is a legal resident, the Pew study doesn’t bolster the argument to change the 14th amendment, said the Immigration Policy Center, a Washington-based organization that opposes Graham’s initiative.

Published In: Bloomberg | 08/12/10

Births to Illegal Immigrants Are Studied

Some researchers noted that the Pew figures did not identify families where both parents were illegal immigrants. “If anything, the Pew report highlights how complicated this issue is, given that so many unauthorized immigrants live in families that include U.S. citizens and legal immigrants,” said Michele Waslin, senior policy analyst for the Immigration Policy Center, a group that supports legalization for illegal immigrants.

Published In: New York Times | 08/11/10

Immigrant vigil stresses necessity of a path to legalization

Immigrants aren’t very noticeable in West Virginia, which was 95 percent white in the year 2000, according to the Census. Yet, they’re here. The Immigration Policy Center estimates that the state was home to more than 23,000 immigrants in 2008, and the population is growing. Many of the immigrants are Latino or Asian.

Published In: West Virginia Public Broadcasting | 08/11/10

Dear Tom, the 14th Amendment Has Come Before the Supreme Court

Recently I saw a CNN debate between Michele Waslin of the Immigration Policy Center and Former Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO) on the issue of birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment. The most incredible part of the video, for me at least, was Tancredo's insistence that the issue of birthright citizenship has never come before the Supreme Court. As anyone who has taken a course on the history of U.S. immigration, or an introductory constitutional law class would know, the very idea of granting citizenship to those born on U.S. soil came from a Supreme Court decision in 1898, Wong Kim Ark.

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

Automatic citizenship debated

The nonpartisan Washington D.C.-based Immigration Policy Center, for instance, says legalizing undocumented workers is the way to go.

On its website, the center says, “Comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to legalization for undocumented workers would pay for itself through the increased tax revenue it generates, in contrast to the failed and costly enforcement-only policies that have been pursued thus far.”

According to a new report, the center says, immigration reform that includes a legalization program for unauthorized immigrants and enables a future flow of legal workers would result in a big economic benefit.

Published In: Worcester Telegram | 08/10/10

Immigration & the Constitution

WATCH IPC's Senior Policy Analyst, Michele Waslin, debates immigration hawk Tom Tancredo on CNN.

Published In: CNN | 08/09/10