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Special Reports

Our most in-depth publication, Special Reports provide detailed analyses of special topics in U.S. immigration policy.

Five Myths About Immigration: Common Misconceptions Underlying U.S. Border-Enforcement Policy

The current crisis of undocumented immigration to the United States has its roots in fundamental misunderstandings about the causes of immigration and the motivations of immigrants. A growing body of evidence indicates that current border enforcement policies are based on mistaken assumptions and have failed. Undocumented migrants continue to come to the United States, rates of apprehension are at all-time lows, and migrants are settling in the United States at higher rates than ever before. Read more

Published On: Mon, Aug 01, 2005 | Download File

A Lifeline to Renewal: The Demographic Impact of Immigration at State and Local Levels

Immigrant numbers should be taken in the context of native population growth or decline to better understand the impact of immigration.

Published On: Mon, Aug 01, 2005 | Download File

No Way In: U.S. Immigration Policy Leaves Few Legal Options for Mexican Workers

Current immigration policies are completely out of sync with the U.S. economy’s demand for workers who fill less-skilled jobs, especially in the case of Mexican workers. While U.S. immigration policies present a wide array of avenues for immigrants to enter the United States, very few of these avenues are tailored to workers in less-skilled occupations. It should come as no surprise, then, that immigrants come to or remain in the United States without proper documentation in response to the strong economic demand for less-skilled labor.

Published On: Fri, Jul 01, 2005 | Download File

From Refugees to Americans: Thirty Years of Vietnamese Immigration to the United States

Thirty years after the fall of the Saigon government, Vietnamese Americans celebrate the fact that they have moved far beyond their refugee origins and become successful economic and political players in U.S. society.

Published On: Wed, Jun 01, 2005 | Download File

Ties that Bind: Immigration Reform Should be Tailored to Families, Not Just Individuals

Given the extent to which undocumented immigrants already living in the United States are part of U.S.-based families, comprehensive immigration reform must include more than just a new temporary worker program.

Published On: Mon, May 02, 2005 | Download File

The Economics of Necessity: Economic Report of the President Underscores Importance of Immigration

Although immigration is crucial to the growth of the U.S. labor force and yields a net fiscal benefit to the U.S. economy, current immigration policies fail to respond to actual labor demand.

Published On: Sun, May 01, 2005 | Download File

Fencing in Failure: Effective Border Control is Not Achieved by Building More Fences

New proposals for more fencing and Border Patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border may only perpetuate an unsuccessful and counterproductive policy that does not effectively enhance national security or control undocumented immigration.

Published On: Fri, Apr 01, 2005 | Download File

Diversity and Transformation: African Americans and African Immigration to the United States

Successive generations of African immigration have continuously transformed the African American community and the sociopolitical climate of the United States.

Published On: Tue, Mar 01, 2005 | Download File

Essential Workers: Immigrants are a Needed Supplement to the Native-Born Labor Force

An analysis of data from the 2000 census reveals that employment in about one-third of all U.S. job categories would have contracted during the 1990s in the absence of recently arrived, noncitizen immigrant workers.

Published On: Tue, Mar 01, 2005 | Download File

Asylum Essentials:The U.S. Asylum Program Needs More Resources, Not Restrictions

The efficiency of the asylum program depends in large part on a fully staffed and adequately funded Asylum Corps that evaluates asylum claims thoroughly and expeditiously.

Published On: Tue, Feb 01, 2005 | Download File