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Special Reports

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

The New American Electorate: Voting Age Adult Citizens by Race/Ethnicity and State/Congressional District, 2007

Detailed supplemental tables for every Congressional district on the number of voting-age citizens who are naturalized immigrants, Latinos, and Asians are also available.

Published On: Thu, Oct 23, 2008 | Download File

The New American Electorate: The Growing Political Power of Immigrants and their Children

At a time when federal, state, and local elections are often decided by small voting margins—with candidates frequently locked in ferocious competition for the ballots of those “voting blocs” that might turn the electoral tide in their favor—one large and growing bloc of voters has been consistently overlooked and politically
underestimated: New Americans.

Published On: Thu, Oct 23, 2008 | Download File

A Candidate's Guide to Immigration: Answers to the Toughest Questions

The debate on immigration promises to rage on until Election Day and beyond. The need for immigration reform is clear—yet the conversation around it is clouded by the politics of misinformation, anxiety, and fear. The Immigration Policy Center has put together a Candidate Packet to help those running for political office shape and develop a rational national conversation on immigration. The packet covers a range of sub-issues and its talking points are backed by hard data that effectively counters and clarifies the myths and ambiguities associated with the issue.

Published On: Sun, Oct 05, 2008 | Download File

Balancing Federal, State, and Local Priorities in Police-Immigrant Relations: Lessons from Muslim, Arab, and South Asian Communities Since 9/11*

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, changes in federal, state, and local law-enforcement priorities and practices have had a profound impact on America’s Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians.  Some of these policy shifts applied exclusively or primarily to those communities, such as the federal “special registration” program, selective enforcement of immigration laws based on national origin or religion, and expanded federal counter-terrorism efforts that targeted these communities.

Published On: Tue, Jun 24, 2008 | Download File

The Social Security Administration No-Match Program: Inefficient, Ineffective, and Costly

This report provides an overview of SSA’s no-match letter program, a summary of DHS’s new supplemental proposed rule regarding no-match letters, and an overview of the unintended consequences of no-match letters that are sent to employers.

Published On: Thu, May 08, 2008 | Download File

Thinking Ahead About Our Immigrant Future: New Trends and Mutual Benefits in Our Aging Society

What is the real story about the importance of immigration for America’s future? Demographer Dowell Myers examines trends in U.S. immigration and finds that immigration has not only begun to level off, but immigrants are climbing the socio-economic ladder, and will become increasingly important to the U.S. economy as workers, taxpayers, and homebuyers supporting the aging Baby Boom generation.

Published On: Tue, Jan 01, 2008 | Download File

"On the Beat": New Roles and Challenges for Immigrant Police and Firefighters

America's streets are unquestionably safer and our neighborhoods more peaceful thanks to the growing number of immigrants available to serve and protect.

Published On: Sat, Dec 01, 2007 | Download File

Wasted Talent and Broken Dreams: The Lost Potential of Undocumented Students

The current political debate over undocumented immigrants in the United States has largely ignored the plight of undocumented children. Yet children account for 1.8 million, or 15 percent, of the undocumented immigrants now living in this country. These children have, for the most part, grown up in the United States and received much of their primary and secondary educations here. But without a means to legalize their status, they are seldom able to go on to college and cannot work legally in this country. Moreover, at any time, they can be deported to countries they barely know. This wasted talent imposes economic and emotional costs on undocumented students themselves and on U.S. society as a whole. Denying undocumented students, most of whom are Hispanic, the opportunity to go to college and join the skilled workforce sends the wrong message to Hispanics about the value of a college education-and the value that U.S. society places on their education-at a time when raising the educational attainment of the Hispanic population is increasingly important to the nation's economic health.Read more

Published On: Mon, Oct 01, 2007 | Download File

Division and Dislocation: Regulating Immigration through Local Housing Ordinances

In this IPC Special Report, author Jill Esbenshade finds that ordinance initiatives are correlated with a recent and rapid increase in the foreign-born or Latino share of the population, which creates the perception of an immigration “crisis.” But undocumented immigration will not be “solved” by the local ordinances that are unconstitutional, deny due process rights to renters and landlords, and foster anti-immigrant and anti-Latino discrimination.

Published On: Sat, Sep 01, 2007 | Download File

Immigration and the Elderly: Foreign-Born Workers in Long-Term Care

Aging populations and the growing need to provide long-term care to the elderly are among the leading demographic, political, and social challenges facing industrialized countries like the United States. As a result, immigrants will continue to play a significant role in the growth of the U.S. labor force in general and the direct-care workforce in particular. It is in the best interests of long-term care clients, providers, and workers if governments and private donors foster training and placement programs rather than leaving the future of the direct-care industry to chance.

Published On: Wed, Aug 01, 2007 | Download File