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Special Reports

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

Breaking Down the Problems: What's Wrong with Our Current Immigration System?

While some characterize our immigration crisis as solely an issue of the 11 to 12 million unauthorized immigrants living in this country, our problems extend beyond the number of undocumented people to a broader range of issues.

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Published On: Wed, Oct 21, 2009 | Download File

Untying the Knot Series: Unemployment and Immigration

Untying the Knot (Part I of III): The Unemployment and Immigration Disconnect

With Congress once again poised to consider comprehensive immigration reform, a key question confronting lawmakers is to what extent immigration and unemployment are related. Opponents of immigration reform frequently argue that immigrants “take” jobs away from many native-born workers, especially during economic hard times. Yet an analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau clearly reveals that this is not the case. In fact, there is little apparent relationship between recent immigration and unemployment rates at the regional, state, or county level.

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Published On: Tue, May 19, 2009 | Download File

Debunking the Myth of "Sanctuary Cities": Community Policing Policies Protect American Communities

Read this report to find out why crime experts, including hundreds of local police officers, say that cities with community policing policies help build bridges to immigrant communities that have improved their ability to fight crime and protect the entire community.

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

The New Electoral Landscape and What It Means for Immigration Reform

Latinos, Asians, and New Americans Redefine 21st Century American Politics

IPC has compiled this one-stop analysis of all the available data on the Asian, Latino and New American vote and shows how and why they voted the way they did in the 2008 election cycle. The report features a variety of early, exit and election-day polling which tells the story of not only a record rate turnout, but also provides insight into the greatest areas of concern for these voters. It also explores early signals from the new administration and congress with respect to immigration reform.

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Published On: Thu, Dec 04, 2008 | Download File

Opportunity and Exclusion: A Brief History of U.S. Immigration Policy

As the current debate over undocumented immigration continues to rage, it is important to keep in mind not only that everyone in the United States is ultimately descended from an "immigrant," even Native Americans whose ancestors arrived here thousands of years ago, but that the rules governing immigration change constantly--and often arbitrarily.

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

The New American Electorate (October 2008)

 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.

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Read Supplement #1 (Voting‐Age Adult Citizens by Nativity and State/Congressional District, 2007)

Read Supplement #2 (Voting‐Age Adult Citizens by Race/Ethnicity and State/Congressional District, 2007)

Read the 2008 Election Recap

 

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

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

Executive Summary

            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.  At the same time, a wide range of ethnic groups have been affected by the use of state and local police agencies to enforce federal immigration law, and the aggressive use of detention and deportation authority for even minor infractions and technicalities.

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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