Immigration Policy Center

Published on Mon, Jul 29, 2013

The Washington Post's blog, The Fact Checker, recently cited the IPC in an article rating the factuality of recent statements from Congressman Steve King.  The article, which gave King "Four Pinocchios," said:

"In fact, King’s fact says much less than he thinks it does. Estimates suggest that there might be about 2 million people who could eventually be eligible under the DREAM Act, almost evenly split between men and women. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that 1,000 (1/20th of one percent) are valedictorians. That would mean King assumes 100,000–or one-tenth of all “DREAMers” or about 20 percent of the men—are drug smugglers.

But the American Immigration Council, a pro-immigration group, cites a 2007 study that found that “for every ethnic group, without exception, incarceration rates among young men are lowest for immigrants, even those who are the least educated. This holds especially true for the Mexicans, Salvadorians and Guatemalans who make up the bulk of the unauthorized population.”"

Published in the Washington Post

Published on Fri, Jul 26, 2013

In a recent post in their "Political Diary," the Wall Street Journal cited a recent fact sheet from the IPC's senior researcher, Walter Ewing.  The post, which was refuting Iowa Representative Steve King's recent offensive comments about DREAMers, cited the fact sheet, "From Anecdotes to Evidence: Setting the Record Straight on Immigrants and Crime."

'"For every ethnic group without exception, incarceration rates among young men are lowest for immigrants, even those who are least educated," wrote Mr. Ewing in a 2007 study that he co-authored with Ruben Rumbaut. "This holds true especially for Mexicans, Salvadorans, and Guatemalans who make up the bulk of the undocumented population." By the way, these findings comport with federal and state studies going back a century. If anything, today's immigrants are less likely to be involved in criminal activity than their predecessors.'

Published in the Wall Street Journal

Published on Wed, Jul 24, 2013

The Washington Post draws attention to a recently-updated IPC Fact Sheet, "From Anecdotes to Evidence: Setting the Record Straight on Immigrants and Crime" to refute Rep. Steve King's claims about DREAMers being criminals.

The post reads:

"King has absolutely no proof for this disgusting, prejudiced statement. (Then again, one wonders what constitutes proof for a congressman who thinks snow disproves global warming.) As the Immigration Policy Center points out, using data from the census, the Pew Hispanic Center and the FBI, crime rates have fallen in the United States as the immigrant population (legal and illegal) has increased."

Published in the Washington Post

Published on Sat, Jul 13, 2013

In a Huffington Post Op-Ed by James Zogby, the President of the Arab American Institute, cited an IPC report on America's immigrant heritage.  He writes:

"Immigrants have always been derided as "lazy," "different and unable to fit in," and a "drain on the economy." This was said of the Irish, the Italians and the Eastern and Central Europeans. In a marvelous study compiled for the Immigration Policy Center, researcher Jeffrey Kaye compares the recent bigoted statements made by politicians in Hazleton, Pennsylvania (who are themselves descendants of immigrants) with the statements made about their ancestors when they first arrived in America, a century ago. They too were defamed as "lawbreakers," " a drain on public funds" and "not able to assimilate.""

Published in the Huffington Post

Published on Mon, Jul 15, 2013

In a recent article, ABC News-Univision mentioned the recently published IPC report "Allies Not Enemies."  The article, "How Immigration Reform Could Help Black Workers," said:

"The Immigration Policy Center, a pro-reform group, found that African Americans living in cities with higher rates of immigration from Latin America fared better than those in cities with lower rates."

Published in the ABC News-Univision

Published on Mon, Jul 15, 2013

A recent ABC-Univision article titled "Fact Check:  Is Fear of Immigrant Criminals Overblown?" featured the IPC's Senior Researcher, Walter Ewing.

"'Obviously, dangerous criminals and terrorists must be punished, and immigrants who are dangerous criminals or terrorists should be locked up,' wrote Walter Ewing, a senior researcher at the Immigration Policy Center, in a book devoted to the issue. 'But harsh immigration policies are not effective in fighting crime or terrorism because the overwhelming majority of immigrants are neither criminals nor terrorists.'"

Published in the ABC News-Univision

Published on Mon, Jul 22, 2013

A recent article in the Huffington Post, "Greeley Immigration Reform Rally Focuses On U.S. House Of Representatives, Rep. Cory Gardner," mentioned one of the recent IPC State-by-State Fact Sheets. 

"...More than two dozen people showed up for the event and held signs in support of immigration reform.

'The Immigration Policy Center estimates that Colorado will lose an estimated $8 billion in economic activity if all unauthorized immigrants were to be deported,' Young said. 'When people work for less than the going wages, it undercuts employment and saps the paychecks of every hard working family.'

Published in the Huffington Post

Published on Fri, Jun 21, 2013

Ben Johnson, the Executive Director of the American Immigration Council, recently published an article in The Hill.  The article, titled "Stop using legalization of the undocumented as a bargaining chip," focused on the amendments in the Senate bill designed to put off the road to citizenship until certain benchmarks were met.

Published in the The Hill

Published on Sun, Jun 16, 2013

Mary Giovagnoli, the Director of the Immigration Policy Center, was quoted in a recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times on Senator John Cornyn's proposed border amendments in the Senate immigration bill:

"Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) wants to halt the legalization of undocumented immigrants after a required 10-year wait if border security fails to meet potentially unattainable standards.

"He might as well say he is against immigration reform. His plan would effectively kill it, which is why some, including Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), have called his proposal a poison pill.

“'It becomes a way to say we can’t move forward,' said Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Immigration Policy Center."

Published in the Chicago Sun-Times