Immigration Policy Center

Poll: Mexicans More Likely to Come to U.S. if Granted Amnesty

Published on Wed, Oct 14, 2009

The polling wars on immigration reform have officially begun. Today, the Center for Immigration Studies, which aims to restrict immigration to the United States and deport those who are here illegally, sent around the findings of a recent Zogby poll which finds that — surprise! — a majority of Mexicans say they think their friends and family would be more likely to come to the United States if the U.S. granted them permanent legal status. Never mind that no U.S. lawmaker is actually proposing to do that.

Published in the The Washington Independent

Immigrants key to state economy

Published on Mon, Oct 12, 2009

Immigrants make up a growing portion of New Jersey’s economy, according to a report by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Immigration Policy Center, issued Oct. 6.

Published in the NJ Biz

Immigration reform for an up or down economy

Published on Fri, Oct 09, 2009

Immigration is overwhelmingly about economics. If any doubts linger, they should be wiped away by the decline in the U.S. foreign-born population last year.

Published in the Long Island Business News

Guatemalan janitor in R.I. wins permanent residency

Published on Sat, Oct 03, 2009

Gustavo Cabrera, one of 31 janitors arrested last year in a high-profile raid on state courthouses, yesterday won the right to remain permanently in the United States, based on a 1997 law that legal experts say has provided relief to fewer than 200,000 people.

Published in the The Providence Journal

Immigration Issue Drifts Into Olympics Bid

Published on Fri, Oct 02, 2009

Is the U.S. losing some of its juice as a destination for foreign tourists? Syed Shahid Ali, a member of the International Olympic Committee from Pakistan, raised that issue ahead of the IOC picking Rio to host the 2016 Summer Games over Madrid, Tokyo and last-place finisher Chicago.

Published in the NY Daily News

New Report Highlights Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Released on Thu, Jan 07, 2010

For Immediate Release

New Report Highlights Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

January 7, 2010

Washington D.C. - As the U.S. slowly pulls free from a deep recession, a groundbreaking new study concludes that comprehensive immigration reform would provide just the type of boost our economy needs. Today, the Center for American Progress (CAP) and Immigration Policy Center (IPC) released a joint report, Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, which shows that legalizing the roughly 12 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. through comprehensive immigration reform, as well as making future flows more flexible, would grow the economy by $1.5 trillion over 10 years. The stark number cuts into the credibility of claims by immigration restrictionists that immigration reform during an economic recession is implausible. Read more...

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Introduction of Immigration Reform Bill Jump Starts Reform Talks Going into 2010

Released on Tue, Dec 15, 2009

Today, Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP), in the House of Representatives. The 87 original co-sponsors of the bill include members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Black Caucus, Asian Pacific American Caucus, and Progressive Caucus.

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Secretary Janet Napolitano Testifies Before Congress

Released on Wed, Dec 09, 2009

Washington D.C. - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano. The Secretary's opening statement reiterated her view that immigration enforcement is a necessity, but that enforcement alone is not a solution for our broken immigration system. Secretary Napolitano noted, "We can no longer perpetuate a status quo that is unacceptable for workers, employers, law enforcement, faith leaders, and America as a whole. We must seize this moment to build a truly effective immigration system that deters illegal immigration, provides effective and enduring enforcement tools, protects workers from exploitation and retaliation, and creates a tough but fair path to legalization for the millions of illegal immigrants already here."

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An Historical Perspective on the Success of Immigrants and Latinos

Released on Mon, Dec 07, 2009

As a front-page story in today's Washington Post reminds us: "Not since the last great wave of immigration to the United States around 1900 has the country's economic future been so closely entwined with the generational progress of an immigrant group." The story highlights the degree to which the children of immigrants from Latin America have become crucial to sustaining the working-age population and tax base of the nation as the 75 million Baby Boomers retire. The parents of these children most likely would not have even come to this country if not for the U.S. economy's past high demand for workers to fill less-skilled jobs; demand which was not being adequately met by the rapidly aging and better-educated native-born labor force.

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Letter to the Editor: Immigration and Employment

Published on Mon, Dec 07, 2009

In his Dec. 3 Ideas piece, “Recovering Stolen Jobs Key to Recovery,” Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) misconstrues the relationship between unauthorized immigration and unemployment among native-born workers. Smith seems to think that deporting the 8 million unauthorized-immigrant workers now in the United States would magically create 8 million job openings for unemployed, native-born Americans. In the real world, however, it’s not that simple. Immigrant and native-born workers cannot simply be exchanged for one another like batteries.

Published in the Politico