Policy

Raising the Floor for American Workers

According to a new study by UCLA’s Dr. Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, legalizing undocumented workers through comprehensive immigration reform would yield $1.5 trillion to the U.S. GDP over a ten year period, generate billions in additional tax revenue and consumer spending and support hundreds of thousands of jobs. The report, which runs several different economic scenarios, finds that enacting a comprehensive immigration reform plan which creates a legalization process for undocumented workers and sets a flexible visa program dependent on U.S. labor demands not only raises the floor for all American workers, but is an economic necessity.

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Published On: Thu, Jan 07, 2010 | Download File

New Americans in Maryland

The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in the Old Line State (Updated May 2013)

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Published On: Fri, Jan 11, 2013 | Download File

Summary of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009

Summary of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act (CIR ASAP) of 2009.

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Published On: Tue, Dec 15, 2009 | Download File

New Americans in Nebraska

The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in the Cornhusker State (Updated May 2013)

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Published On: Fri, Jan 11, 2013 | Download File

Critical Care: The Role of Immigrant Workers in U.S. Health Care

As the public debate over health care reform continues to rage, mention is seldom made of the vital role that immigrants play in the health care workforce.

Published On: Fri, Dec 11, 2009 | Download File

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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New Americans in Wisconsin

The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in the Badger State (Updated May 2013)

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Published On: Thu, Jan 10, 2013 | Download File

Enforcing Immigration Laws: Repairing our Broken Immigration System

For years the U.S. government has addressed unauthorized immigration primarily through the lens of deportation and removal, pursuing enforcement-only policies that have not effectively curbed unauthorized immigration. An increase of personnel and technology along the U.S.-Mexico border has been accompanied by increased worksite enforcement in the interior of the United States. In addition, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has partnered with state and local police agencies and jails to identify and apprehend immigrants and to remove them from the country. None of these efforts has resulted in a significant decline in the size of the unauthorized population, but these enforcement policies and priorities have had devastating impacts on U.S. families and communities.

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Published On: Tue, Dec 08, 2009 | Download File

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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Naturalization and Integration: Repairing our Broken Immigration System

Most Americans want immigrants to fully integrate in the U.S., and most immigrants want to be Americans and fully participate in social and civic life. We can expect naturalization and integration programs to be an important part of comprehensive immigration reform. Immigrant integration benefits everyone because it enables immigrants to realize their full potential, contribute more to the U.S. economy, and develop deeper community ties. While the United States encourages legal permanent residents to become citizens, there is no national strategy for facilitating integration and insufficient infrastructure to facilitate a smooth transition from immigrant to citizen. Failure to address this problem in the context of comprehensive immigration reform could lead to endless delays for the millions who currently seek services from USCIS and the millions more who will become part of the applicant pool following legalization.

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Published On: Thu, Dec 03, 2009 | Download File