Economic Impact
Immigrants are essential to the U.S. economy, filling roles from high-skilled tech sectors to agricultural labor and driving economic growth. They also contribute to the tax base and consumer spending. We champion reform that will maximize this effect and create a more diverse and competitive workforce.
Immigrants Punch Above Their Weight as Taxpayers
As Tax Day approaches, it’s a good time to bring the significant tax contributions of immigrants—including undocumented immigrants—into the spotlight. These contributions are indispensable to the health and success of America’s public services and programs. Immigrant households paid $492.4 billion in total taxes in 2019 alone, based on analysis… Read More
New round of grants to support implementation of comprehensive welcoming plans in U.S. communities
National nonprofits American Immigration Council and Welcoming America announce a new level of support through Implementation Technical Assistance and seed grant funding for six communities as part of Round IV of the Gateways for Growth Challenge (G4G) Read More
Federal Court Restores Access to Work Permits for Many Asylum Seekers
A federal court issued a decision on February 7 invalidating two Trump-era regulations that restricted access to work permits for asylum seekers. In her decision, Judge Beryl Howell of the District Court for the District of Columbia found that Chad Wolf had not been lawfully serving as Acting Secretary… Read More
U.S. House Moves Immigration Reform in Bill Aimed at Increasing American Competitiveness and Helping Economy
The U.S. House of Representatives passed an economic competitiveness bill focused on advancing the United States’ innovation and global competitiveness, which also proposes reforms to U.S. immigration law to help attract and retain immigrant talent. Read More
President Biden Ends Part of Trump’s Ban on Legal Immigration
President Biden has ended a 10-month ban on immigrant visas—the COVID-19 immigrant visa ban. The Trump administration issued the ban in April 2020 in the name of “protecting” American jobs during the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The real purpose was not to provide any meaningful… Read More
What Are the Benefits of the J-1 Visa?
Over the past year, sweeping orders have banned many non-immigrant visa holders from entering the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic gave many former Trump administration officials the opportunity to restrict immigration based on fears surrounding the spread of the coronavirus and U.S. unemployment and immigration. The extended… Read More
How Trump’s COVID-19 Immigration Ban Has Impacted Family-Based Immigration
The Trump administration is successfully using the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to alter the U.S. system of legal immigration. New government data makes clear that these changes will significantly increase employment-based immigration at the expense of people in the family categories—and without any involvement by Congress. On March 20,… Read More
Executive Order to Exclude Millions From the Census Gets It Wrong; All People Must Be Counted
President Trump issued an executive order to prevent undocumented immigrants from being counted as part of the 2020 Census. This policy would unlawfully exclude 10.7 million undocumented immigrants, despite the clear requirement of the 14th Amendment to count “the whole number of persons in each state.” Read More
Congress Calls to Decrease ICE Detention as COVID-19 Continues to Spread
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security introduced their proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (beginning October 1, 2020) this week. The budget would have significant implications for U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities—current hotspots of the coronavirus pandemic. In a reversal of previous budget requests, this… Read More
An Expanded and More Permanent Ban on Immigration Threatens Our Values and Compromises Our Future
The Trump administration announced a more permanent order that suspends many categories of immigration to the United States and an expanded ban that halts many legal employment-based immigration categories for those outside of the United States. Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
