Elections & Voting
The growth in the immigrant population has helped to strengthen and remake America over the last two decades. Today, as thousands of baby boomers retire each day, working-age immigrants are filling gaps in the labor market, paying billions of dollars in taxes that help our entitlement programs survive, and buying homes in communities that would otherwise be in decline. Millions of immigrants have also earned U.S. citizenship and the right to vote while millions more are estimated to be eligible to naturalize.
Biden’s Immigration Plan Is a Promising Start in the Work Ahead
This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. President-elect Joe Biden’s plan on immigration stands in stark contrast to the xenophobic agenda the Trump administration has put forward the last four years. Much… Read More
The Media Is Obsessed With the ‘Latino Vote’ – There Is No Such Thing
A major theme of the 2020 election has been how demographic shifts in the American electorate would influence the outcome. Political pundits have given a great deal of airtime to examining the voting patterns of “Latinos” in the United States. Exit polls show that President Trump fared well with… Read More
American Immigration Council Joins President-Elect Joe Biden in Making a Fair and Welcoming Immigration System
Joseph R. Biden has been elected to serve as the 46th president of the United States. In the months ahead, we look forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration to advance a pro-immigration agenda that respects the dignity of all people. Read More
Naturalization Fees: A Poll Tax Hidden in Plain Sight
The application fee to apply for U.S. citizenship was due to rise from $640 to $1170 on October 2. Though the fee hike was temporarily blocked in federal court, this is not the first time U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has tried to raise the… Read More
Citizenship Backlogs at USCIS Will Block Hundreds of Thousands from Voting in the 2020 Election
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants might be prevented from voting in the 2020 election—even though they are just one step away from becoming new Americans. Years of fiscal mismanagement at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)—coupled with a series of policy changes under the Trump administration—have led to an… Read More
Immigrant Workers are Essential to the United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS) will play an outsized role in the 2020 presidential election, as more states focus on mail-in voting to help curb the spread of the coronavirus at polling places. Central to USPS’ work are the staff members who sort, process, and deliver our mail—through… Read More
Why a Shorter Census Timeline Hurts Immigrant Communities
The Trump administration announced on August 3 plans to end the 2020 Census one month earlier than previously planned. The change has led to fears that immigrant and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities will be undercounted. This has the real potential to harm them financially and politically… Read More
USCIS Holds Drive-Thru Naturalization Ceremonies to Work Through COVID-19 Backlog
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expects, by the end of July, to have worked through nearly the entire backlog of naturalization oath ceremonies put on hold in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency is now providing new ways to take the oath, including drive-thru naturalization ceremonies. The… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
