History of Immigration
Immigration policies, laws, and attitudes toward immigrants have evolved in the U.S. Our system has continued to adapt over time, responding to changing global dynamics, economic needs, and political pressure. By learning from our immigrant past, we can apply the lessons learned to help shape how we treat immigration and immigrants in the future.
Immigration Policy Fifteen Years After 9/11
Fifteen years ago on September 11, 2001, it appeared that comprehensive immigration reform was imminent. The prior week, President Vicente Fox of Mexico visited the U.S. and spoke to President Bush and Congress about the need for reform, and serious momentum was growing. However, the tragic events on September… Read More
Lincoln v. Trump on Immigration
Although much has been written about how the party of Abraham Lincoln became the party of Donald Trump, one additional area where these two men parted ways is immigration. The world of today is different from the world in which Abraham Lincoln lived or could have imagined. And I… Read More
This Year’s Celebrate America Creative Writing Contest Winning Entry
The American Immigration Council’s 19th Annual Celebrate America Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest winner is Eliana Jaffee from the Pardes Jewish School in Scottsdale, Arizona. The contest gives fifth graders the opportunity to learn more about immigration to the U.S. and explain, in their own words, why they are proud… Read More
Learning from Our Past: The Refugee Experience in the United States
This report provides background on the refugee experience in the United States, including welcoming and exclusionary responses, the impacts of these disparate reactions, and lessons to consider in determining our response to the current refugee crisis Read More
These Anti-Immigrant Organizations Are Behind the Effort to Derail Executive Action on Immigration
The tentacles of the modern anti-immigrant movement in the United States extend far and wide, but they emanate from a single source: John Tanton—a white nationalist trying his hardest to ensure that racial and ethnic minorities, fed by immigration and relatively high birth rates, don’t one day outnumber non-Latino… Read More
Immigration Council Strongly Reaffirms Research on Reagan-Bush Family Fairness Policy
Washington D.C. – This week, the Washington Post issued another editorial in its campaign against President Obama’s decision to authorize temporary deportation relief for several million undocumented parents of U.S citizen children. In particular, the Post argues that there is no historical precedent for President Obama’s action, discounting the parallel… Read More
Righting a Historical Wrong in Same-Sex Marriage Case
Anthony Sullivan, a native of Australia, fell in love with Richard Adams, an American, in 1971. A few years later, the couple traveled to Colorado when they learned the county clerk in Boulder was issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Soon after, they filed a green-card petition based on… Read More
Top Five Immigration Stories from 2013
From the beginning, it was clear that 2013 was going to be a big year for immigration. The results of the 2012 Presidential Election were widely interpreted as a rebuke to Mitt Romney’s enforcement-only “self-deportation” policy, and President Obama’s huge victory among minority communities was seen as a… Read More
Former Attorney General Gets it Wrong on DOMA and Same Sex Immigration Benefits
Former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales is advocating in the New York Times that the Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Windsor, which invalidated Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), should not allow the Obama administration to afford immigration benefits to married, same-sex bi-national couples. Rather, he argues, the administration is bound by a disturbing, 30-year-old Ninth Circuit case, Adams v. Howerton, which rested on discriminatory and outdated law and facts. Essentially, Mr. Gonzales is urging that the administration ignore 30 years of social progress and legal developments and return to a 20th century mentality and jurisprudence. He is mistaken. Read More
Supreme Court’s DOMA Decision Good for Economic Competitiveness
In the global economy of the twenty-first century, a globally mobile workforce is critical to remaining competitive. Yet for LGBT employees, their families, and their employers, significant barriers remain in place. The Supreme Court’s June 26 decision in United States v. Windsor finding part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional has clear and direct benefits for married same-sex couples, including bi-national couples. But beyond the benefits to married couples themselves, the Court’s decision is also a win for economic competitiveness. Specifically, the DOMA ruling makes U.S. businesses more globally competitive because they now can attract and retain foreign-born employees who want to stay in the United States with their same-sex spouses. Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
