Immigration 101
Immigration in the United States is complex and ever-evolving. Start here to understand the fundamental aspects of immigration policy, its history, and its impact on both individuals and the country at large. Learn commonly used terms about immigration law and how the U.S. immigration system is designed. Explore layered topics like how and whether immigrants can become citizens, as well as what individual protections look like under the law.
CIS Ignores the Facts: Immigration Important Concern for Latino Voters
The Center for Immigration Studies tries to snatch anti-immigrant victory from the jaws of electoral defeat in a new report about Latino voters in the 2008 election. According to the report, the widespread perception among Latinos that the Republican Party is hostile to immigrants played no appreciable role in their decision about whether to vote Democratic or Republican last November. Read More
Latino Experts Look Beyond Legalization and Citizenship
Former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros and several other leading Latino experts met at the Center for American Progress Monday to discuss Latinos’ role in shaping America’s future. Panelists such as Sarita Brown of Excelencia in Education and Janet Murguia of NCLR joined Cisneros in affirming that without vast improvements to the Latino community’s economic and educational status, the United States will not advance as a global competitor in the future. Read More
Gov. Paterson Stuns Immigrant Community With Gillibrand Senate Pick
The State of New York has, throughout its history, been both a haven and a hotbed for immigrants and diversity. That's why New York State Governor David Paterson's decision to pick Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton as U.S. Senator raises deep concern among immigrants and advocates in the state and across the country. Read More
Push Still Strong for Immigration Reform in Early Obama Administration
Today, Barack Obama stepped into the Oval Office on his first full day in the White House as President of the United States and met with economic advisors to start "making early progress on the change he promised." In the spirit of both economic recovery and social change, immigration should be addressed in President Obama's early conversations. Latinos are demanding it ought to, experts and advocates are confident it will. Read More
Hate Group Blames Immigrants for Potholes
The hate group Social Contract Press, which takes a dim view of dark-hued people in general and immigrants in particular, yesterday released a new report entitled The Twin Crises: Immigration and Infrastructure. The report is based on a simplistic and fundamentally flawed premise: that immigration is a major factor in the deterioration of the nation's infrastructure because immigration-fueled population growth "has overwhelmed the ability of government to productively spend the vast sums it already devotes to infrastructure." Read More
Separating Fact From Fiction About Immigrants and Crime
The perennially hot, and inflammatory, question of whether or not immigration is related to crime has yielded front-page stories in both the Washington Post and New York Times over the past two days. In different ways, each of these stories highlights the extent to which the myth of a supposed link between crime and immigration has long been based on emotion rather than fact. Although study upon study over the past century has demonstrated that immigration is not associated with more crime, the "myth of immigrant criminality" persists. Read More
FAIR Gets It Wrong Again
This week FAIR-an anti-immigration hate group-- issued another new report based on dubious facts and assertions. "Immigration Lobbying: A Window Into the World of Special Interests" ultimately shows that the vast majority of groups lobbying on immigration legislation are not "pro-enforcement-only," but rather support a comprehensive approach to immigration reform-including enforcement. Of course, this was not FAIR's intention - they wanted to show that these groups only support immigration reform because it is in their own self-interest and are not looking out for the majority of the "American people." Apparently the American people are only represented by FAIR and the rest of the 2.1% of lobbying groups that are "pro-enforcement-only." Read More
Task Force Calls for Federal Immigrant Integration Effort
While some fear that demographic shifts threaten American identity, yet another piece of research has come out showing that today's immigrants want to and are integrating into American society just like generations of immigrants before them. After more than two years of collaboration and initiatives among 20 federal agencies and a variety of stakeholders, the Task Force on New Americans delivered a report this past Monday. The Task Force was assembled in 2006 with a call to "strengthen the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security and federal, state, and local agencies to help legal immigrants embrace the common core of American civic culture, learn our common language, and fully become Americans." The Task Force's recommendations are based in the belief that immigrants can and do integrate into U.S. society and that integration is also a federal responsibility. Read More
Immigration May Make or Break NY Senate Seat Contenders
Caroline Kennedy's interest in taking over Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate seat for the state of New York is no secret. Her policy positions have been less obvious. However, this past weekend she began revealing "hints" of a platform-including immigration. On Saturday, Ms. Kennedy's spokesman provided written answers to 15 questions posed by The New York Times. On the topic of immigration, Ms. Kennedy shares the views of her uncle, Senator Edward Kennedy-supporting a path to citizenship for the undocumented. In fact, Kennedy's positions on immigration also line up pretty well with those of her potential predecessor, Hillary Clinton herself. According to Ms. Kennedy's aide: Read More
Scrounging for Facts in FAIR’s Reporting Yet Again
Video by America's Voice. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) released another report claiming that undocumented immigrants cost states much more than they pay in taxes. This time the target was Colorado. As is the case for many restrictionist reports, FAIR's conclusions are based on dubious "evidence" and assumptions, and often relies upon national level data to estimate Colorado-specific numbers. FAIR claims to look at the costs of providing education, health care, and incarceration to undocumented immigrants. But are they really looking at the undocumented population? Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
