Department of Homeland Security
What Does a Decline in the Foreign-Born Population Mean to America and Immigration Reform?
For years now, one of the few findings you could count on in the Census Bureau’s annual statistics report was the steady growth in the foreign-born population. Other major indicators of the economy and society—like the poverty rate, or income levels, or even education trends—might go up or down, but it's been reliably true that the U.S. is a magnet for immigrants. Thus it was somewhat of a shock to see the Census Bureau report a decline in the nation's immigrant population between 2007 and 2008. The 2007 national estimate of 38.1 million immigrants fell to 38.0 in 2008. A decline of less than 100,000 people, to be sure, but a bellwether of...what? Read More
Immigration Reform: Congress’s Perennial Pothole
At a gathering in Washington this week, long-time immigration reform advocate Congressman Luis Gutierrez announced that he would soon introduce a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the House. This marker bill is likely to have something for everyone in it, combining the DREAM Act, family reunification, a legalization program, and even smart-enforcement components. He gave the self-imposed deadline of October 13 for the framework to be ready and it couldn’t come sooner. The lack of immigration reform continues to plague the administration at every turn, and plays a role in every major legislative battle the administration has fought since the inauguration. It came up in the stimulus bill and is now making a command appearance in the health care reform debate. Read More
New Report Holds Immigration Detention System Up to the Light
Transparency and oversight have never topped Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) priority list—especially during the post-9/11 Bush administration when ICE’s detention system nearly tripled in size. Last month, however, ICE director John Morton announced a new plan to overhaul the flawed immigration detention system and broaden federal oversight. Sure, the new plan was announced shortly after ICE was forced by the ACLU under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to release a “comprehensive list of all deaths in detention” (which now totals 104 since 2003), but still, John Morton’s intention to make ICE more transparent and efficient seems sincere. The question, however, is whether or not ICE will actually be able to restructure its sprawling detention system after years of scant oversight and zero accountability. Read More
Taking the Temperature of Comprehensive Immigration Reform
The energy in Washington changes as soon as Congress returns from recess, and this year the air is particularly charged with anticipation of the health care reform debate to come. In the immigration world, we are watching the debate as a barometer of what to expect later in the session when the long-promised Schumer bill is introduced. The timing of the next round of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) legislation has always been contingent on the Obama administration’s ability to successfully manage, at a minimum, the health care and probably, the climate change debates. As health care, in particular, has grown increasingly complex, partisan, and ideological, the chances of completing CIR legislation before 2009 ends further diminish. That’s not to say, however, that nothing is happening. Behind the scenes work on immigration reform is taking place daily, as this summer’s developments demonstrate. Read More
You Can Still Be Heard: DHS Extends National Dialogue Deadline
The Department of Homeland Security has extended the National Dialogue on the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review deadline until tomorrow, Wednesday, September 9th. Log onto DHS’ website now and post your comments and feedback. Your voice should be heard. The 2009 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review process is a web-based… Read More
Speak up! The Department of Homeland Security is Listening
The 2009 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review process, a web-based interactive dialogue designed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to allow your opinions and ideas to inform and strengthen the Department’s relationship with its vast array of partners and stakeholders, has been up and running for a few weeks now. The online portal, however, will stop taking comments this Sunday, September 6. Read More
The Christian Science Monitor Exchanges One Myth for Another
Yesterday, the Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board scapegoated immigrants and traded reason for rhetoric in their editorial, “Jobs That Americans Won’t Do.” The board attempts to make the case that jobs previously deemed “too menial” for American workers—“mowing lawns, cleaning motel sheets, butchering hogs, picking strawberries, janitorial work”—are now being filled by Americans, who are “desperate for income” due to climbing unemployment rates and a deep economic recession. The article goes on to use the presence of undocumented immigrants and high U.S. unemployment rates to make a case against comprehensive immigration reform, which they call “amnesty”—a term anti-immigrants groups commonly use to avoid reasoned debate on what to do about our broken and outdated American immigration system. Read More
And the Beat Goes On: Immigration Reform and the Road Ahead
As Washington and the rest of the country continue to reflect on the monumental legacy of the late Senator from Massachusetts, many are contemplating the enormous leadership gap left in his passing. A tireless champion of health care, civil rights, foreign policy, education, immigration and many other worthy causes, Senator Kennedy’s first major legislative victory—eliminating the national quotas for immigration— “helped change the face of the country and shaped his own political career.” But the question remains, how do we continue Sen. Kennedy’s drumbeat on immigration reform? Read More
Plugging into the Millennial Generation
Today, the Center for American Progress released a new publication, The Coming End of the Culture Wars, which explains that the conservative white working-class population is waning while the younger “millennial” generation, who is much more liberal on social issues including immigration reform, is expanding. The report states: Millennials—the generation with birth years 1978 to 2000—support gay marriage, take race and gender equality as givens, are tolerant of religious and family diversity, have an open and positive attitude toward immigration, and generally display little interest in fighting over the divisive social issues of the past. Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
