Rhetoric
Poll: Immigration not a factor in Renee Ellmers victory
Immigration was a major focus of the closely watched Republican primary in the North Carolina’s second congressional district. But it wasn’t a priority among the majority of Republican primary voters who picked incumbent Rep. Renee Ellmers to again represent them in November’s midterm election, according to… Read More
Poll Shows That Immigration A Non-Issue for Voters in Rep. Renee Ellmers’ (NC-2) Race
Data show that issue of immigration neither impacted voters’ decisions at the polls nor led to their staying home When presented with the issue of immigration, voters overwhelmingly support Speaker Boehner’s immigration reform plan and want action on immigration reform this year… Read More
Poll: Immigration’s role negligible for Renee Ellmers
Rep. Renee Ellmers’ stance on immigration reform certainly didn’t hurt her in her GOP primary win Tuesday — but it didn’t necessarily boost her, either. A new poll from a pro-reform group conducted after voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s North Carolina… Read More
Grupo Nativista Insta al Partido Republicano a Alejarse Aún Más de la Comunidad de Inmigrantes
Los grupos anti-inmigrantes utilizan periódicamente una táctica común que consiste en hacer circular informes que advierten a los legisladores y al público en general acerca del carácter supuestamente amenazante de los inmigrantes. Estos informes tienden a retratar a los inmigrantes como una carga económica y fiscal, una amenaza para… Read More
Nativist Group Urges Republican Party to Further Alienate the Immigrant Community
Anti-immigrant groups periodically use a common tactic of circulating reports warning lawmakers and the general public about immigrants’ supposedly threatening character. These reports often consist of portraying immigrants as an economic and fiscal burden, a threat to societal integration, or a political menace to an idealized status quo. Following… Read More
Nativist Group Blames Students for Texas Budget Gap
In a case of creative accounting, the nativist Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is blaming students for the fiscal woes of Texas. In a new report, FAIR lumps together students who are unauthorized immigrants with U.S.-born students who have unauthorized parents and claims that they are all costing Texas taxpayers astronomical sums in educational expenditures. However, the report (titled The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on Texans) mistakenly treats the education of these students as nothing more than a “cost” attributable to unauthorized immigration. In reality, the educational expenses targeted by FAIR are an investment in the future U.S. workforce and tax base; an investment that will pay off later as students become taxpaying workers. Read More
Will New USCIS Memos Confuse House Judiciary Committee Again?
One of the significant lessons of 2013 is that good immigration policy matters to the American public. It’s unfortunate, then, that the House Judiciary Committee is choosing to end its year focusing not on immigration reform, but on how best to take the President to task for making use of executive authority. Read More
Talking Turkey on Immigration 2013
In an effort to preserve harmony at the Thanksgiving table, we have for the last several years offered up tips on making the case for immigration reform in front of, what is for many, the most hostile audience of all—their families. Even in the most congenial of families, there’s likely to be someone who can push your buttons on the immigration issue. But you can, and should, engage them, armed with this year’s advice on talking turkey about immigration reform. Read More
Rumors of Immigration Reform’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated, Again
The rumors of immigration reforms’ death have been greatly exaggerated over the years. In only the past few months, we’ve seen headlines like “Immigration Reform Heads for a Slow Death,” “Immigration Reform is Probably Dead,” and “RIP: Immigration Reform Bill is Dead.” Everyone wants to be the first to call it, the first to declare it, or the first person to have seen it coming. It’s not a terribly difficult story to write; some legislator or group of legislators say they don’t know how to get it done yet, or that it’s a hard issue to tackle, and presto, the stories come rolling out about the demise of reform. It may make a sexy headline, but for those who follow, understand and care about reform, these headlines become meaningless. In large part, because as soon as another legislator says or does something (like this week’s addition of three Republican members of Congress to the house immigration bill, H.R. 15) the headline quickly changes to “Immigration Reform Isn’t Dead Yet” and “Immigration Reform is Dead. Or Maybe it Isn’t.” Read More
Anti-Immigrant Think Tank Beats Same Old “Tax Fraud” Drum
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) recently released a paper with the inflammatory title “Paying Illegals to Stay.” The paper highlights a two-year-old report from the Treasury Department’s Inspector General which enumerated what immigrant taxpayers who file their taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) were receiving in tax refunds through the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) they claimed for their U.S.-citizen children. Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone