Rhetoric
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
Massive Immigration Reform Rally Proceeds in Washington, D.C.
After several thousand people rallied for immigration reform in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, more than 100 activists were arrested outside of the Capitol during a protest to push the House to vote on immigration legislation. Those arrested for refusing to move out of the street included eight Democratic members of Congress: Reps. John Lewis (GA), Luis Gutiérrez (IL), Raúl Grijalva (AZ), Keith Ellison (MN), Joseph Crowley (NY), Charles Rangel (NY), Al Green (TX), and Jan Schakowsky (IL). Read More
How to Have Productive Conversations on Immigration
In preparation for the August recess, the Immigration Policy Center released a new guide to answering the tough questions on immigration. This is perhaps a misnomer, as the issues we cover—the intersection of crime, the economy, integration, and immigration—aren’t so much tough as they are complicated. There is plenty of evidence available on the significant contributions immigrants make to the country, so providing that is easy. What’s tough is discussing the personal myths and misconceptions individuals carry with them on the topic. Aren’t immigrants to blame for…? Read More
New Report Reveals Scale of Deaths Along U.S.-Mexico Border
Nothing illustrates the high stakes of the immigration reform debate now taking place in the Senate quite as powerfully as the growing body count along the U.S.-Mexico border. Despite the U.S. government’s decades-long effort to stop unauthorized immigration through an “enforcement first” strategy, unauthorized migrants continue to cross the border—and scores die before completing the journey. In fact, the Tucson sector alone witnessed 2,238 migrant deaths between Fiscal Year (FY) 1990 and FY 2012. That is one of the central findings of a new report from the Binational Migration Institute at the University of Arizona, entitled A Continued Humanitarian Crisis at the Border. The report examines data from the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner to shed light on trends in border fatalities over time, as well as the demographic characteristics of those who died. Read More
What Do You Think About Immigration Reform?
As the Senate continues to shepherd a comprehensive immigration reform bill through the legislative process (day two of mark-up in the Senate Judiciary Committee begins tomorrow), it becomes clear how many issues are at stake in reform and how interconnected they are. It’s also overwhelming at times. That’s why the American Immigration Council is attempting to divide the issues into smaller discussions on our wiki, ThinkImmigration.org. Read More
Senate Committee Mark-up Of Immigration Bill Begins With Border Security Amendments
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s mark-up of S. 744, the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act” put forward by the bipartisan Gang of 8 group of senators, began on Thursday in front of a packed hearing room and with all 18 committee members in attendance. Senators offered 32 amendments (out of the 300 filed), all relating to issues in the introduction and Title 1 of the bill. Of the amendments considered, the committee accepted 21 of them, with bipartisan support for all but one, while four were withdrawn. The primary change was to broaden the scope of the border security provisions. And as they had previously indicated, the four “Gang of Eight” members on the committee—Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin (IL) and Chuck Schumer (NY) and GOP Sens. Jeff Flake (AZ) and Lindsey Graham (SC)—voted together against any amendment that undermined the bill’s core goals. Read More
Nativists Trot Out Same Old Arguments at Hearing on Senate Immigration Reform Bill
With an immigration reform bill beginning to move through the Senate, one would expect a little originality from the nativists trying to stop it. After all, if “enforcement first” and “self-deportation” haven’t worked yet, perhaps it’s time to try something new. And yet the same dusty old arguments were on display among the nativists who testified at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s April 22 hearing on the Senate immigration reform bill: S.744, “The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.” It was as if they had put their fingers in their collective ears and refused to listen to what was going on around them. Read More
Letting Tragedy Guide, Not Derail Policy-Making
Last week, the U.S. Senate introduced a long-awaited immigration reform bill, which many are predicting is our best chance in 20 years to fix the broken immigration system. While awaiting the Senate’s formal introduction however, devastating events unfolded in Boston. The nation stood transfixed on developments in Massachusetts, as did the Senators and those involved in immigration reform efforts. Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
