Undocumented Immigration
Mother Jones Exposes Inner Workings of the Self-Deportation Movement
In its March/April issue, Mother Jones Magazine goes “inside the self-deportation movement,” exploring “164 state anti-immigration bills and the forces behind them.” The concept of “self deportation,” popularized by GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney, is central to the philosophy of “attrition through enforcement.” The basic idea is that, if you make life hard enough for unauthorized immigrants, they will pick up and leave of their own accord, which means the state will not have to hunt them down, detain them, and deport them. Read More
Court Strikes Down Provision of Fremont’s Immigration Ordinance, Impact on Community Continues
BY DARCY TROMANHAUSER, PROGRAM DIRECTOR AT NEBRASKA APPLESEED. A federal court’s recent decision to strike down the core of Fremont’s immigration enforcement ordinance (Ordinance No. 5165)—which requires businesses to verify employees’ immigration status and renters to apply for an occupancy license—is no surprise. Across the country, every immigration ordinance with a rental component has been found unconstitutional—but not before creating great cost, division, and a sense of loss in the local community. Although Fremont’s immigration measure has not yet gone into effect, its passage is having a devastating impact on the community. Read More
Number of Potential Immigrant Voters on the Rise in Key Super Tuesday States
Three of the twelve states holding Republican primaries or caucuses on Super Tuesday—Georgia, Massachusetts and Virginia—show especially strong trends in the numbers of foreign-born residents who have become U.S. citizens. This trend is significant given that these new Americans are able to register and vote. Immigrant communities in each of these states are large, exceeding 800,000 persons, and make up almost 10% or more of the statewide population. In fact, these three states are home to 71% of all immigrants living in the Super Tuesday states. While we don’t yet know how many of these naturalized U.S. citizens will vote on Super Tuesday or in the general election, GOP presidential candidates—many of whom have taken a hard line on immigration—would do well to take note of this trend. Read More
Number of Potential Immigrant Voters on the Rise in Key Super Tuesday States
Three of the twelve states holding Republican primaries or caucuses on Super Tuesday—Georgia, Massachusetts and Virginia—show especially strong trends in the numbers of foreign-born residents who have become U.S. citizens. This trend is significant given that these new Americans are able to register and vote. Immigrant communities in each of these states are large, exceeding 800,000 persons, and make up almost 10% or more of the statewide population. In fact, these three states are home to 71% of all immigrants living in the Super Tuesday states. While we don’t yet know how many of these naturalized U.S. citizens will vote on Super Tuesday or in the general election, GOP presidential candidates—many of whom have taken a hard line on immigration—would do well to take note of this trend. Read More
Despite Alabama’s Cautionary Tale, Mississippi Moves Forward with Extreme “Papers, Please” Immigration Legislation
So much for Southern hospitality. Despite damning reports, bad press and mea culpas from politicians out of Alabama following passage of their extreme immigration law, HB 56, Mississippi lawmakers continued down the same destructive path this week. Mississippi’s “papers please” immigration bill, HB 488—which contains nearly all the same provisions as Alabama’s extreme immigration law, including those previously blocked by a Federal Appeals Court—passed out of two committees this week. In addition to the “papers, please” provision, Mississippi’s law also requires every public school to determine the immigration status of every enrolling student. The law also makes it illegal for any state or local governmental entity to engage in any “business transaction” with an undocumented immigrant—potentially denying basic medical care and access to utilities to families and children. The bill now goes back to the Mississippi House for debate. Read More
ICE Distorts Facts in Debate over Immigration Detainers
February was an important month in the debate over immigration “detainers,” the controversial tool used to strong-arm local jails into holding immigrants on the federal government’s behalf. In Connecticut, a class-action lawsuit was filed attacking detainers’ many legal vulnerabilities, and the Governor announced that state jails will not honor them in all cases. In Illinois, Cook County received another pointed letter from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton over a local ordinance enacted last year. While immigration detainers are a subject of legitimate public debate, the controversies demonstrate how ICE has resorted to making disingenuous legal claims in apparent hopes spreading the mistaken belief that immigration detainers must be honored. Read More
New Report Debunks Myth of Self-Deportation
Faced with harsh anti-immigrant laws passed by state or local governments, most unauthorized immigrants do not return to their home countries. That is the inescapable conclusion of a new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP), entitled Staying Put but Still in the Shadows, by Leah Muse-Orlinoff. The report finds that unauthorized immigrants react to anti-immigrant laws by moving to a different county or state, or by staying right where they are and isolating themselves even further from the larger society. In other words, GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney was wrong when he argued that a “self deportation” solution to the problem of unauthorized immigration might actually work. Read More
New Data Highlights Immigrant Integration and Economic Contributions
A recent analysis of data from the Census Bureau highlights the degree to which immigrants integrate into U.S. society and contribute to the U.S. economy. In its latest statistical profile of the foreign-born population, the Pew Hispanic Center presents statistics which illustrate that most immigrants have been here for more than a decade, more become homeowners the longer they are here, and growing numbers are becoming U.S. citizens. Moreover, the data show the degree to which immigrants fuel labor-force growth and fill valuable roles in the economy as workers in both high-skilled and less-skilled occupations. Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
