Undocumented Immigration
House Judiciary Considers Same Costly, Enforcement-Only ‘Reform’
The House Judiciary Committee devoted two days this week to the markup of three enforcement-only immigration bills. The legislation would strip much-needed protections from an already vulnerable population–including children and asylum seekers–impact the agriculture industry, place burdensome requirements on small business owners, and cost the American taxpayer a lot of… Read More
Potential Presidential Candidates Fail to Offer Immigration Solutions at CPAC
Most Americans want immigration reform. President Obama’s executive actions took temporary steps to provide relief for millions of undocumented immigrants who have spent years here, but it is up to Congress to pass legislation that would comprehensively improve the immigration system. According to a February poll from Public Religion… Read More
How Leveraging Immigrants’ Skills Could Further Boost U.S. Economy
Now is certainly a good time to think about ways in which to realize the full potential of the immigrant workforce. There are more than 26 million foreign-born workers in the United States, and just over 8 million of them are unauthorized. Two-thirds of all unauthorized immigrants have… Read More
White House Proposes Plan to Address Causes of Children Fleeing Central America
President Obama requested $1 billion in his fiscal year 2016 budget proposal to address the root causes of unaccompanied children fleeing to the United States. Vice President Joe Biden announced the plan for these funds in a New York Times op-ed, saying that “[a]s we were reminded last summer… Read More
Why Are Immigration Court Hearings Being Set Into 2019?
The immigration court system in the United States is being stretched to the breaking point. Immigration courts have long been expected to do more and more work without the additional funding or personnel needed to do the job effectively. But now, the courts are struggling to handle newer cases… Read More
The Cost of Citizenship is a Barrier for Some Immigrants
Of the 13.3 million legal permanent residents (LPRs) in the United States, 8.8 million are currently eligible for citizenship. Many, however, are not making the leap from legal permanent resident status to citizen. The number of those naturalizing has been less than 800,000 for the past five consecutive years,… Read More
What Happened at the Meeting Between the Mexican and U.S. Presidents
The U.S. and Mexico share a nearly 2,000 mile border, and most of the immigrants in the U.S. are from Mexico. The relationship between the two countries runs deeper than just immigration even though attention in the last year has focused on the record number of children and families who… Read More
Top Five Immigration Stories of 2014
This year, the narrative on immigration swung from hope that the House of Representatives would follow the Senate’s lead and act on comprehensive immigration reform legislation to hopelessness when Republican leaders refused to act. Then attention turned to anticipation of the President’s announcement of temporary executive actions to… Read More
How New Guidance Improves a Waiver Program to Limit Family Separations
When President Obama announced his executive actions on immigration in November, much of the focus was on the new temporary immigration protections, namely the deferred action programs (called DACA and DAPA). Of all of the announced reforms, DACA and DAPA certainly will affect the greatest number of people, with… Read More
States Sue Over President Obama’s Immigration Executive Action
Seventeen states filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging President Obama’s decision to temporarily defer deportation for millions of immigrants who qualify for DACA of the new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program. The lawsuit argues that the president’s executive actions “violated his constitutional duty to enforce the laws and illegally… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone