Change for Cuban-American Relations
The Office of the Press Secretary of the White House issued the following statement on April 13, 2009 titled “Fact Sheet: Reaching Out to the Cuban People”. It’s a great blueprint for what the Obama Administration’s plan is going to be to change Cuban-American relations. Read more
Amnesty in the Works? Maybe!
The following is a statement issued by Angela Kelley, Director of the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) in Washington, DC. today:
“We applaud the White House, Senator Harry Reid, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for their vision, leadership, and commitment to passing comprehensive and meaningful immigration reform this year. The United States, now more than ever, needs workable solutions that fix our broken immigration system, support our economic recovery, and allow honest and hardworking people to become lawful and contributing members of our society.
The White House said a key component of comprehensive immigration reform will be the creation of a pathway to legal status for the roughly 12 million undocumented immigrants now living in the United States. Although critics of reform often deride anything short of mass deportation as a blanket ‘amnesty,’ a well-tailored legalization program would, in fact, bring order and legality to bear on what is now a chaotic and unregulated situation. Moreover, legalization would not add new workers to a U.S. economy already reeling from high unemployment. Rather, it would give legal status, and the full protection of labor laws, to workers who are already here. Undocumented immigrants applying for legal status would not only have to register with the federal government, but would also have to meet a number of other requirements, including paying taxes, getting criminal background checks, learning English, and paying a fine.
In addition, comprehensive reform will have to address many of the other flaws and inequities within our immigration system. It will have to reduce the enormous backlog of applications for family reunification, which impose lengthy waiting times on individuals abroad who are trying to rejoin their families in the United States. It will have to create smarter and more targeted enforcement mechanisms that find individuals who pose a danger to public safety or national security, rather than expending resources on chasing workers and breaking apart families. And it will have to consider appropriate legal limits on immigration that rise and fall with the labor needs of our economy, rather than arbitrary numerical caps that bear no relationship to labor demand.
The time is now to resolve this ongoing and complex problem. Fixing our immigration system is an important part of addressing our nation’s economic, healthcare, and homeland security challenges. The White House has taken the first step today and we stand committed in supporting their efforts towards achieving sensible and comprehensive reform this year.”
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Immigrants’ Impact on Our Coffers
I read with interest the following article about how the immigrant population, legal and illegal, has a positive impact on States’ economies. Read for yourself the results of the studies conducted by many states here in the U.S.~~
Immigrant Policy Project
A Summary of State Studies On Fiscal Impacts of Immigrants
March 17, 2009
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Several states and organizations have conducted studies on the fiscal and economic impacts of immigrants or on specific immigration laws. Because of the complexity of researching unauthorized immigrants, studies are limited in scope and size. Some address all foreign-born, while others address only illegal immigrants or Hispanic residents (without addressing citizenship or immigration status). Estimates of tax revenues typically focus on income, sales and property tax. Some studies examine health, education and law enforcement costs, while others focus only on education. A few go beyond traditional assessment of taxes paid versus services used to examine the multiplier effects of immigrants in the labor force and economy. Read more
Reform Coming for Homeland Security
The new Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, outlined areas that are going to be targeted for reform. Below is an excerpt from a press release from the White House: Read more
Myth Busted! Immigrants Are NOT a Burden on Our Economy
This is an article that was posted on the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association web site, reprinted here in full. Read more
The First Word on Possible Amnesty for America’s Illegal Immigrants
This article begins our coverage of the immigration reform that we hope and pray is around the corner for not only our country but the thousands or millions of illegal immigrants that are here in our country right now. Read more