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Posts Tagged ‘immigration reform’

Finally, Something About the Sequester That Makes Sense: Release of Low-Risk Immigrant Detainees

Posted in Advocacy, Immigration Policy, tagged , , on March 4, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Not much about the self-imposed insanity of the sequester makes sense, so it’s good to see something that does. “ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] officials have said they released a few hundred people in anticipation of the budget cuts set to hit on Friday,” CQ reported on Thursday. “The people released were low-priority detainees and are still being monitored by immigration authorities, they said.”

Of course, congressional Republicans opposed to immigration reform reacted with their usual hyperbole, charging that this release of “criminal aliens” was “putting the safety of the public at risk.” This is nonsense. If enforcement cuts are required under the sequester, as they are and should be, this is exactly the kind of saving that makes sense.

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The Immigration Debate: What Does a Functional Border Look Like?

Posted in Advocacy, Immigration Policy, tagged on February 25, 2013 | 1 Comment »

On Tuesday, the House Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security will hold a hearing entitled, “What Does a Secure Border Look Like?” If I were testifying at this hearing, I would respectfully submit to the members of the subcommittee that they’re asking the wrong question. This question has no answer, it’s a diversion from the essential task of creating an immigration system that works for America, and it misunderstands what the U.S.-Mexico border is.

As Ted Alden of the Council on Foreign Relations has pointed out, there are no agreed-upon metrics for assessing the state of border security. The Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Research Service, Congress’s two research arms (which will have witnesses at the hearing), have done useful work in this area. The Migration Policy Institute has published a voluminous and definitive report on immigration enforcement, including the status of the southwest border. All of these studies emphasize the enormous strides that have been made on that border, and the extent to which it looks fundamentally different today than it did 10 or 20 years ago. But none produces the definitive metrics that Mr. Alden argues are urgently needed.

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Administration Takes Step to Keep Talented Foreign Students in the U.S.

Posted in Advocacy, Foreign Students & Scholars, Immigration Policy, Visa Policy, tagged , , on May 25, 2012 | 6 Comments »

This blog post was originally published on Immigration Impact, a project of the American Immigration Council.

Current U.S. immigration law provides few options for foreign graduates of U.S. universities with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (“STEM” degrees) who want to stay here to contribute their skills and knowledge. Not enough American students are interested in these fields, even as employers regularly cannot find enough people with the high-tech and scientific knowledge and skills they need to fill available positions. Luckily for the United States, international students seek out these majors and excel in them. But increasingly, we lose these talented graduates to other competitor countries where immigration laws are friendlier. This is, of course, an enormous loss to the U.S. economy, as international students with STEM degrees often create successful businesses and jobs in the United States. Last week, DHS took a strong step forward by expanding the list of STEM fields for foreign graduates applying to training programs after graduation.

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Higher Education’s Stake in the Immigration Reform Debate

Posted in Advocacy, Immigration Policy, tagged , on May 1, 2012 | 11 Comments »

Higher education is at its best and most essential when individuals – wherever they may be from – can come together to share knowledge and explore ideas. This is why learning and scholarship have always been grounded in the free movement of people across borders, and why the stakes are so high for higher education in the debate on immigration reform.

Simply put, higher education has no choice but to engage in that debate, because it will define not only what kind of immigration policy the United States constructs for the 21st century (and whether or not that policy works for higher education), but, perhaps even more importantly, what kind of face the United States presents to the world.

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New Pew Data on Mexican Migration: Moving Toward Common Ground on Immigration Reform

Posted in Advocacy, Immigration Policy, tagged , on April 25, 2012 | 3 Comments »

A reliable study has now confirmed what we have known for some time (see “Mission Accomplished! A Way Forward on Immigration Reform”). According to a report released on April 23 by the Pew Hispanic Center, the historic boom in Mexican migration to the United States is now over, and in fact there may now be more Mexicans going back to Mexico from the United States than there are coming in.

Although this trend is likely to reverse again once the U.S. economy recovers, we are unlikely ever again to see the massive numbers of Mexican migrants that we saw over the past two decades, because the factors that produced those numbers cannot be replicated. In particular—although it will hopefully become possible over time to demilitarize the U.S-Mexican border, turn it back into something that looks like a border between two free countries and democratic allies, and redeploy the resources to more constructive uses—we will never ratchet border control and enforcement back to where it was twenty years ago. We are also unlikely to experience another housing bubble of the kind that fueled such an influx of Mexican construction workers.

Speak Out: To learn more about NAFSA’S advocacy on immigration reform and how you can be a voice, visit www.ConnectingOurWorld.org/speakout

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With State of the Union Address, President Takes Key Step Toward a National Conversation on Immigration Reform

Posted in Advocacy, Foreign Students & Scholars, Immigration Policy, tagged , , , , on January 25, 2012 | 2 Comments »

In November, NAFSA released a statement calling on President Obama to lead a national conversation on immigration reform. The president took an important step in that direction in last night’s State of the Union address.

The President has spent most of his first term responding to the immigration opponents’ position that they will not talk about immigration reform until enforcement is beefed up and the border is secured. He has deported record numbers of illegal immigrants and devoted unprecedented resources to our southwest border. Last night, the President cashed in that investment. He said,

“I believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration. That’s why my administration has put more boots on the border than ever before. That’s why there are fewer illegal crossings than when I took office. The opponents of action are out of excuses. We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now.”

We applaud the President for reminding the nation that this problem isn’t going to fix itself – and we simply must do the hard work of reforming our immigration laws.

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President Obama Must Lead a National Conversation on Immigration Reform

Posted in Advocacy, Immigration Policy, tagged , on November 7, 2011 | 15 Comments »

To borrow a line from the president: We can’t wait any longer. It is time for President Obama to lead a national conversation on immigration reform.

NAFSA members understand how our antiquated immigration laws impede the movement of people seeking educational opportunities, and perhaps even worse, how the xenophobic tenor of our national debate on undocumented immigrants and the nation’s harsh and ineffective approach to border enforcement chip away at American values and negatively affects the image we project to the world.

NAFSA released a statement today that focuses on this broader context of immigration and offers specific steps for President Obama to take in order to lead the nation toward a more measured dialogue and toward fair, humane, and durable immigration solutions.

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Undocumented Students Need Relief While DREAM Act Is Pending

Posted in Advocacy, Immigration Policy, tagged , , , , on June 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

There seems to be a never-ending stream of heart-breaking stories these days about the plight of undocumented students. In Texas, the big story has been about Saad Nabeel, who was brought to the United States at a young age by his family and – though he was enrolled at the University of Texas at Arlington and received admission to Southern Methodist University – was deported to Bangladesh in April. Today came the news that his visa application had been denied.

The DREAM Act would create a path for students like Saad to legally pursue educational and career opportunities in the United States , but until Congress acts, many students like him are trapped, living in fear and unable to carry on with their lives. They need what’s called “deferred action” – a status the federal government can grant to halt deportation, based on the merits of an individual’s case. Right now the Department of Homeland Security grants this on an ad hoc basis.

Join us in asking Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to make “deferred action” official government policy for DREAM-Act-eligible students.

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Video: DHS Secretary Says Immigration Reform A Must for US Competitiveness

Posted in Immigration Policy, tagged , , , on November 13, 2009 | 2 Comments »

In a speech today at the Center for American Progress, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made it clear that immigration reform must happen in order for her department to effectively meet the challenges and needs of the 21st century. As she set out the specific parameters of reforms, Napolitano highlighted the damage done to the U.S. economy under current laws that makes it difficult for the best and the brightest who attend U.S. colleges and universities to stay here and work upon graduation.

Secretary Napolitano views immigration reform as having three components:

  • Serious and effective enforcement
  • Legal channels for the entry for families and workers
  • Providing for those who are already in the United States

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International Students, Skilled Immigrants and Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Posted in Immigration Policy, tagged , , , on November 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

by Marlene M. Johnson and Stuart Anderson

Cross-posted at ILW.com

Looking ahead to next year, it has become increasingly important that concerns about the economy not deter lawmakers from ensuring that reforms to attract and retain highly educated, highly skilled foreign nationals are included in comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Illegal immigration issues have dominated the debate, but the reality is that without addressing our broken legal immigration system, we will short-change ourselves in the long run. Keeping the United States a welcoming place for talented students and workers from around the world will be crucial to our economic recovery and our future ability to innovate, compete, and thrive in the global economy.

In an economic downturn, the temptation to lower the blinds and close the doors is strong. But in an age when work can be sent to other countries with the click of a mouse such an approach simply will not work. Many studies, and the experience of countless U.S. companies, have shown that hiring talented foreign workers boosts innovation and drives job creation. It also supports local economies. Foreign-born professionals buy cars and houses and pay tuition for their kids. At our universities, they teach our students, helping us develop our own talent pool for the jobs of tomorrow, and they collaborate with our faculty in the sciences, medicine, and other important fields. Turning away people with the skills our country needs denies us a much-needed resource to support our economic recovery. No country can be an island in the global economy – not even one as large as the United States.

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