Policy

Washington D.C. - Last week, more than fifty leading university professors urged Congress to pass the DREAM Act, noting that both their academic research and their work as teachers compelled them to speak out on behalf of the undocumented students whose future hangs in the balance over today's vote. Today, nearly 400 scholars from across the U.S. (including all 8 Ivy Leagues) have signed onto the letter.

These scholars, who have dedicated their professional lives to studying migration-related issues, noted:

We, a group of university professors who study immigration and the circumstances confronting these young people, and who have many of these students in our classes, believe passing the DREAM Act is the right thing to do for our nation's immediate interests and for our long term security... After decades of research it is clear that, by punishing the children of undocumented immigrants, this country is creating a disenfranchised group of young people cut off from the very mechanisms that would allow them to contribute to our economy and society ... It is especially troubling and wasteful that some 2.1 million unauthorized children, American in spirit but not in law, are now enrolled in U.S. schools but will not be able to lawfully gain employment at the end of their education.Read more...

Published On: Fri, Dec 17, 2010 | Download File

The DREAM Act Would Allow Undocumented Youth to Give Back to America

By Roberto G. Gonzales

Each year, tens of thousands of undocumented immigrant students graduate from American high schools and embark on uncertain futures.  Their inability to legally work and receive financial aid stalls, detours, and derails their educational and economic trajectories.  Most importantly, at any time, they can be deported to countries they barely know.  The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is a federal bill aimed at providing immigration relief to these young people.  The passage of this bill would grant many undocumented youth access to legal residency and federal financial aid—thus removing legal and economic barriers to higher education and increasing their contributions to America and the likelihood of upward mobility. Read more...

Published On: Thu, Dec 02, 2010 | Download File

By Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia

On June 30, 2010, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), John Morton, issued a memo to the agency that reflected the Obama administration’s oft repeated intent to focus removal efforts on serious offenders.  Morton noted:

In light of the large number of administrative violations the agency is charged with addressing and the limited enforcement resources the agency has available, ICE must prioritize the use of its enforcement personnel, detention space, and removal resources to ensure that the removals the agency does conduct promote the agency's highest enforcement priorities, namely national security, public safety, and border security.  

Coupled with last year’s announcement that ICE would not engage in the kind of major worksite raids that became common during the Bush administration, the “Morton Memo” potentially marks a new phase in the enforcement of immigration law.  Moreover, the memo gives us insight into the Obama administration’s approach to prosecutorial discretion in immigration enforcement.

A close reading of the Morton Memo reveals, however, that it is likely to be subject to multiple interpretations, offering some guidance but little clarity for handling the hundreds of thousands of decisions made annually by ICE agents regarding the arrest, detention, and removal of individual immigrants.  This report explains the key provisions of the Morton Memo, points out its strengths and weaknesses, and offers recommendations for additional guidance that should be issued to fulfill the promise of reform suggested in the memo itself. Read more...

Published On: Wed, Dec 01, 2010 | Download File

The Need for Better Care in Detention and in Court

In 2009, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained approximately 380,000 people.  Roughly 15 percent of the non-citizen population in detention, or around 57,000 people, have a mental disability.  Unfortunately, these mental disabilities often go unrecognized by law enforcement and immigration officials, resulting in less access to justice for the individual and greater confusion and complexity for the attorneys and judges handling the cases.  The consequences of immigration enforcement for unauthorized immigrants, long-term permanent residents, asylum-seekers, and other non-citizens with mental disabilities can be severe.  Even U.S. citizens have been unlawfully detained and deported because their mental disabilities made it impossible to effectively defend themselves in court. Read more...

Published On: Tue, Nov 23, 2010 | Download File

The DREAM Act—a popular proposal to provide legal status to undocumented youth who entered the U.S. as children, graduated from U.S. high schools, and attend college or enter the military—is the target of a smear campaign from anti-immigration hardliners.  According to them, passage of the DREAM Act would cheat native-born students out of opportunities.  This tired effort to pit immigrants and native-born—whether they are workers or students—against one another is not only destructive, but has no basis in fact.  Moreover, it ignores the economic benefits that come from legalizing a group of talented, hard-working individuals who want nothing more than to contribute to America and repay the country for the opportunities they’ve been given. Read more...

Published On: Tue, Nov 23, 2010 | Download File

As part of its strategy to gain support for comprehensive immigration reform, the administration has continually touted its enforcement accomplishments.  In fact, over the last two years, the Obama administration has committed itself to a full-court press to demonstrate how committed the administration is to removing criminals and others who remain in the country without proper documentation.  They have continued to use the enforcement programs of the previous administration, including partnering with state and local law enforcement agencies to identify, detain, and deport immigrants.  However, in doing so, they have lost the ability to fully control their own enforcement priorities and enforcement outcomes, and the results have demonstrated that the state and local partners are not necessarily committed to the same priorities. Read more...

Published On: Tue, Nov 09, 2010 | Download File

U.S. immigration law is very complex, and there is much confusion as to how it works.  The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA), the body of law governing current immigration policy, provides for an annual worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants, with certain exceptions for close family members.  Congress and the President determine a separate number for refugee admissions.  Historically, immigration to the United States has been based upon three principles: the reunification of families, admitting immigrants with skills that are valuable to the U.S. economy, and protecting refugees.  This fact sheet provides basic information about how the U.S. legal immigration system is designed. Read more...

Published On: Thu, Nov 04, 2010 | Download File

What is a refugee?

A refugee, as defined by Section 101(a)42 of the Immigration and Nationality Act(INA) (based on  the  United Nations 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocols  relating to the Status of Refugees) is a person who is  unable or unwilling  to return to the home country because of a “well-founded fear of persecution” due to race, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, religion, or national origin. Read more...

Published On: Thu, Oct 21, 2010 | Download File