Immigration Policy Center

Published on Mon, Sep 27, 2010

The Immigration Policy Center writes:

Acknowledging the large numbers of illegal Europeans in the U.S., the government devised ways for them to remain in the U.S. legally. *Deserving* illegal European immigrants could benefit from various programs and legalize their status. The 1929 Registry Act allowed *honest law-abiding alien[s] who may be in the country under some merely technical irregularity* to register as permanent residents for a fee of $20 if they could prove they had lived in the U.S. since 1921 and were of *good moral character.* Roughly 115,000 immigrants registered between 1930 and 1940—80% were European or Canadian. Between 1925 and 1965, 200,000 illegal Europeans legalized their status through the Registry Act, through *pre-examination*—a process that allowed them to leave the U.S. voluntarily and re-enter legally with a visa (a *touch-back* program)—or through discretionary rules that allowed immigration officials to suspend deportations in *meritorious* cases. Approximately 73% of those benefitting from suspension of deportation were Europeans (mostly Germans and Italians).

Published in the Washington Times

Published on Wed, Sep 29, 2010

The plight of the DREAM Act students encapsulates many facets of today’s immigration crisis, says the American Immigration Council. (http://www.immigrationpolicy.org)

Published in the Lubbock-Avalanche Journal

Published on Wed, Sep 22, 2010

Some African Americans have been fearful that the migration of our undocumented neighbors might have an adverse affect on their employment. The truth is, according to a May 2009 report from the Immigration Policy Center, there is no correlation between immigrants entering the labor workforce and the unemployment rate among native-born African Americans. Unfortunately, the unemployment rate in the African American community sits at 14.8%. This is due to broader macroeconomic developments, such as the loss of jobs in the auto and steel industries. We must work to address these issues head on, as opposed to using immigration as a scapegoat.

Published in the Seattle Medium

Published on Thu, Sep 16, 2010

Meanwhile, the anti-immigrant movement is starting to lose steam, as more localities are outright rejecting popular anti-immigrant measures. They fear inviting costly lawsuits and garnering unwanted attention from the federal government. AlterNet's Seth Hoy reports that Tomball, Texas and Fremont, Nebraska are the latest cities to opt against strict anti-immigrant enforcement ordinances. Similarly wary of attracting exorbitant lawsuits, legislators in Ohio and Idaho are feverishly revising their own, once-embraced versions of Arizona's SB 1070.

Published in the The Huffington Post

Published on Wed, Sep 22, 2010

Mary Giovagnoli, director of Immigration Policy Center, told TWI the vote showed “a lack of leadership” by Republican senators. “This was clearly putting procedural wrangling and partisan politics over social issues that are clearly something the American public wants action on,” she said.

Published in the Michigan Messenger

Published on Wed, Sep 22, 2010

Mary Giovagnoli, director of Immigration Policy Center, says Tuesday’s vote could indicate Republicans would be unwilling to support the DREAM Act in the future. “It’s pretty clear that it was a party line vote,” she said. “Consequently, unless some Republicans are brave enough to step over the line, it’s going to remain gridlocked.”

Published in the Iowa Independent

Published on Tue, Sep 21, 2010

Here's a question for you: Why are immigration advocates, GLBT groups and good-government types crestfallen that the defense-spending authorization bill failed to beat a Republican filibuster? "The political gridlock that has immobilized the Senate has resulted once again in a lost opportunity for the American people," said Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Immigration Policy Center. Why did she even care?

Published in the Washington Post

Published on Wed, Sep 15, 2010

Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Immigration Policy Center, cautions about overstating the decline. "I don't think it's really a significant drop," Giovagnoli says. "Certainly, 8 percent is something, but if you look at where we were in 1990, then at the numbers of illegal immigration in 2009, the number of people here illegally has tripled."

It’s not just enforcement that matters, but policies, too. Giovagnoli thinks some policies that focus on enforcement haven’t deterred people from coming, and maybe made them more likely to stay out of status if they’re already here.

Published in the St. Louis Beacon

Published on Wed, Sep 15, 2010

Advocates of comprehensive immigration reform were once wary of supporting the DREAM Act as a standalone measure because it could scare off future votes for comprehensive immigration reform. Mary Giovagnoli, director of Immigration Policy Center, told TWI recently that it is no longer clear how the DREAM Act’s passage would impact comprehensive reform efforts.

“We don’t have a good measure anymore of what will happen once we get something discreet like the DREAM Act passed,” she said. “But when the sky doesn’t fall in and if people still get re-elected after supporting DREAM, it may show members of Congress that leaning into the immigration issue and voting for comprehensive immigration reform could help them politically.”

Published in the The Washington Independent

Published on Sun, Sep 12, 2010

Michele Waslin, a senior policy analyst with the Washington, D.C.-based Immigration Policy Center, said changing the birthright citizenship laws will not solve the problem of illegal immigration.

"It actually increases the number of illegal immigrants because children would be born in the U.S. with no legal status," she said.

Published in the Arizona Central