Immigration Policy Center

Published on Thu, Aug 12, 2010

The Immigration Policy Center, an immigrant-rights organization in Washington, D.C., said in a news release that without data on children with two illegal parents, the report "offers no real clarity."

Whether the change would strip citizenship from one baby or 1 million, it's a mean-spirited plan that wouldn't help the country with its illegal-immigration issues, said Michele Waslin, senior policy analyst with the Immigration Policy Center. Waslin also said calling these children "anchor babies" is both offensive and inaccurate.

Published in the Arizona Daily Star

Published on Thu, Aug 12, 2010

“You can make the argument that it can reinforce the Obama administration efforts to disentangle the border issues from the immigration issues,” Mary Giovagnoli, director of the pro-reform Immigration Policy Center, told TWI. “But that’s probably not how it’s going to play out.”

Published in the The Washington Independent

Published on Wed, Aug 11, 2010

Immigrants aren’t very noticeable in West Virginia, which was 95 percent white in the year 2000, according to the Census. Yet, they’re here. The Immigration Policy Center estimates that the state was home to more than 23,000 immigrants in 2008, and the population is growing. Many of the immigrants are Latino or Asian.  

Published in the West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Published on Tue, Aug 10, 2010

The nonpartisan Washington D.C.-based Immigration Policy Center, for instance, says legalizing undocumented workers is the way to go.

On its website, the center says, “Comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to legalization for undocumented workers would pay for itself through the increased tax revenue it generates, in contrast to the failed and costly enforcement-only policies that have been pursued thus far.”

According to a new report, the center says, immigration reform that includes a legalization program for unauthorized immigrants and enables a future flow of legal workers would result in a big economic benefit.

Published in the Worcester Telegram

Published on Wed, Aug 11, 2010

Some researchers noted that the Pew figures did not identify families where both parents were illegal immigrants. “If anything, the Pew report highlights how complicated this issue is, given that so many unauthorized immigrants live in families that include U.S. citizens and legal immigrants,” said Michele Waslin, senior policy analyst for the Immigration Policy Center, a group that supports legalization for illegal immigrants.

Published in the New York Times

Published on Tue, Aug 10, 2010

Recently I saw a CNN debate between Michele Waslin of the Immigration Policy Center and Former Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO) on the issue of birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment. The most incredible part of the video, for me at least, was Tancredo's insistence that the issue of birthright citizenship has never come before the Supreme Court. As anyone who has taken a course on the history of U.S. immigration, or an introductory constitutional law class would know, the very idea of granting citizenship to those born on U.S. soil came from a Supreme Court decision in 1898, Wong Kim Ark.

Published in the The Huffington Post

Published on Mon, Aug 09, 2010

Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Immigration Policy Center, said the timing of his announcement and his harsh choice of words – “They come here to drop a child. It’s called drop and leave” -- indicated Graham was simply trying to rile up his conservative base in the midst of the red-hot immigration debate.

Giovagnoli, whose group backs comprehensive immigration reform, said “it really is a politically manufactured issue.”

Published in the Politico

Published on Fri, Aug 06, 2010

“You can make the argument that it can reinforce the Obama administration efforts to disentangle the border issues from the immigration issues, but that’s probably not how it’s going to play out,” Mary Giovagnoli, director of Immigration Policy Center, told TWI. “When you see actions like this at the end of a session, you can bet it’s more politics than policy that’s driving their decisions.”

Giovagnoli said she does not expect the bill to help the comprehensive immigration reform effort, but that it could help pave the way for senators who previously supported reform, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), to re-enter discussions.

Published in the The Washington Independent

Published on Fri, Aug 06, 2010

Amid the illegal immigration debate is talk of overtunring the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to most children born here, regardless of their parents’ status. The American Immigration Council offers a host of essays against the proposal.

Published in the Albany Times Union