The Sunlight Foundation reports that $1.5 billion went to immigration lobbying from 2007 through 2012. The money was spent by 678 organizations in 170 sectors on 987 proposed bills.

Analyzing nearly 1,000 bills is no small task, even for those devoted exclusively to the immigration issue. Proposed immigration legislation can get complicated, with attempts to reform the entire system nearing 1,000 pages. Since immigration affects practically every aspect of American life and Congress keeps trying to change the existing law, you can see why the public might want to invest substantial amounts to influence what is being decided. Read more...

During his visit to El Paso in May 2011, President Obama mocked calls for border security. After declaring that sufficient measures had been taken to stem illegal crossings, he joked that his critics would always demand more, perhaps even calling for alligators in a moat. While the line drew howls from the national media, local residents did not laugh. The quip revealed only ignorance or callousness to the escalating dangers that are part of their daily life. Read more...

Peter Sutherland, the UN's Special Representative for Migration and Development, recently argued that "at the most basic level individuals should have a freedom of choice" as to where they wish to live. To this end, he wants the European Union to "do its best to undermine" the sense of homogeneity held by the citizens of its member states so that a global approach will be adopted on immigration. Read more...

The season of outdoor amusement has arrived. Across the country, the young and the young at heart bask in sun-drenched days and long tranquil evenings, enjoying cookouts, concerts, sporting events, and of course trips to the pool and the beach. It is the time of many American traditions. In recent years this has included the arrival of legions of young foreign workers who descend on resorts and recreational areas to keep them running day and night. Read more...

In late February, the Center for Immigration Studies hosted its second tour of the southwest border. Last year we explored the eastern half of Arizona and this year we began just west of Yuma in the Imperial Valley of California. Led by Jerry Kammer, our group crisscrossed almost a thousand miles, from the dunes around Algodones to the eastern portions of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge near Tucson. We saw captivating landscapes and got invaluable insight on the human and drug cartels that operate in the area. Read more...

Last month I had the opportunity to tour southern Arizona with a small group led by our own Jerry Kammer, who lived and wrote there for many years and whose passion for the region is contagious. Through his connections, we were given intimate perspectives on the border situation from those who face it on a daily basis. Read more...

The Census Bureau finds that one of every four members of this year's kindergarten class is Hispanic. To put this number in context, Hispanics were less than five percent of all students in 1970. This unprecedented transformation is the result of our federal immigration program, which continues at record pace. Read more...

The Pew Hispanic Center’s recent analysis of educational attainment data from the Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey finds that only one in ten Hispanic high school dropouts has a General Educational Development (GED) credential, the lowest among any major race/ethnic group. Read more...

Not content with their political progress, certain figures on the Left have sought to use mass immigration as a way of bolstering their electoral support. The notion that a large majority of newcomers will naturalize, register, and vote for candidates that advocate radical agendas seems tenuous to some observers. But there is evidence that immigrants who vote generally favor Democratic candidates. And it is the prospect of increasing political clout that drives some ideologues to push for open-ended immigration policies. Read more...

In the midst of the debate over state-run health care comes news that blames the steady influx of immigrants for a rise in Medicare fraud.

A top investigator at the Department of Justice tells the Houston Chronicle, "There's a real problem of health care fraud in recent immigrant communities—we see it every day," the official said. "One of the reasons is you're looking at people who don't come up through the educational system, they're impoverished, they think this country is very rich, and they don't view taking advantage of a government program as a crime." Read more...

In what has become an annual exercise, activists came together on May 1, International Workers’ Day 2009 to demand a pardon for all those residing illegally in the country. And although last week’s rallies lacked the magnitude and intensity of recent years—when a sweeping legislative amnesty appeared imminent—they were replete with the same conspicuous contempt for the American mainstream that illegal aliens ostensibly seek to join. Read more...

Lamenting the choice of Somali Americans to become suicide bombers back home, FBI Director Robert Mueller explained, “The prospect of young men, indoctrinated and radicalized within their own communities, and induced to travel to such countries to take up arms—and to kill themselves and perhaps many others—is a perversion of the immigrant story.” Read more...

The fragility of institutions is not a concern for most Americans. Despite our relatively short—and occasionally tumultuous—history, we view our situation with the hubris borne from beginning the world over again. There is a sense we are immune from the internal crises that threaten the civility of other parts of the world. Read more...

Senator John McCain’s choice of Governor Sarah Palin for vice president surprised most of the punditry, who are now chortling with glee over what they perceive as her lack of sophistication. What they actually deride is what the McCain camp is gambling will be her greatest strength—a life deeply rooted in a community far away from the corruption of Washington. Far from a liability, such localism is what has defined America and what most Americans embrace. And Senator McCain is hoping she can embody this sentiment. Read more...

A recent study published in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine finds that immigrant children are less likely to be physically active than their native-born peers. Close to 20 percent of foreign-born children get no physical exercise and 56 percent do not participate in organized sports. The results vary significantly among ethnic groups. Read more...