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A Gift to the Drug Cartels: Will New Mexico Become the New Arizona?
| [NOTE: In some versions of the press release, there is a reference to 125 miles of New Mexico border. That is incorrect; the release should refer to 25 miles.] The border area between New Mexico and Mexico is sparsely populated and has limited natural or man made barriers to illegal crossing. This, coupled with an extensive road network that traverses the state in all directions, makes New Mexico a haven for the transshipment of illegal drugs from Mexico to destination points throughout the United States. Read more... |
Panel Transcript: Crime Challenges from Illegal Immigration
| Related Publications: Video Moderator: Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies, Center for Immigration Studies Speakers: Representative Steve King (R-IA), Vice Chairman, Immigration Subcommittee, U.S. House of Representatives Sam Page, Sheriff, Rockingham County, North Carolina Steve Henry, Chief Deputy Sheriff, Pinal County, Arizona Dan Altena, Sheriff, Sioux County, Iowa Transcript by Read more... |
'Jimmy Hoffa in a Dress': Union Boss's Stranglehold on Mexican Education Creates Immigration Fallout
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Border Patrol Training Videos Say to "Hide", "Run Away" in Active Shooter Situations
| The National Border Patrol Council Local 2544 in Tucson, Ariz., is just a little angry. Local 2544, which is the largest Border Patrol union local with over 3,300 dues-paying members, tags itself as "the real border security experts". What are they angry about? Apparently, the current administration's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) senior officials have created what agents call "virtual brainwashing videos". Their website states that Border Patrol agents have been forced to take a virtual learning course on "active shooters" where the bottom line is that if they encounter an active shooter, as in Fort Hood, the Giffords shooting, or Columbine, they — as law enforcement officers — are to "run away" and "hide". Read more... |
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REAL ID Compliance and the Effect of Deferred Action
| Facing a final compliance deadline of today, January 15, 2013, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last month issued a press release providing a six-month grace period for states to become fully compliant with the federal driver's license law known as the REAL ID Act of 2005. DHS states that enforcement would then begin at the earliest in the autumn of 2013. Read more... |
Criminal Alien "DREAMer" Assaults ICE Agent, Gets Released on Prosecutorial Discretion
| The ICE enforcement agents' union is reporting an incident from earlier this week that illustrates the perverse results of the Obama administration's DREAM decree and "prosecutorial discretion" policies. An illegal alien, who is described as meeting the criteria for the president's DREAM amnesty, was arrested and jailed in El Paso, Texas, on a domestic assault charge. When ICE agents arrived at the jail for routine inmate screening, the 5'9", 245 lb. Read more... |
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Unmanageable and Unsustainable: A Review Essay on "The Latino Education Crisis: The Consequences of Failed Social Policies"
| Download a pdf of this Memorandum Read more... |
Immigrants in the United States - 2002
| Download this Backgrounder as a pdf Related Publication: Transcript, Video Read more... |
Utah Attorney General Unable to Effectively Defend Utah's Enforcement Law
| In early 2011, by an overwhelming vote of both houses, the Utah state legislature enacted an illegal immigration enforcement law (HB497) which has been described by its opponents as a "watered down version" of Arizona's SB1070. In spite of this, advocates for illegal aliens still filed suit to prevent it from taking effect. Unfortunately for the legislature that passed the law, the governor who signed it, and the citizens who support it, HB497 is being defended by Utah's Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff, who is an unwavering advocate for illegal aliens, an unabashed supporter of amnesty, and a key ally of the government of Mexico. Read more... |
Immigration-Related Theses and Dissertations, 2008
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Amnesty and the U.S. Labor Market
| The president and his political allies seem to believe that the kinds of jobs done by such workers are plentiful. However, the findings of this report show that the employment picture is bleak for less-educated native-born Americans, who are the most likely to compete with illegal immigrants for jobs. Read more... |
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California Limits E-Verify, Supports Illegal Hiring Practices
| 20 Municipalities Forced to Drop E-Verify Laws Read more... |
Law Prof Predicts Supreme Court Will Uphold S.B. 1070
| Temple University law professor (and CIS Fellow) Jan Ting analyzes the Supreme Court's decision to hear Arizona v. United States and predicts that S.B. 1070 will be upheld as constitutional in a new op-ed: Arizona law will be upheld Read more... |
Measuring the Fallout
| Summary The federal government began legalizing almost three million illegal aliens 10 years ago, on May 5, 1987, wary of the fiscal liabilities of opening more public assistance programs to a population with high needs and low taxpaying power. To ease the burden on the states, Washington closed some programs to the newly legalized for five years and reimbursed the states nearly $3.5 billion for some of their aid costs. Read more... |
Pro-Immigration Congressional Republicans Do Not Perform Better Among Latino Voters
| The Democratic Party enjoys a sizable advantage among Latino voters. It is largely taken for granted that Republicans can earn a greater share of the Latino vote if they support less restrictive immigration policies and legalization for illegal immigrants. This study examines public opinion data from 2006 to consider whether this is the case. Read more... |
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Strategic Negligence: How the Sierra Club's Distortions on Border and Immigration Policy Are Undermining its Environmental Legacy
| Download a pdf of this Memorandum Jerry Kammer is a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies. “To explore, enjoy, and protect the planet. To practice and promote the responsible use of the Earth’s ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out those objectives.” — Sierra Club mission statement. Read more... |
The Shape of a Future Immigration Deal?
| Two incremental immigration measures might pass in the next year, and their outlines are clear. Read more... |
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The Fiscal and Economic Impact of Immigration on the United States
| When considering the economics of immigration, there are three related but distinct issues that should not be confused. First, immigration makes the U.S. economy (GDP) larger. However, by itself a larger economy is not a benefit to native-born Americans. Though the immigrants themselves benefit, there is no body of research indicating that immigration substantially increases the per-capita GDP or income of natives. Read more... |
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Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants and the Employment Picture for Less-Educated Americans
| Of the estimated 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States, seven to eight million are thought to be holding a job. Rather than enforce immigration laws and encourage them to return home, President Obama and eight U.S. Senators have proposed legislation that would provide work authorization and legal status to illegal immigrants. Read more... |
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Document Fraud in Employment Authorization
| A hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement Washington, DC April 18, 2012 Statement of Ronald W. Mortensen Fellow Center for Immigration Studies Read more... |
How USCIS Has Tilted DACA Decision-Making
| Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the ranking GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, respectively, have uncovered an outrageous, but not entirely surprising, feature of the way in which the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amnesty program is being carried out. Read more... |
Too Many: Looking Today's Immigration in the Face
| National Review, July 29, 2002 When the history of the 1990s is written, the most important story may not be the GOP takeover of Congress, the boom economy, or the Clinton impeachment. The big story may be the decade's unprecedented level of immigration: a social phenomenon of enormous significance, affecting everything from the nation's schools to the political balance between the two parties. Read more... |
Senate Bill Rewards & Protects Lawbreakers, Undermines Law Enforcement
| A thorough analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies of S.744 finds that the enforcement and compliance provisions of the Gang of Eight bill are designed to reward and protect lawbreakers while undermining many effective and common-sense provisions in our immigration law. A number of the provisions mask their true intent under innocuous or downright misleading titles. The enforcement-related measures in this bill have profound implications for public safety and will greatly hamper federal and local law enforcement programs designed to prevent criminals and terrorists from settling and operating here. Because the bill essentially excuses nearly all forms of immigration and identity fraud, the integrity of our immigration system is greatly compromised by this bill. Read more... |
Jorge Ramos and Mitt Romney's Nationality
| There is considerable Internet discussion underway about the Mexican roots of Mitt Romney's family. It's a fascinating and complex story. Unfortunately, Univision anchor Jorge Ramos has muddied the waters with the simplistic suggestion that Romney is actually Mexican-American. In his interview last week with Romney, Ramos introduced the story by equating Romney's background with that of Bill Richardson. Read more... |
Welfare Use By Immigrant- and Native-Headed Households with Children
| In 2008, 53 percent of all households headed by an immigrant (legal or illegal) with one or more children under age 18 used at least one welfare program, compared to 36 percent for native households with children. Immigrant use of welfare tends to be much higher than natives for food assistance programs and Medicaid. Use of cash and housing programs tends to be very similar to natives. A large share of the welfare used by immigrants is received on behalf of their U.S.-born children. But even households with children comprised entirely of immigrants still have a welfare use rate of 47 percent. Read more... |