For more information, go to the League of Women Voters U.S. Immigration Study
In addition to background material from LWVUS, you might be interested in some online papers and articles
1. Human interest article about an illegal immigrant facing deportation
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/01/america/01deport.php
2. Lessons learned from the last legalization of immigrants in 1986 – see Migration Policy Institute newsletter
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/PolicyBrief_No3_Aug05.pdf
3. Background paper on general idea of earned legalization of immigration status -- from the Migration Policy Institute
http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=330
4. Estimate from ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) on projected costs of total deportation of all undocumented
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/12/deportation.cost/index.html#cnnSTCText
5. Estimate from a think tank puts deportation option cost higher. See PDF file at
http://www.americanprogress.org/kf/deporting_the_undocumented.pdf
Extra Information:
USCIS Faces Criticism over Visa Backlog
A report on USCIS backlogs, actions to limit access to driver's licenses in Oregon and Maine, the latest on "no-match" letters, and more (from: Migration Policy Institute).
Refugees and Asylees in the United States
In 2006, the US admitted more than 41,000 refugees for resettlement and granted asylum to more than 26,000 people. …A detailed look at refugee and asylum statistics in the United States. And The US Refugee Resettlement Program (both from: Migration Policy Institute)
Extremely detailed discussion of Foreign Students in the United States: Policies and Legislation from the Congressional Research Service
BELOW ARE LINKS TO EXTRA INFORMATION
From Migration Policy Institute:
Worksite Enforcement & Employment Verification
An Idea Whose Time Has Finally Come? The Case for Employment Verification
By Tamar Jacoby, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute - Task Force Policy Brief No. 9, November 2005
Although the Immigration Reform and Control Act made it a crime to hire unauthorized immigrants, it failed to give employers the tools they need to determine who is authorized to work and who isn't -- a reliable, automated employment verification system. The author suggests that what is needed is a process not unlike credit-card verification that allows employers to swipe a card at the point of hire and receive a response in real time from the Social Security Administration.
Immigration Enforcement at the Worksite: Making it Work
By Visiting Scholar Marc R. Rosenblum -- Task Force Policy Brief No. 6, November 2005
The author lays out six critical reforms necessary to construct a coherent worksite enforcement system, including limits on documents proving identity and work authorization, changes to shift the burden of applicant screening from employers to the government, and more efficient use of employment databases to target non-compliant employers.
Eligible to Work?: Experimentations in Verifying Work Authorization
By Kevin Jernegan - Task Force Insight No. 8, November 2005
The author describes the Basic Pilot program currently in use to verify employees' work eligibility. He notes that the successes and failures of the efforts undertaken to date can inform proposals for future employment authorization and verification initiatives.
The Declining Enforcement of Employer Sanctions
By Peter Brownell at University of California, Berkeley
Migration Information Source, September 2005
On Border Enforcement and National Security
Document Security Provisions: What's in the Cards?
By Dawn Konet -- Fact Sheet No. 17, June 2007
This Fact Sheet provides a chart of the security features -- from photos and fingerprints to holograms and lamination -- of documents issued by government agencies and used by US residents to work, travel and verify their identities. Notably, there have been no significant security changes to the Social Security card, one of the most commonly used to show work eligibility.
US Border Enforcement: From Horseback to High-Tech
By Deborah W. Meyers -- Task Force Policy Brief No. 7, November 2005
Border Patrol funding has grown more than 500 percent over the last two decades, as legislative and policy changes specified concentrated and enhanced personnel and technological resources. This review of border enforcement history raises a number of policy questions, with the primary one being whether border enforcement has been effective.
Spotlight on US Immigration Enforcement
By David Dixon - Migration Information Source, September 2005
Of the 186,151 individuals formally removed in 2003, 40 percent entered without authorization. MPI's David Dixon briefly explains the US approach to immigration enforcement and looks at apprehension, detention, and removal statistics.
Evaluating Enhanced US Border Enforcement
By Wayne Cornelius, Director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, University of California-San Diego -- Migration Information Source, May 2004
Documentation Provisions of the Real ID Act
By Kevin Jernegan -- Task Force Backgrounder No. 11, November 2005
The Real ID Act seeks to meet the US security imperative to have a reliable system for confirming and individual’s identity, prevent fraud and capitalize on possible gains from information-sharing among law enforcement agencies. However, concerns range from cost issues to the difficulty of constructing safeguards against misuse of the data.
Immigration Enforcement: Beyond the Border and the Workplace
By David A. Martin, MPI nonresident fellow and professor of International Law at the University of Virginia -- Task Force Policy Brief No. 19, July 2006
In addition to effective border and workplace enforcement, other key enforcement improvements are necessary. The government must assure that removal orders are enforced through expansion of the use of fugitive operations teams; wider application of civil and criminal penalties to absconders; more strategic use of detention, including in connection with supervised release programs; and shortening hearing times while preserving due process, including testing the efficiency effects of government-provided counsel through a limited pilot project. Government reforms must also build better protections against fraud into the systems leading to a grant of benefits and mainstream immigration enforcement.
Immigration and Temporary Worker Programs
Trends in the Low-Wage Immigrant Workforce
By Randy Capps, Karina Fortuny, and Michael Fix
Urban Institute, March 2007
In 2005, immigrants overall represented more than a fifth of low-wage workers and almost half of workers without a high school education. This report describes recent trends in the immigrant labor force and their implications for the US economy.
US Employment-Based Admissions: Permanent and Temporary
By Susan Martin, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University
Task Force Policy Brief No. 15, January 2006
The pros and cons of existing temporary worker programs in the United States include giving employers a chance to test employees for their contributions to society and the economy, but in some cases, making temporary workers vulnerable to exploitation because they are dependent on specific employers or jobs for their legal status.
The Growing Connection Between Temporary and Permanent Immigration Systems
By Jeanne Batalova - Task Force Insight No. 14, January 2006
The distinction between temporary and permanent migration, clearly demarcated in past decades, has become increasingly blurred. A new immigrant admissions system has emerged that is neither temporary nor permanent, but rather a transitional system that allows visa holders to prove their worth to employers and the broader economy. The author also concludes that data collection must be improved so that legislators have an accurate basis for designing improved programs and policies.
Temporary Worker Programs: A Patchwork Policy Response
By Deborah W. Meyers
Task Force Insight No. 12, January 2006
In fiscal year 2004, the volume of admissions to the United States for temporary workers, trainees, and their dependants reached nearly 1.5 million people. Within these employment-based visa categories, temporary workers have dramatic variations of stay that range from three months to ten years, and many are transitioning to the permanent system.
US Temporary Worker Programs: Lessons Learned
By Doris Meissner - Migration Information Source, March 2004
Immigration Costs
The impact of unauthorized immigration on the budgets of state and local governments
(from: Congressional Budget Office)
Immigration & Foreign Policy
Fostering Cooperation Between Source and Destination Countries
(from: Migration Policy Institute)
Migration as a Factor in Development and Poverty Reduction
(from: Migration Policy Institute)
