Musings on Immigration

Much has been written and said about the new Arizona Law pertaining to immigrants (it pertains to everyone actually, and certainly is not limited to undocumented immigrants). From Eugene Robinson and Richard Cohen at the Washington Post, to John Stewart on The Daily Show , and even Tom Tancredo , everyone is up in arms about this law. We have heard from Megan McCain (John McCain’s daughter), President Obama , and even from Governor Jan “Show Me Your Papers” Brewer , all opine about the law and WHY the Arizona Legislature had to act on “illegal” immigration. The conventional wisdom now is that Congress will be “forced” to act on immigration reform . The caution to understand here, from pundits and politicians alike is that the prospect of immigration reform based upon a knee jerk reaction to an unconstitutional law does not change the inherent political dynamics in Congress. Immigration reform needs 60 votes to pass the Senate. The lone Republican who was supporting reform, Senator...

One of my favorite movie lines is from “ The Princess Bride .” Vizzini, the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Princess Buttercup, upon seeing the Man in Black pursuing them keeps repeating the word “inconceivable.” Finally, Inigo Montoya, one of of Vizzini’s then assistants says: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” That simple statement applies to so much in the immigration law world that it is hard to even define situations where it does not apply. Much of what we deal with is really about our perception of what the law is, not about what the law actually says. This is true for legislation and for court decisions. Today, this statement seemed more true than ever. I received an email from the Center for Immigration Studies, the anti-immigration “think tank,” promoting a new web program it is hosting on “Local Law Enforcement Authority to Check Immigration Status.” This email comes with this teaser: This program . . . “discusses a recent court ...

Yesterday the USCIS released its FY 2009 immigrant visa numbers . More than a million people legally immigrated to the United States in FY 2009. Almost 60% of those folks did so through the adjustment of status process, meaning they were already in the U.S. when their place in line was reached. While not disclosed by USCIS, the supposition is that a number of those folks were actually out of status or, even undocumented, and were able to adjust status using INA 245(i), the penalty law still available to anyone who was a direct or derivative beneficiary of an immigrant visa petition or labor certification filed before April 30, 2001. The most telling part of this report was the tiny portion used by employment based immigrants. The top three employer-based preferences in terms of green cards issued to the “principal” immigrant (not including their family members) remained the same in 2009 as the prior year—professionals with advanced degrees and aliens of exceptional ability (22,098), sk...

The case of a 7-year-old Russian boy who was returned to Moscow by his adoptive U.S. mother has highlighted the challenges families face when an international adoption goes wrong. For those of you that don’t know, an American woman, Tori Hansen, adopted a little boy in Russia. He had been removed from his alcoholic biological mother’s care a few years ago and put in an institution. He came to the United States, resided in the home of Ms. Hansen as her adopted son for several months and then last week, she put him on a plane back to Russia with a note pinned inside his jacket that read “I no longer wish to parent this child.” Apparently the child had emotional difficulties, was violent and difficult to control. That Hansen wasn’t aware of his potential problems prior to the adoption is hard to believe. A quick internet search of “Russia” and “older children” and “adoption” yields a host of potential challenges, including attachment disorders, behavioral problems and psychological iss...

David Campos, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, states that now is the time to fix the immigration system. After more than a year of campaigning, President Obama finally won much-needed and long-overdue changes to our health care system. Achieving what four other presidents could not, Obama broke through the political impasse to obtain health care coverage for the vast majority of uninsured Americans. The president now needs to take this mandate and act quickly on what should be the next major item on his domestic agenda: modernizing our immigration system. Comprehensive immigration reform requires a balanced and measured approach that includes a broad legalization component, a foreign policy that promotes meaningful and equitable economic development in the region, and humane enforcement measures that strengthen, rather than divide, local communities. Right now, more than 12 million people live under the shadow of fear because they lack legal immigration status. Many...

The Center for American Progress released a report detailing the actual cost of the only solution proposed by anti-immigration restrictionists–Mass Deportation. In “ The Costs of Mass Deportation ,”Marshal Fitz, Gebe Martinez and Madura Wijewardena have put together a realistic appraisal of the costs of the only option other than comprehensive immigration reform. It is not a pretty picture. With costs over 5 years of $285 BILLION dollars (money which most folks understand that we do not have), we are faced with what appears to be an easy choice. One, bring 12 million people out of the shadow economy and into the light. Allow them to pay taxes. Allow them to drive without fear. Allow them to live with their families. Allow them to generate wealth in the greatest economic engine ever created by man, the U.S. economy. Change our legal immigration system to eliminate outrageous non-immigrant and immigrant visa delays and encourage the immigration to the U.S. of the best and the brightest. ...

Are we back in the 70’s? As a child of the 70’s myself, I have not so fond memories of the economy and the politics of that era. I am experiencing a sort of deja vu right now as I consider the possibility of immigration reform happening during this Congress. Now, don’t get me wrong. there were good things about the 70’s. At some point I will think of them and write a blog about them. But, for now, let’s focus on the parallels that cause me concern. The 70’s were famous for “stagflation.” a seemingly unending period of increasing prices, no or slow growth, coupled with a general feeling of the blah’s among the American People. We had lost our “mojo.” It was tough to find jobs, and what jobs you could find were not one’s you wanted to do. The politics of the era were even worse. Simply put: Vietnam, Watergate, Nixon, Ford, Carter. Not exactly a pantheon of great issues or leaders. Here we are in 2010. We have a non-growing economy, with no “stagflation” but with a general sense of the “b...