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Immigration Policy
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In the Spring of 2006, in response to legislation known as H.R. 4437, which was designed to criminalize undocumented workers and their supporters, millions of people took to the streets across the United States in the largest civic mobilization in our nation's history. The astounding outpouring turned back the most regressive immigration legislation proposed in more than half a century.
Mexico sends more migrant workers across its borders than any other country in the world. Almost 500,000 Mexicans emigrate to the United States every year, most of them crossing the border to seek employment in the agriculture, construction and service industries. In response, policy propositions—such as building higher walls along the border, expanding guest worker programs, and even deporting all 12 million undocumented workers—have missed the primary root cause of the issue: the economic displacement of those workers in Mexico.
See below for news articles and in-depth reports on immigration policies.
Mexican Labor Migration and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): 1994-2006-- by Juan Manuel Sandoval Palacios, Ph.D. (2007).
The Current Population Survey (CPS) can be used to provide a detailed picture of the nation's population, including information about welfare use, health insurance coverage, poverty rates, entrepreneurship, and many other characteristics. The purpose of this Backgrounder is to examine immigration's impact on the United States so as to better inform the debate over what kind of immigration policy should be adopted in the future.
Reaping the Seeds We Sow: U.S. Farm Policy and the Immigration Dilemma--Building Sustainable Futures for Farmers Globally (2007).
A central factor exacerbating the economic instability of the poor in Mexico, and increasing the migration from Mexico, is the United States' own flawed agriculture policies. Read how U.S. agriculture policy has created a de facto immigration policy.
Summary of Senate "Grand Bargain" -- American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) (May 17, 2007).
See AILA's outline of the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2007.
The Political Economy of Migration -- by David Bacon (2007).
Are the fleeing Oaxacans job seekers or refugees? They're both, of course. But in the U.S. and other wealthy countries, economic rights are not considered human rights. In this official view, hunger doesn't create political refugees. In effect, the whole process that pushes people north is outside the parameters of political debate. The key part of that process is displacement, an unmentionable word in the Washington discourse.
Immigration and America's Future: A New Chapter -- Report of the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future (2006).
International migration is transforming not only the United States, but also more countries than at any time in history. The United States has long been a world leader in welcoming and integrating newcomers. Yet, our nation's official immigration policies are increasingly disconnected from the economic and social forces that drive immigration.
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