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Resources - REGARDING THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE

MYTHS AND REALITIES:

Undocumented Immigrants: Myths and Realities; Randolf Capps and Michael E. Fix; Urban Institute: November 1, 2005. http://www.urban.org/publications/900898.html

Five Myths about Immigration: Common Misconceptions Underlying U.S. Border-Enforcement Policy; Douglas S. Massey, Ph.D. Immigration Policy Center: August 2005. http://www.ailf.org/ipc/infocus/2005_fivemyths.pdf

IMMIGRANTS AND JOBS:

The Labor Force Status of Short-Term Unauthorized Workers; A study by the Pew Hispanic Center. Fact sheet, April 13, 2006. http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/16.pdf

What Kind of Work Do Immigrants Do? Occupation and Industry of Foreign-Born Workers in the United States; A fact sheet examine in what sectors of the U.S. economy immigrants work versus native-born workers. Migration Policy Institute: January 2004. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/five_industry_occupation_foreign_born.pdf

Immigrants' Complementarities and Native Wages: Evidence from California; Giovanni Peri, Ph.D. Study finds that “(a)s immigrants were imperfect substitutes for natives with similar education and age …..they stimulated, rather than harmed, the demand and wages of most U.S. native workers. National Bureau of Economic Research working paper: March 2007. http://www.nber.org/papers/w12956

IMMIGRANTS AND THE ECONOMY:

Foreign Born Workforce and Native-Born Employment; A study by the Pew Hispanic Center that examines data during the boom years of the 1990s and the downturn and recovery since 2000 finds that rapid increases in the foreign-born population at the state level are not associated with negative effects on the employment of native-born workers. Report, August 10, 2006. http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/69.pdf

Replacing the Undocumented Work Force; David A. Jaeger, Ph.D. Study finds that if undocumented workers were removed from the workforce, there would be a shortfall of 2.5 million low-skill workers, but there is also a “severe mismatch” between the skills that undocumented workers perform and those of the native-born workforce. Center for American Progress, March 2006. http://www.americanprogress.org/kf/undocumented_workforce.pdf

Immigrants, Skills and Wages: Measuring the Economic Effects of Immigration; Giovanni Peri, Ph.D. Report finds that “the complementary nature of the skills, occupations, and abilities of foreign-born workers increases the productivity of natives, stimulates investment, and enhances the choices available to consumers. As a result, immigration increases the average wages of all native-born workers, except those who do not have a high-school diploma,” and that even for the latter, the decline in wages is less than some have estimated. Immigration Policy Center: March 2006. http://www.econ.ucdavis.edu/faculty/gperi/reports/2006_skillswages_finalreport.pdf

Is the New Immigration Really So Bad? David Card, Ph.D. Reports that “evidence that immigrants have harmed the opportunities of less educated natives is scant,” and that children of immigrants assimilate well: ”second generation sons and daughters have higher education and wages than the children of natives.” U.C. Berkeley, Dept. of Economics: January 2005. http://www.philadelphiafed.org/econ/conf/immigration/card.pdf

The Immigration Equation; Roger Lowenstein. Article analyzing the impact of immigrants on the economy and competing economic theories on the issue. The New York Times: July 9, 2006. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E6DE1330F93AA35754C0A9609C8B63

IMMIGRANTS AND ASSIMILATION:

Hispanic Attitudes towards Learning English; Finds that “Hispanics by a large margin believe that immigrants have to speak English to be a part of American society and even more so that English should be taught to the children of immigrants.” Study by the Pew Hispanic Center, with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Fact sheet June 7, 2006. http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/20.pdf

Adult English Language Instruction in the United States: Determining Need and Investing Wisely; Margie McHugh, Julia Gelatt, and Michael Fix. Report finds serious lack of available English language classes for adult immigrants who want to learn English and estimates that to have an adequate level of classes to reach proficiency “necessary for civic integration or to begin post-secondary education, approximately 5.8 million adult lawful permanent residents (LPRs) currently in the United States will need about 277 million hours of English language instruction a year for six years (at a cost of) $200 million a year for six years over and above current expenditures.” Migration Policy Institute: July 2007. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/NCIIP_English_Instruction073107.pdf

EFFECTIVENESS OF POLICIES FOCUSING ON “SECURING THE BORDER”:

Backfire at the Border: Why Enforcement without Legalization Cannot Stop Illegal Immigration; Douglas S. Massey. Analysis notes that as border enforcement measures and costs have increased, costs of apprehension have gone up, while rates of apprehension have gone down, and the report concludes that border enforcement will not curtail illegal immigration if not accompanied by new avenues to enter the United States legally. The Cato Institute: June 13, 2005. http://www.freetrade.org/pubs/pas/tpa-029.pdf

IMMIGRANTS AND CRIME:

The Myth of Immigrant Criminality and the Paradox of Assimilation: Incarceration Rates among Native and Foreign-Born Men: Rubén Rumbaut and Walter Ewing. Report analyzes data and finds that immigrants have lower rates of incarceration than native-born citizens. Immigration Policy Center: Spring 2007.

IMMIGRANTS AND PUBLIC BENEFITS:

TImmigrans’ Costs and Contributions:: The Effects of Reform: Testimony Prepared for the Committee on Ways and Means U.S. House of Representatives Hearing on the Impacts of Border Security and Immigration on Ways and Means Programs; Michael Fix: Testimony notes that legal immigrants are barred from accessing federal public benefits for at least five years, and use by immigrants of federal public benefits was lower than that of native-born citizens both before and after “Welfare Reform.” Migration Policy Institute: July 26, 2006. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/FixTestimony072606.pdf

Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security with Billions; Eduardo Porter. Article finding that undocumented workers contribute up to $7 billion annually in Social Security taxes that they will not be able to collect, helping to shore up the Social Security surplus. New York Times; April 5, 2005. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/05/business/05immigration.html?pagewanted=1

GOVERNMENT RESOURCES

US Citizenship and Immigration Services
www.uscis.gov

Selective Service
www.sss.gov

IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS

National Immigration Project
www.nationalimmigrationproject.org

Immigrant Legal Resource Center
www.ilrc.org

ACLU Immigrant Rights Project
www.aclu.org/immigrants/index.html

American Immigration Lawyers Association
www.aila.org

Lutheran Immigrant & Refugee Services
www.lirs.org

US Committee for Refugees
www.refugees.org

National Immigration Law Center
www.nilc.org

SOURCES FOR IMMIGRATION LAWYERS

American Immigration Lawyers Association
www.aila.org

Immigration Lawyers on the Web
www.ilw.com

HUMAN RIGHTS RESOURCES

Human Rights Watch
www.hrw.org

Amnesty International
www.amnesty.org

Refugee Law Center
www.refugeelawcenter.org

Human Rights First
www.humanrightsfirst.org

University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
www.umn.edu/humanrts

US Department of State
www.state.gov

Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law
www.wcl.american.edu/pub/humright

Center for Gender and Refugee Studies
www.uchastings.edu/cgrs

RESEARCH ABOUT IMMIGRANTS

Urban Institute
www.urban.org

Pew Hispanic Center
www.pewhispanic.org

Migration Policy Institute
www.migrationpolicy.org

RESOURCES REGARDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Family Violence Prevention Fund
www.endabuse.org

National Immigration Project
www.nationalimmigrationproject.org

National Center for Health Statistics (How to Obtain U.S. Birth, Death, Marriage & Divorce Certificates)
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs

IMMIGRANTS AND “WELFARE REFORM”

The Urban Institute
www.urban.org

National Immigration Law Center
www.nilc.org

Economic Success Clearinghouse
http://www.financeproject.org/irc/win.asp

Pew Hispanic Center
www.pewhispanic.org

National Immigration Law Center
www.nilc.org

National Immigration Forum
www.immigrationforum.org

RESOURCES IN MAINE