Archive
Relief from Deportation: Demographic Profile of the DREAMers Potentially Eligible under the Deferred Action Policy
Source: Migration Policy Institute
As many as 1.76 million unauthorized immigrants under the age of 31 who were brought to the United States as children could gain a two-year grant of relief from deportation, according to updated Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates that take into account the more detailed eligibility guidelines outlined by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on August 3, 2012.
The estimates are up from the 1.39 million figure that MPI released on June 15 — reflecting the updated DHS guidelines that youth lacking a high school or GED degree would be eligible to apply for deferred action as long as they have re-enrolled by the date of their application. MPI estimates 350,000 unauthorized young adult immigrants (ages 16 and older) without a high school degree or GED could potentially be eligible for relief from deportation if they meet the enrollment criteria.
Contested Ground: Immigration in the United States
Contested Ground: Immigration in the United States (PDF)
Though historically a country of immigrants, the United States has seen its demographic landscape altered in new and important ways as a result of the changing nature of immigration flows. In recent decades, immigration has come increasingly from Latin America and significant numbers of immigrants are unauthorized. The spread of immigration beyond traditional immigrant destinations to communities with little prior experience of migration has sparked anxiety among the American public. This report, part of a Transatlantic Council on Migration series on national identity in the age of migration, traces public sentiment and immigration policy developments of recent decades.
Understanding ‘Canadian Exceptionalism’ in Immigration and Pluralism Policy
Understanding ‘Canadian Exceptionalism’ in Immigration and Pluralism Policy (PDF)
Canada is far more open to, and optimistic about, immigration than the United States and countries in Europe, despite having a greater proportion of immigrants in its population than other Western countries. A frequently cited reason for this Canadian exceptionalism is Canada’s selection of most immigrants through a points system that admits people based on skills thought to contribute to the economy. Economic selection and a geography that discourages illegal immigration are not the only factors explaining Canada’s unique experience, however. This report, part of a Transatlantic Council on Migration series on national identity, examines Canadian national identity, public opinion, immigration and immigrant integration policy, and multiculturalism.
State Legislatures Enact 206 Immigration Related Bills and Resolutions in First Half of 2012 – Down 20 % From Same Period Last Year
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures
Lawmakers in 41 states enacted 114 bills and adopted 92 resolutions dealing with immigration in the first half of 2012. The immigration activity is detailed in a new report from the National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) Immigrant Policy Project released Monday at the NCSL Legislative Summit.
This marks a decrease of 20 percent from the 257 laws and resolutions enacted in the first half of 2011. Law enforcement and identification/driver’s licenses remained the leading issues addressed by state legislatures, comprising 18 percent and 11 percent respectively, of all enacted laws on immigration.
European Immigrants in the United States
European Immigrants in the United States
Source: Migration Policy Institute
Formerly the largest US immigrant group, European-born immigrants have seen their numbers decline in the United States over the past 50 years (notwithstanding a period of growth after the collapse of the Soviet Union). Though the number of these immigrants fell by only several million in numerical terms, the share of all European immigrants in the United States plummeted from nearly 75 percent in 1960 to 12 percent in 2010. At the same time, Eastern European immigrants have represented a larger share of that smaller pie during the past two decades.
Compared to the overall foreign-born population, European immigrants in the United States in 2010 were more likely as a group to be elderly, proficient in English, and naturalized US citizens as well as having higher levels of education. They also tended to work in higher-skilled occupations and were less likely to live in poverty.
This Spotlight focuses on European immigrants residing in the United States, examining the population’s size, geographic distribution, admission categories, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Data are from the US Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey (ACS), the 2000 Decennial Census (as well as earlier censuses), and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS).
Exchanging People for Money: Remittances and Repatriation in Central America
Exchanging People for Money: Remittances and Repatriation in Central America (PDF)
Source: Bread for the World Institute
Immigrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras sent home more than $10 billion in remittances in 2011— almost all of it from the United States. Remittances comprised 17 percent of GDP in Honduras, 16 percent in El Salvador, and 10 percent in Guatemala and they dwarf both foreign direct investment and overseas development assistance. Remittances reduce poverty and help millions of families that receive them obtain food, clothing, education, housing, and health care, but they can also create dependence on the diaspora. Their greatest potential— fueling productive investment that generates jobs and income and reduces immigration pressure—is often untapped. In addition to the flow of money back to Central America, in recent years the number of immigrants returning from the United States to their home countries has increased. During fiscal year 2011, the United States deported a record 396,906 unauthorized immigrants, including more than 76,000 Central Americans. Central American governments are unprepared for these returned migrants. Many deportees end up re-migrating to the United States because of the lack of opportunities in their native countries.
MPI Releases Estimates of Unauthorized Immigrant Population Potentially Eligible for Prosecutorial Discretion
Source: Migration Policy Institute
As many as 1.4 million unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children could gain relief from deportation under the Obama administration’s grant of deferred action, according to new MPI estimates for the nation and top states of residence.
New From the GAO
New GAO Testimonies
Source: Government Accountability Office
1. Federal Protective Service: Preliminary Results on Efforts to Assess Facility Risks and Oversee Contract Guards, by Mark L. Goldstein, director, physical infrastructure, before the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies, House Committee on Homeland Security. GAO-12-943T, July 24.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-943T
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/592884.pdf
2. Student and Exchange Visitor Program: DHS Needs to Take Actions to Strengthen Monitoring of Schools, by Rebecca Gambler, acting director, homeland security and justice, before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security, Senate Committee on the Judiciary. GAO-12-895T, July 24.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-895T
3. Afghanistan Security: Long-standing Challenges May Affect Progress and Sustainment of Afghan National Security Forces, by Charles Michael Johnson Jr., director, international affairs and trade, and Sharon L. Pickup, director, defense capabilities and management, before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House Armed Services Committee. GAO-12-951T, July 24.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-951T
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/592914.pdf
Immigration Offenders In The Federal Justice System, 2010
Immigration Offenders In The Federal Justice System, 2010
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics
Presents data on criminal and civil immigration violations handled by the federal justice system over the last decade. The report examines the various ways immigration violator cases are processed based on the type of offense, the suspect’s prior record, and the district in which the suspect is apprehended. Tables describe the demographic characteristics of criminal immigration offenders, adjudication and sentencing outcomes, and the number of criminal immigration offenders returning to federal prison within 3 years of release from previous federal imprisonment. Data in the report come from the Federal Justice Statistics Program (FJSP) and from documentation published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
Highlights include the following:
- Apprehensions for immigration violations peaked at 1.8 million in 2000 but dropped to 516,992 in 2010—the lowest level since 1972.
- The most common immigration offense charged in U.S. district court in 2010 was illegal reentry (81%), followed by alien smuggling (12%), misuse of visas (6%) and illegal entry (1%).
- Eighty-one percent of immigration defendants who were convicted in U. S. district court received a prison sentence in 2010. The median prison term imposed was 15 months.
The Search for Skills: Demand for H-1B Immigrant Workers in U.S. Metropolitan Areas
The Search for Skills: Demand for H-1B Immigrant Workers in U.S. Metropolitan Areas
Source: Brookings Institution
An analysis of the geography of H-1B visa requests — particularly in the metropolitan areas with the highest demand between 2001 and 2011 — reveals that:
Demand for H-1B workers has fluctuated with economic and political cycles over the last decade and reflects a wide range of employers’ needs for high-skilled temporary workers.
Employer requests have exceeded the number of visas issued every year except from 2001 to 2003 when the annual cap was temporarily raised from 65,000 to 195,000. Employers requesting the most H-1B visas are large companies subject to the cap specializing in information technology, consulting, and electronics manufacturing. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations account for almost two-thirds of requests for H-1B workers; healthcare, finance, business, and life sciences occupations are also in high demand. Over the last decade the federal government has distributed about $1 billion from H-1B visa fees to fund programs to address skills shortages in the U.S. workforce.
One hundred and six metropolitan areas had at least 250 requests for H-1B workers in the 2010–2011 period, accounting for 91 percent of all requests but only 67 percent of the national workforce.
Considerable variation exists among these metro areas in the number of workers requested and the ratio of requests to the size of the total metro workforce. On average, there were 3.3 requests for H-1Bs per 1,000 workers in these 106 metro areas, compared to 2.4 for the nation as a whole.
Metropolitan areas vary by the number of employers using the H-1B program and the cap status of the employers.
Demand in corporate metro areas (such as Columbus, IN and Seattle, WA) comes predominantly from private employers subject to the annual visa cap, while in research metro areas (such as Durham, NC and Ann Arbor, MI), the demand is driven by universities and other research institutions exempted from the cap. In mixed metro areas (such as Atlanta, GA and Trenton, NJ), a variety of employers are demanding temporary highskilled foreign workers.In 92 of the 106 high demand metropolitan areas, STEM occupations accounted for more than half of all requests.
Computer occupations were the most highly requested occupation group in all but 11 metros of the 106 high-demand metros, where engineering, healthcare practitioners, and postsecondary teachers were more requested. Metropolitan areas also vary on occupational concentration, ranging from 74 occupation groups requested in the New York metro area, to 15 groups requested in Bloomington, IL.H-1B visa fees designated for skills training and STEM education have not been proportionately distributed to metro areas requesting the highest number of H-1B workers.
Metropolitan areas with a high demand for H-1B workers are only receiving $3.09 on average per working age person 16 years or older of the technical skills training grants compared to $15.26 for metros that have a lower demand for H-1Bs from 2001-2011. STEM education funds are similarly distributed with the high H-1B metros receiving only $1.00 per working age person 16 years or older compared to $14.10 in the low H-1B metros.
International Sales Continue to Climb in U.S. Market, Realtors® Report
International Sales Continue to Climb in U.S. Market, Realtors® Report
Source: National Association of Realtors®
Due to low prices and the relative weakness of the dollar, international buyers continue to identify the U.S. as a desirable place to own property and make a profitable investment.
According to the National Association of Realtors® 2012 Profile of International Home Buying Activity, total residential international sales in the U.S. for the past year ending March 2012 equaled $82.5 billion, up from $66.4 billion in 2011. Total international sales were evenly split between non-resident foreigners and recent immigrants.
EU citizens living in another Member State accounted for 2.5% of the EU population in 2011
EU citizens living in another Member State accounted for 2.5% of the EU population in 2011
Source: Eurostat
In 2011, 33.3 million foreign citizens1 lived in the EU27 Member States, accounting for 6.6% of the EU27 population. This foreign population comprised 12.8 million EU citizens living in another Member State, i.e. 2.5% of the EU27 population, and 20.5 million non EU citizens, i.e. 4.1% of the EU27 population.
These figures come from a report2 published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
…
n 2011, the largest numbers of foreign citizens were recorded in Germany (7.2 million persons or 9% of the total population), Spain (5.7 million or 12%), Italy (4.6 million or 8%), the United Kingdom (4.5 million or 7%) and France (3.8 million or 6%). In total, more than 75% of the foreign citizens in the EU27 lived in these five Member States.Among the EU27 Member States, the highest proportion of foreign citizens in the population was observed in Luxembourg (43% of the total population), followed by Cyprus (20%), Latvia3 (17%) and Estonia3 (16%). The percentage of foreign citizens was less than 2% in Poland, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia.
Focusing on EU citizens, Luxembourg recorded the highest proportion of foreign EU citizens (37% of the total population), followed by Cyprus (13%), Belgium and Ireland (both 7%), Spain (5%) and Austria (4%).
Chile: A Growing Destination Country in Search of a Coherent Approach to Migration
Chile: A Growing Destination Country in Search of a Coherent Approach to Migration
Source: Migration Policy Institute
Cornered in the southeast extreme of the Americas, Chile developed as a socially and culturally insular country unaccustomed to the presence of large numbers of foreigners. Its geographic isolation between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean set up early European immigrants as arbiters of who could arrive next, engendering early discriminatory migration policies. The desire by established immigrants to encourage other white Europeans to populate the country and “improve the race” was evident in policies that resulted in the influx of European immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. Although the overall number of immigrants during this early period was relatively small compared to other countries in the Southern Cone, their presence transformed the country technologically, economically, and culturally.
Chile is mostly known as an immigrant-sending country, as throughout much of its history, the foreign born have remained a tiny share (1 percent to 2 percent) of the total population. Between 750,000 and 1 million Chileans live abroad (about 6 percent of the country’s population), according to the latest governmental estimates in 2005.
Today, continuing economic growth and reconsolidated political stability have positioned Chile as an emerging country of destination. Over the past three decades, Chile has experienced a steady increase in its foreign-born population. But because of its isolation and history of emigration, Chile has few formally established migration policies, and the ones in force are outdated. With a large community abroad and the increase in intra- and extra-regional immigration during the past decade, the country has shown the need for a modernized and coherent migration policy. However, governmental efforts toward achieving comprehensive migration policy have been mostly piecemeal, making this goal elusive.
Monthly Labor Review — June 2012
Monthly Labor Review — June 2012
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Time use of youths by immigrant and native-born parents: ATUS results
Yelizavetta Kofman and Suzanne M. Bianchi
Summary | Full text in PDFWhich industries are shifting the Beveridge curve?
Regis Barnichon, Michael Elsby, Bart Hobijn, and Aysegül Sahin
Summary | Full text in PDFThe hard truth about telecommuting
Mary C. Noonan and Jennifer L. Glass
Summary | Full text in PDFIndustry shifts in hours and nonfatal work injuries and illnesses, 2003–2008
Alexander Measure
Summary | Full text in PDF
French National Identity and Integration: Who Belongs to the National Community?
French National Identity and Integration: Who Belongs to the National Community? (PDF)
Source: Migration Policy Institute
Since the mid-1980s, France has faced a contentious debate of crucial importance for immigrants and their descendents — defining what it means to be French. Though countries with rich histories of immigration have long accepted “dual belonging,” this concept has been criticized and perceived as at odds with a person’s commitment to French identity. A recent survey of French immigrants, however, shows that multiple allegiances are not an impediment to integration; it is possible to “feel French” and maintain links with a country of origin. However, because of external perceptions, native French citizens are far less likely to accept this adoption of French identity.
Ethnic Reunion and Cultural Affinity
Ethnic Reunion and Cultural Affinity (PDF)
Source: Research Papers in Economics
Ethnic reunion is the propensity of tourists to travel to regions where their ancestors originate from, while cultural affinity is the propensity of tourists to travel to regions with a shared cultural identity. This paper uses a “world migration matrix”, which records the year-1500 origins of the current populations of 159 countries, in a standard tourism gravity equation to provide the first empirical evidence of the existence of both these tourism traits at the global level. Our results remain robust even when controlling for other historical links, such as colonial legacy and regional trade agreements. By controlling for trade flows, we also show that this impact is unique to tourism. Ethnic reunion and cultural affinity are thus important — and neglected — constituents of tourism patterns (and of research), with important policy implications.
Labour Migration from Colombo Process Countries: Good Practices, Challenges and Ways Forward
Labour Migration from Colombo Process Countries: Good Practices, Challenges and Ways Forward (PDF)
Source: Migration Policy Institute
This issue brief, the first in a series launched by MPI and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that examines migration trends and issues in Asia, discusses labor migration from the 11 Colombo Process countries (which include China, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam). Since 2005, these countries have taken concrete steps to manage these labor flows and protect their citizens working abroad, particularly with respect to recruitment regulation and welfare protection. Despite the progress, however, the brief details a number of remaining challenges and highlights possible areas of focus for these governments.
Foreign-Born Health Care Workers in the United States
Foreign-Born Health Care Workers in the United States
Source: Migration Policy Institute
Employment in health care occupations increased despite the recession and is projected to outpace almost every major occupational group in terms of job growth between 2010 and 2020, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Amid this growth, the number of foreign-born health care workers has also been on the rise, increasing from 1.5 million to 1.8 million between 2006 and 2010.
Today, immigrants make up a sizeable proportion of the US health care workforce. In 2010, the foreign born accounted for 16 percent of all civilians employed in health care occupations in the United States. In some health care professions, this share was larger. More than one-quarter of physicians and surgeons (27 percent) were foreign born, as were more than one out of every five (22 percent) persons working in health care support jobs as nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides.
Although the characteristics of health care workers varied across occupational categories, as a group foreign-born health care workers were more likely than their native-born counterparts to have obtained a college degree and more likely than employed immigrants overall to speak English fluently or be naturalized US citizens.
This Spotlight provides a demographic and socioeconomic profile of foreign-born health care workers residing in the United States. The data come primarily from the US Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. All data refer to employed civilians age 16 and older unless otherwise noted.
CRS — Unauthorized Alien Students: Issues and “DREAM Act” Legislation
Unauthorized Alien Students: Issues and “DREAM Act” Legislation (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
The 109th and 110th Congresses considered, but did not enact, comprehensive immigration reform legislation that included large-scale legalization programs for unauthorized aliens. In the aftermath of these unsuccessful efforts, some interested parties have urged the President and Congress to pursue more limited legislation to address the status of unauthorized alien students. Such legislation is commonly referred to as the “DREAM Act.” Unauthorized aliens in the United States are able to receive free public education through high school. They may experience difficulty obtaining higher education, however, for several reasons. Among these reasons is a provision enacted in 1996 that prohibits states from granting unauthorized aliens certain postsecondary educational benefits on the basis of state residence, unless equal benefits are made available to all U.S. citizens. This prohibition is commonly understood to apply to the granting of “in-state” residency status for tuition purposes.
Unauthorized alien students also are not eligible for federal student financial aid. More broadly, as unauthorized aliens, they are not legally allowed to work and are subject to being removed from the country.
Multiple DREAM Act bills have been introduced in recent Congresses to address the unauthorized student population. Most have proposed a two-prong approach of repealing the 1996 provision and enabling some unauthorized alien students to become U.S. legal permanent residents (LPRs) through an immigration procedure known as cancellation of removal. While there are other options for dealing with this population, this report deals exclusively with the DREAM Act approach in light of the considerable congressional interest in it. In the 111th Congress, the House approved DREAM Act language as part of an unrelated bill, the Removal Clarification Act of 2010. However, the Senate failed, on a 55-41 vote, to invoke cloture on a motion to agree to the House-passed DREAM Act amendment and the bill died at the end of the Congress. The House-approved language differed in key respects from earlier versions of the DREAM Act.
Bills to legalize the status of unauthorized alien students (S. 952, H.R. 1842, H.R. 3823) have again been introduced in the 112 th Congress. It is unclear, however, whether any of these measures will be considered.
On June 15, 2012, the Obama Administration announced that certain individuals who were brought to the United States as children and meet other criteria would be considered for relief from removal. Under a memorandum issued by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on that date, these individuals would be eligible for deferred action for two years, subject to renewal, and could apply for employment authorization.
Senior Immigrants in the United States
Senior Immigrants in the United States
Source: Migration Policy Institute
Following a steady decline between 1960 and 1990, the number of older immigrants (those age 65 and over) in the United States almost doubled between 1990 and 2010, from 2.7 million to nearly 5 million. These seniors now account for 12 percent of the 40 million immigrants in the United States — a share that is much lower than the historical high. In 1960, 33 percent of the nation’s 9.7 million immigrants were 65 or older, mostly Europeans who arrived during the early 20th century wave of immigration.
Since the 1965 revisions to the US immigrant admission system, which expanded the number and diversified immigrants’ countries of origin, the vast majority of newcomers have been younger, working-age adults. As a result, the proportion of elderly among immigrants dropped sharply in the post-1965 period: from 33 percent in 1960 to 11 percent in 2000. However, the older-age immigrant population has been rebounding for two main reasons.
The first is demographic: an increasing number of working-age adults who arrived during the 1980s and the 1990s are aging into the 65 and older group. Their numbers, while still small, are projected to increase over time following overall immigration patterns, especially given the post-recession slowdown in new immigration flows.
The second reason is that once immigrants become US citizens, they can sponsor their parents to come to the United States. As the number of younger immigrants who naturalize increases, the number of older parents eligible to immigrate will also increase.
Today, older immigrants account for 12 percent of the 40.4 million elderly in the United States and for 12 percent of the 40 million immigrant population.
