immigration
Appeals court keeps immigration policy on hold
Appeals court keeps immigration policy on hold
Lyle Denniston writes at SCOTUSBlog:
Under the policy, some 4.3 million individuals who entered the country illegally and remained without permission would be given a status of “lawful presence” in this country — well short of citizenship, and with no guarantee that they could stay even for the three-year delay period specified — and would qualify for both some federal benefits, like work permits, and some state benefits, like drivers’ licenses.
I spoke with immigration attorneys recently about the avalanche of work this policy is expected to generate if it ever goes into effect. There are many people whose future depends largely on the outcome of the ongoing dispute about the legality of the program.
Image by Gulbenk at Wikipedia
US government recognizes League of Legends players as pro athletes
US government recognizes League of Legends players as pro athletes
This is fascinating, especially with immigration such a hot topic recently.
Seldo's Tumblr: Another awesome US immigration experience
Seldo’s Tumblr: Another awesome US immigration experience
So a little over a month ago I finally got my green card. So for the first time in 7 years of living in the US and periodically leaving it to visit my family, I wasn’t terrified that my visa documents wouldn’t be in order and I’d get denied entry and deported.
Predictably, this was the first time…
Read this example of the stress of immigration, even when it is is very legal and everything is supposedly in order.
Councilman Kenney Bashes Immigration Laws
Councilman Kenney Bashes Immigration Laws
Philadelphia Councilman James Kenney made the following comment at the Restaurant Industry Summit, quoted by Randy Lobasso at Philadelphia Weekly's PhillyNow blog:
After 9/11, everyone became a ‘terrorist’—including that Mexican guy on a bike going from his lawn care job to his restaurant job. He is no threat to me, whatsoever. He is no threat to this country, whatsoever.
Kenney doesn’t like the immigration policy pushed by some “lunatics in Harrisburg” and wishes they would “exempt the city of Philadelphia” when they pass harsh immigration measures. Further, he stated that if he were mayor he wouldn’t cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (presumably beyond what the law requires).
I think there are more eloquent and nuanced ways to make the argument against strong immigration restrictions and criminalizing undocumented immigrants, but I respect the hell out of Kenney’s verve for the issue, which he said reminds him of problems his Irish ancestors faced in the earlier days of our nation.
US Is Bleeding High-Skilled Immigrants
US Is Bleeding High-Skilled Immigrants
Gregory Ferenstein, writing at TechCrunch about Vivek Wadhwa’s latest research:
Nearly a quarter (24.3 percent) of engineering and technology companies had at least one foreign-born founder; in Silicon Valley, it’s nearly half (43.9 percent). Nationwide, they’ve helped employ more than half a million workers (560,000) who contributed $63 billion in sales just in 2012.
Those numbers demand superlatives: they’re staggering. The common assumption is that immigrants do jobs US citizens don’t want to do. This research would seem to turn those assumptions upside-down: immigrants often do jobs for which US policy, educational institutions, and deeply-ingrained social strictures simply leave our young people unprepared.
My Citizenship and Immigration class meets twice weekly, on Monday and Wednesday evenings. It really is a fascinating class, and offers a broadened perspective on a hot political issue this election season.
One thing I’ve learned from Professor Peter Spiro (of Opinio Juris and much scholarship), and from research like Mr. Wadhwa’s, is that immigration policy is not as amenable to applause-worthy one-liners as political candidates would prefer it to be.
The angle on Mr. Wadhwa’s recent research, and Mr. Ferenstein’s TechCrunch post, is that immigrant participation in US entrepreneurialism may have peaked already. I wonder, not cynically or rhetorically, but genuinely wonder, whether the US will be able to replace them with adequately-inspired and prepared citizens of its own, and whether the nation wouldn’t benefit from incentivizing continued and increased opportunities for citizens and immigrants alike.
I don’t know what that policy direction should look like, but I think it’s worth thinking, and most importantly, talking about.