With America's population aging, it is more important than ever to encourage immigration to the United States in order to sustain the workforce and the economy. In fact, deaths outnumbered births among non-Latino whites in 2016. In order to fill this gap, we need immigrants, especially because the majority of immigrants are between the prime working ages of 18 and 64. Read the full article here.
Immigration Reality vs. Perception /
Negative rhetoric and scapegoating notwithstanding, the reality is that there are fewer immigrants in the United States than many think. For example, a recent Harvard study of survey data from the U.S., Britain, France, Italy, Germany, and Sweden found that respondents from all six countries mistakenly think immigrants constitute a greater share of the population than then actually do. In the U.S., for example, immigrants make up less than 15% of the total population but the respondents think immigrants are more than 35% of the total population. Similar misperceptions apply to religion (people think more immigrants are Muslim than actually are and that fewer immigrants are Christian than actually are); education (people underestimate immigrants’ education levels); poverty rate (overestimate) and use of welfare (overestimate). The study describes additional facts that highlight how fear-mongering and misinformation, rather than truth, are behind anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric. In addition, the data shows that certain groups, unsurprisingly many of the same ones from which Trump draws much of his support, are more likely to be mistaken about immigration realities that others. Bottom line, the U.S. is not being flooded with immigrants. Read the full article here.
Thank you, immigrants! /
The United States would not be what it is today without immigrants.
Leading Cause of Job Loss? Tariffs, Not Immigrants /
Contrary to the Trump team’s hyperbolic rhetoric and attacks on immigrants, Trump’s tariffs are a much bigger threat to the American worker than immigrants. Read more here.
International Students Beware! /
For the past 20 years, student visa holders were not punished harshly for innocent or technical violations of their F-1 status. For example, an international student who drops below a full course of study by dropping a single class for a semester could be consider in violation of status. Current law has allowed such a student to correct that minor infraction by leaving the U.S. and reentering with his or her valid F-1 student visa. Under the policy, scheduled to take effect August 9, 2018, this same student could be considered to be accruing “unlawful presence”, an immigration law term of art that potentially carries massive consequences such as being barred from returning to the U.S. for 3-10 years. These consequences are obviously wildly out of proportion to students who commit minor infractions of their student status. International students bring brainpower, cultural diversity, energy, and innovative impulses to the United States, not to mention paying tuition and contributing to the economy while in school and afterwards. Over ½ of the American startup companies valued at one billion dollars or more were started by immigrants.
Read the NFAP policy brief here.
This article summarizes the differences between “unlawful presence” and violation of status and reminds us of another harsh new reality under the current administration’s anti-immigrant agenda.
Timothy R. Bakken
Founder
Carry Your Papers /
In the age of Trump, it is extremely important that immigrants carry ID and other documentation as applicable (green card, passport with visa, work permit, etc.). In fact, as crazy as it sounds, in light of recent instances of U.S. citizens being harassed simply for not speaking English, even U.S. citizens may want to consider carrying proof of U.S. citizenship. Read more here.
Timothy R. Bakken
Founder