Business Week Online and the New York Times report on the Kauffman Foundation’s study on the "flood" of young and highly-educated Indian and Chinese immigrants returning to their countries of origin in light of decreasing job opportunities and increasing immigration backlog in the United States.
The study, America’s Loss is the World’s Gain, also finds that immigrants are being pulled by increasing need for their skills set in India and China, as well as familiar social networks. In the last 20 years, an estimated 50,000 immigrants returned to China and India, and an estimated 100,000 is projected to leave in the next 5 years. Quote Professor Vivek Wadhwa, "We may not need all these workers in the U.S. during the deepening recession. But we will need them to help us recover from it."
Foreign Policy also reports that 1-3 million Mexicans are expected to leave the U.S. in the coming months.
A new report by the U.S. Small Business Administration found that immigrant-owned businesses generate nearly 12 percent of all business income in the United States. The report, "Estimating the Contribution of Immigrant Business Owners to the U.S. Economy," Immigrants are also 30 percent more likely to open businesses, and over 10 percent of these businesses generate employment.
The New York Times and Washington Post report on the Government Accountability Office’s review of the 287(g) program, in which the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) trains local and staff law enforcement to implement federal immigration law. The study of 29 local agencies found that out of 43,000 undocumented immigrants arrested last year, 34,000 were taken into custody by immigration officials, the majority of whom were deported immediately or put into removal proceedings.
The 287(g) program, which received $54 million last year, was created to combat "high-priority" crimes. But the GAO study found that this goal was not clearly conveyed to local law enforcement, nor was there adequate federal supervision, and thus could not find conclusive evidence that the immigrants arrested had committed such crimes.
Standing FIRM and The Latin Americanist blogs respond to the reports here and here. The New York Times concludes that "the system under which illegal immigrants labor, without hope of assimilation, is not any less broken." The Los Angeles Times also reports on the loss of due process in fast track deportation proceedings.
Latino lawmakers and advocates will be holding community meetings to discuss immigration, starting this Friday, in 17 cities. The schedule can be found here.
Read more at The Opportunity Agenda’s blog.
