This week’s Immigration Blog Roundup includes Haiti immigration news, policy updates, and more…
Haitian American activists, immigrant advocates, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle will hold a news conference today in Miami to urge the Obama administration to grant 30,000 Haitian nationals Temporary Protected Status. On Wednesday, the Obama administration temporarily suspended deportations of undocumented Haitians in the U.S.
More than 600 people rallied for immigration reform in Detroit yesterday as part of the Reform Immigration for America campaign that is organizing events across the country.
A bill that would have granted in-state tuition rates to New Jersey students regardless of their immigration statuses was pulled from the Senate on Monday. Sen. Ronald Rice (D., Essex), a sponsor of the bill, said he thought the plan was five votes short. The bill has now lost it’s chance to be voted in before Governor-elect Chris Christie takes office.
Proponents of stricter immigration laws in Washington are demanding that proof of citizenship be required in order to apply for a driver’s license. Washington is one of the four states that allows undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses however after several years of trying the initiative continues to fail to get enough signatures.
Pro-immigrant groups are claiming a more united (and better funded) front this year and are ready for another round in the fight for immigration reform in Congress. While divisions still remain, left of-center labor unions and right-of-center business owners plan on coming together to form a less Washington-based but more grassroots, nationwide approach to tackling the debate.
Lastly, the Immigration Policy Center with the Center for American Progress has released "Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform" by Dr. Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda. The report details the potential economic contribution of immigrants to the U.S. economy:
-Immigration reform would increase U.S. GDP by at least 0.84%. This would translate into at least a cumulative $1.5 trillion in added GDP over 10 years, which includes approximately $1.2 trillion in consumption and $256 billion in investment.
-Immigrant-heavy sectors such as textiles, electronic equipment, and construction would see particularly large increases.
-The higher earning power of newly legalized workers would mean increased tax revenues of $4.5 billion to $5.4 billion in the first three years.
-On the other hand, mass deportation would cost $206 billion to $230 billion over five years.