American Immigrant Policy Portal
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April, 2020
In This Issue

   
Research to Inform Policy, Practice, and Advocacy  on Migration-Related Issues
  
Policy-related reports, studies, and information about the challenge and promise of immigrant integration. Materials organized by collection topic.
Click on headlines for abstracts and links.
 
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President Trump's Proclamation on Legal Immigration
 
On April 22, 2020, President Trump issued a proclamation suspending legal immigration to the United States. Several studies in this issue call into question both the wisdom and legality of the President's action. According to Michelle Waslin in the Journal on Migration and Human Security, Trump's use of executive orders and proclamations to change immigrant policy, and in effect sidestep Congress, raises serious constitutional questions. The fact that the order aligns closely with Trump's legislative priorities, e.g. eliminating diversity visas and curtailing family migration, suggests an end-run strategy around Congress, rather than a concern for the welfare of  "American" workers. Even the jobs rationale doesn't stand up to scrutiny. In the past, we have highlighted numerous studies pointing to the crucial role played by immigrant workers, both as entrepreneurs creating jobs for other Americans and in filling important niches in the economy. The country would be in dire straights today without the contributions of immigrant doctors, nurses, and other essential workers (see the collection of articles below detailing the vital role played by immigrants in keeping Americans healthy during the pandemic). Moreover, as we learn from the Stanford study on Mexican workers featured this month, efforts to expel immigrant workers from the U.S. during the Great Depression actually backfired, eliminating "American" jobs rather than creating them, because of the "complementarity" of immigrant labor. Many economists have suggested that immigration may be "the secret sauce" of the American economy, as Geoffrey Garrett, Dean of the Wharton School put it. The present crisis may necessitate a careful review of U.S. immigration policy, but by setting up a dichotomy between immigrants and "our GREAT American citizens," the president may be sowing seeds of division and acrimony that may hurt the country for years to come.
 
 
NewResearchNew Public Policy Research and Reports

Civic Participation



Economic and Fiscal Impacts of Immigration


Employment and Labor Issues



Human Services (Health Care)


Immigrant Communities



Law Enforcement


National Perspectives/Immigration Policy


Global Perspectives
 


We have assembled a special collection of articles, commentary, and web resources on Immigration and COVID-19. The materials are arranged in chronological order within four topical areas: immigrant vulnerabilities, efforts to address those vulnerabilities, immigrant contributions to the pandemic response effort, and websites with COVID-19 immigration-related resources.

Click here to view the collection

 
lcLatest Commentary
 
 
A selection of recent Op-eds from immigration researchers and major opinion leaders





 
April 22, 2020
Trump's New Executive Order Will Favor Immigrants From Western Europe,
Boundless
Read More

April 21, 2020

Trump Does It: An Executive Order To Suspend Immigration
Stuart Anderson, Forbes
Read More

April 16, 2020

Stephen Miller's hardline policies on refugee families make a comeback at HHS
Dan Diamond, Politico
Read More

April 8, 2020

COVID-19 lockdowns and the global migration regime,
Jonathan Crush, Hungry Cities Partnership
Read More

April 1, 2020

Almost Half of Recent US Immigrants Had College Degrees,
Associated Press
Read more

March 26, 2020

U.S. Population Grows at Slowest Rate Since 2019
Sabrina Tavernise, The New York Times
Read More

March 26, 2020

These taxpayers won't get stimulus checks. That's unjust.
Tim Breene, CNN
Read More

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The Portal is a project of Diversity Dynamics, LLC, in association with the Immigrant Learning Center, Public Education Institute, Malden, MA; the Center for International Social Work, School of Social Work, Rutgers University; and a panel of volunteer content area experts who help to write our research abstracts. Please send content suggestions for the Portal, including events of interest, to: mail@usdiversitydynamics.com. We welcome inquiries from new volunteers. No endorsements implied for research, opinions, resources or events featured on the Portal.