Forum Publications
As Senate Begins Immigration Debate, Public Support for Reform with Path to Citizenship Strong
May 07, 2013
This document provides results from more than a dozen public opinion polls on the question of whether undocumented immigrants should be allowed to earn their way to legal status and eventual citizenship. In these polls, overall support for a path to citizenship ranges from 57% to 84%, and has trended upward since the introduction of the Senate’s bill. (Updated May 7, 2013)
Attitudes on immigration reform: an analysis of survey research
April 25, 2013
This survey, commissioned by Americans for Tax Reform, the National Immigration Forum and the Partnership for a New American Economy, found that, when respondents heard a description of the Senate immigration reform bill, overall support was 83%. It was a survey of 800 registered voters, with an oversampling of Republican voters (400 total). Among Republican voters, support for the bill was even greater than support overall—87%.
S. 744 - Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act
April 24, 2013
This document briefly highlights the provisions of the Senate immigration reform bill, introduced on April 17.
Immigration Enforcement Today: 2007 Reform Goals Largely Accomplished
February 01, 2013
At the onset of a new debate on broad immigration reform, this paper examines the progress made toward border security and immigration enforcement benchmarks set in 2007 immigration reform legislation. As this paper explains, the benchmarks set in that legislation have largely been met. New legislation that sets up a similar sequenced structure of enforcement plus reform will have to acknowledge the progress that has already been made.
Conservatives Discuss Need to Work on Immigration Reform
November 07, 2012
This document contains a collection of quotes from conservatives and Republican Party thinkers on the need for Republicans to deal with immigration reform and to reach out to Latinos and other minorities in the wake of Mitt Romney’s failure to win the presidency.
Immigration Backlogs are Separating American Families
July 26, 2012
This Backgrounder explains how our out-of-date family immigration system is preventing families from re-unifying in a timely manner. There is an explanation of how current visa quotas, last updated in 1990, impacts the various categories of family preference immigration. Included are recommendations for updating the admissions system in the family categories and for removing other legal barriers to family unification.
America’s Immigration System Undermines Competitiveness
November 07, 2011
This paper explains problems caused by our broken employment-based immigration system as they concern immigrants with special skills needed by American employers. Long backlogs due to an outdated visa quota system are driving talented immigrants to our competitors. The paper contains a set of recommendations to alleviate the problems.
The DREAM Act: Investing in America’s Future
September 22, 2011
This paper briefly explains the basic requirements contained in the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act and explains why it is needed to provide a path to legal status for undocumented immigrant students.
AgJOBS: Stabilizing the Agricultural Workforce
September 22, 2011
This one-page paper briefly makes the case for legislation called AgJOBS, which would legalize the status of agricultural workers in the U.S. It lists examples of the economic damage that is expected to take place if the undocumented workers on which our farms now depend were to be deported.
Our Immigration System Must Be Reformed: An Overview
September 14, 2011
This paper briefly lays out some of the problems caused by our broken immigration system and details the elements of practical reforms necessary to repair our immigration laws.
