Welcome to CIPC's research repository. For more than a year we have been working to locate and assemble a body of information - reports, research papers, and fact sheets - about immigrants in California and other parts of the U.S. Please take a moment to explore this collection of 180+ studies to aid you in your research.
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May 2009
The Perryman Group’s study of the economic contributions to the US economy looks at the potential consequences of an enforcement-only strategy of immigration reform that would remove undocumented immigrants from the US economy. They find that unauthorized immigrants represent a significant portion of the US economic system: as much as 12% of the workforce in Arizona, for example, and a significant portion of the workforce in industries like agriculture and construction. Removing these immigrants from the workforce would result in over $650 billion in lost output annually.
© 2008 Perryman Group, http://www.perrymangroup.com
May 2009
Prof. Erik Camayd-Freixas follows up on the legal consequences of the Postville ICE raid in this op-ed on the Supreme Court ruling on identity theft. The Court found in favor of a Mexican migrant worker who used a false social security number to secure employment. In a unanimous decision, the Justices rejected the idea that such actions constituted identity theft, and thereby curtailed the criminalization of large numbers of undocumented workers in raids like those at Postville.
Erik Camayd-Freixas
© 2009 Erik Camayd-Freixas
May 2009
This research study investigates both media coverage and public opinion on two topics: English-language acquisition and the children of immigrants. Combined, the reports provide findings on current public discourse in both these areas, as well as openings for and barriers to building support, including relevant audiences, preliminary messaging recommendations, and preliminary communications outreach recommendations.
Jesse Serrins
© 2008 The Opportunity Agenda, http://www.opportunityagenda.org
Apr 2009
This Global Atlanta article outlines an argument for a comprehensive guest worker program, as well as support of other legislation (like the DREAM Act) to provide undocumented immigrants paths to legal residency. Erik Camayd-Freixas follows up on his account of the ICE raid at Postville, Iowa by outlining the economic value of undocumented workers in the US. The article also includes video interviews with Dr. Camayd-Freixas.
Leigh Miller Villegas
© 2009 Global Atlanta, http://globalatlanta.com
Apr 2009
This report outlines demographic characteristics of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States (as of March 2008), offers comparisons with legal immigrants and U.S.-born residents, and estimates the size of unauthorized immigrant populations in the workforce for each state. Key findings include a greater geographic dispersion of unauthorized immigrants and a decline in the proportion of unauthorized immigrants living in California.
Jeffrey S. Passel and D’Vera Cohn
© 2009 Pew Hispanic Center, http://www.pewhispanic.org
Mar 2009
This research study from the Center for Immigration Studies looks at the results of the largest ICE raid in US history — a simultaneous raid on six meat-packing plants. The study finds that, as the proportion of undocumented immigrants at these plants rose since the mid-80’s, real wages fell. After the raids, the plants replaced undocumented workers with mostly legal immigrants and wages rose again. The report argues that legal workers are still willing to take unpleasant jobs and that the presence of undocumented immigrants in a workplace does significantly depress wages.
Jerry Kammer
© 2009 Center for Immigration Studies, http://www.cis.org
Mar 2009
This policy brief outlines economic advantages to legalizing undocumented immigrants in the United States. It discusses the increased tax revenue that would accrue to the government by bringing undocumented immigrants “on the books” as well as the buying power that Asian and Latino immigrant communities bring into the US economy. It also makes the point that enforcement-only measures tend to be expensive and ineffective at reducing numbers of undocumented immigrants.
© 2009 Immigration Policy Center, http://www.immigrationpolicy.org
Mar 2009
This budget brief from the California Budget Project gives a thorough rundown of Prop 1A (on the May 19, 2009 ballot), including how it addresses the current budget shortfall and the potential future impact on state spending programs.
Jean Ross
© 2009 California Budget Project, http://www.cbp.org
Mar 2009
This white paper from the William C. Velasquez Institute argues that the legalization of undocumented immigrants in the US would have both short-term and long-term benefits for the US economic recovery. It looks to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 as a model for potential economic growth through legalization. The paper also makes arguments about booms in civic engagement as a result of legalization and about the weaknesses of an enforcement-only strategy of dealing with illegal immigration.
Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda
© 2009 William C. Velasquez Institute, http://www.wcvi.org
Feb 2009
This policy report from the American Friends Service Committee outlines seven principles for a new approach to US immigration reform. Policy recommendation deal with areas including family reunification, the health of border communities, access to public services, and civil and human rights.
© 2009 American Friends Service Committee, http://www.afsc.org