Recent debate about immigration policy has focused on whether or not immigrants' contributions to public revenues cover the costs of the public services they use, and if not, should the federal government reimburse state and local governments for those net costs. Findings of recent studies have varied widely, because of differences in data…

This testimony summarizes in four propositions results from a review of recent estimates of the net federal, state, or local costs of immigration and is designed to explore why these cost estimates vary so widely and how to develop more credible cost estimates. First, the testimony proposes that various studies of the cost of immigration agree…

Immigration to the United States has fluctuated considerably over the course of the nation's history and has elicited various policy responses at different times. In recent years, concern about undocumented, illegal immigration has given rise to efforts to reform immigration law. The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 was intended…

Canadians experienced in the field of immigration and representing the academic community, government, and community-based organizations discussed major policy issues regarding the Canadian Federal Green Paper on Immigration Policy and the possibility of a national council on immigration and migration at the conference. A variety of topics were…

In 1980, 25% of the 14 million foreign-born persons in the United States were in California; 1.7 million of these were in Los Angeles County. Half of the 2.1 million undocumented immigrants counted in the 1980 United States Census lived in California, and about 75% of these were of Mexican origin. Results of a 1983 Urban Institute poll revealed…

In December 1996, a peace accord ended 30 years of civil war in Guatemala, during which an estimated 200,000 people were killed and over 1 million were displaced. Most of the war's victims have been indigenous (Maya) Guatemalans--who make up about 65 percent of the population--and other supporters of economic and political reforms. In this book,…

In 1994, California voters approved Proposition 187, which prohibits provision of publicly funded education and social services to undocumented immigrants, and which requires public schools to verify the legal status of students and their parents. This paper examines socioeconomic and immigration trends leading to the emergence of Proposition 187,…

Rising housing costs, increased homelessness, and the debate over illegal immigrants residing in publically assisted housing have renewed media and public interest in immigration's contribution to the Los Angeles, California area's problems of scarce low-cost housing, homelessness, and housing code violations. Recent data suggest that immigrants…

Many of the arguments behind efforts to reform this nations's immigration laws allege that immigrants, especially illegal immigrants, take jobs away from native workers, depress wages, and receive public services valued in excess of their tax contributions. To provide a basis for appraising these economic arguments, this paper presents a model for…

As the U.S. government has intensified its crackdown on illegal immigration in recent years, an important question to ask is how undocumented immigrants react to the stricter enforcement of immigration laws. This paper seeks to answer whether they increasingly choose self-employment in an effort to avoid apprehension and subsequent deportation. To…

The illegal Mexican migration to the U.S. has resulted in judicial and statutory responses that have constrained the constitutional and civil rights of Chicanos. The Supreme Court, in its concern for stopping the flow of illegal immigrants, has ruled in U.S. v. Martinez-Fuerte that it is not a constitutional violation to refer motorists to a…

This booklet contains two papers on Western European countries' attempt to deal with illegal immigration through employer sanctions. In "Deterrence without Discrimination," Mark J. Miller discusses the sanctions employed by France and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). Evidence from the early years of enforcement reveals that due to…

Providing historical data up to 1991-93 on the nine colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), this statistical digest presents tables and graphs on student characteristics, enrollment trends, instructional programs, student performance and articulation, special services, and fiscal and personnel resources. Highlighted…

This "essay" (article) is a close and critical look at The 2010 Citizens Clean Elections Voter Education Guide, a document made available to the Arizona public prior to the 2010 state General elections. Though the guide is described as "a nonpartisan, plain-language handbook" by its authors, it can be implicated in the…

While legislators debate, courts differ, and limited rulings emanate, Texas school district boards and superintendents are faced with the day-to-day problems of trying to decide whether or not illegal immigrant children should be educated, and if so, where and how. The conference proceedings provide a means of sharing these concerns and the…