Immigration Reform This Week

The National Asian American Week of Action begins this Monday, complete with a community action toolkit and a facebook page. An August 14th post on the Huffington Post by Frank Sharry of America's Voice highlights pro-immigration reform progress in a number of U.S. cities, including Maryland, Detroit, and Atlanta.

The August 13th issue of Trade Policy Analysis by the CATO Institute writes in favor of legalization, concluding that increased enforcement and reduced low-skill immigration have a significant negative impact on the income of U.S. households. The study shows that the positive impact of legalization under an optimal visa tax would be 1.27 percent of GDP or $180 billion.

The New York Times hits the need for immigration policy reform from a human angle, writing about predatory lawyers who deceive undocumented families seeking legal paths to citizenship, and deaths in the border desert due to U.S. enforcement policies.

This Monday's Brian Lehrer show on WNYC featured a discussion of detention centers and comprehensive immigration reform with Amy Gottlieb of the American Friends Service Committee and Diego Graglia of the Feet in 2 Worlds Blog. Click below for the audio recording.