NDN Backgrounder: The Border Is Safer, Immigration System Is Better

For a history of our work and salient news from the current immigration debate check out our website, 21border.com. Below please find a collection of NDN resources on the release of the Senate and White House immigration proposals:

NDN RESOURCES:

April - Web Briefing: Understanding Modern Mexico - To take a deeper look at how Mexico is modernizing and growing, NPI Policy Direcotor of the 21st Century Border Initiative hosted a live web video briefing, with former Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan and noted Mexican economist and author, Jorge Suarez-Velez.  Two recent articles by Tom Friedman about the growth and progress Mexico has seen over the past generation has sparked a vibrant bi-national debate, which our discussion will reference and expand upon. To watch the full video click here.

April – Web Briefing "Immigration Reform: How The Landscape Has Changed Since the House Last Voted in 2005 – Our Border Is Safer, Our Immigration System Is Better and Mexico Is Modernizing and Growing." - Simon delivers his new presentation on how the immigration debate has changed since 2005. This original work tells how immigration, the safety along the border, and the complex economic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico have improved since 2004. The fifteen to twenty minute presentation wasl followed by an extended Q&A session. To see the powerpoint please click here.

April - Kristian Publishes Op-ed on Gun Legislation and Immigration Reform - Kristian weighs in on how sensible solutions to reduce gun violence could help build on the progress in recent years in make the US-Mexican border even safer. Bottom line - more must be done to stop the illegal gun flow into Mexico. To read the full op-ed please click here.

March - Simon Speaks At Trilateral Border Issues Symposium At Arizona State University Simon Rosenberg will be speaking at the Tri Lateral Border Issues Conference at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona. With the recent issuance by the Department of Homeland Security of the Northern Border Strategy a number of border issues have been framed that this symposium will examine in the context of Canada-United States-Mexico trade and security. To read more about his speech please click here.

March - NDN Backgrounder: How The Immigration Reform Landscape Has Changed Since 2005: Simon recently briefed the House New Democrat Coalition, a group of 51 Members of Congress, on immigration reform and border issues. I wanted to share with you the Power Point we developed for the briefing. If you are interested in learning more about some of the issues at the heart of our current immigration debate this is a great place to start. To see the powerpoint please click here.

March -Kristian's Op-Ed Published in the Huffington Post: Kristian Ramos, Policy Director of the 21st Century Border Initiative wrote an op-ed titled: The Reality of Our Safer Border Makes Immigration Reform Possible, in which he describes how the progress made at our southwest border coupled with Mexicos remarkable transformation makes the prospects of immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship much brighter. Kristian's full op-ed can be read here.

February - NDN Statement on House Border Caucus Letter to White House: NDN and the New Policy Institute released the following statement applauding a letter from the House Border Caucus Chairmen Reps. Grijalva and Vela letter to the President. The letter outlines three critical priorities for the US-Mexico border region: more customs agents to increase legal trade and tourism while aiding in critical enforcement needs; more investment in border infrastructure to modernize our aging port system in particular; and better Federal management of the complex economic and security opportunities and challenges of the region. To read the Mayor of Las Cruces letter to the White House please click here.

February - Simon's Op-Ed Published in the Huffington Post: NDN President Simon Rosenberg wrote an op-ed titled "The Immigration System is Better, the Border is Safer, But More To Do," in which he describes today's novel immigration landscape and the steps that we must take as a nation to institute effective, lasting immigration reform. Simon's full piece can be found here.

January - Simon Talks Immigration Reform on PBS NewsHour: In an extended interview with Christina Bellantoni of PBS NewsHour, Simon offered his thoughts on immigration reform. Simon discusses our improved border security apparatus and advances in interior enforcement, and emphasizes the need to account for our changing economic dynamic in crafting new immigration legislation. A recording of Simon's interview can be found here.

January - NDN Event “Perspectives from the US-Mexico Border Region,” NDN/New Policy Institute hosted another salient event,  which focused on opportunities and challenges unique to our shared border. Simon moderated the discussion between Mayors Greg Stanton of Phoenix, Raul Salinas of Laredo, Ken Miyagishima of Las Cruces, and Eduardo Olmos of Torreon, Mexico. C-SPAN’s live recording of the event can be found here.

November 2012- “Rethinking Immigration Reform,” NDN/New Policy Institute hosted an event titled which featured a bi-partisan panel and looked at means of reforming and improving low- and high-skilled immigration visa programs. Tamar Jacoby, President and CEO of ImmigrationWorks, moderated a lively discussion featuring panelists from the Cato Institute, SEIU, and the Partnership for a New American Economy. To read a recap of the event please click here.

21st Century Border Initiative Website: The New Policy Institute’s 21border.com is a one stop website for the latest on immigration and border related news, analysis and commentary.  This website also features events, papers, essays and a network of like-minded individuals both inside and outside the beltway. For fresh new content everyday from our website please click here.

March 2012 -Realizing the Full Value of Tourism from Mexico to the United States: The New Policy Institute and ASU published a seminal report, which argues that increasing tourism from Mexico should be a major priority for our new national tourism strategy. Please read the full report here.

December 2011 Realizing the Value of Crossborder Trade with Mexico: This New Policy Institute paper, researched by The North American Center for Transborder Studies (NACTS) at Arizona State University, explores the important and growing economic relationship between the United States and Mexico.  Among the paper’s more interesting findings is that, remarkably, 22 states now count Mexico as their first or second largest export market, including our two biggest states, California and Texas. Please read the full report here.

May 2010 -The Impact of Immigration and Immigration Reform on the Wages of American Workers: The New Policy Institute released an economic report by NPI Fellow and Former Under Secretary of Commerce Dr. Robert J. Shapiro, which explores the impact of immigration and comprehensive immigration reform on the wages of the American worker. The report presents an accurate portrait of America's immigrant population, dispels certain misconceptions about American Immigration and offers economic analysis regarding the impact of immigration, and proposed immigration reforms on wages and the economy. The full report can be found here.

ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESSIONAL RESOURCES:

January - Immigration Reform Legislation Takes Shape  A bipartisan group of senators outlined a far-reaching proposal to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws, saying that the time has come to fix “our broken immigration system.” This blueprint will create a tough but fair pathway to citizenship for the nation’s undocumented immigrants, and represents the most substantive bipartisan effort toward comprehensive legislation in years. A blueprint for the legislation can be found here.

January - Alan Bersin Discusses Border Gains at NDN:  NDN and NPI were honored to host Alan Bersin, Assistant Secretary of International Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, during our latest event, “Perspectives from the US-Mexico Border Region,”. Bersin delivered an insightful statement in which he points to great advances in border security and urges lawmakers to remember that strengthening the border today should focus on investment in infrastructure and managing cross-border flows. A full transcript of Bersin’s remarks can be found here.

May 2011 - President Obama on “Building a 21st Century Border:" President Obama forcefully articulated the progress made in creating a 21st Century Border and connected it back to the broader struggle to reform our nation’s broken immigration system. The President’s full speech can be found here.

October 2011 - Secretary Janet Napolitano on “Making the Border Safer:”  Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano delivered a speech at American University detailing the significant progress that DHS has accomplished both on the border and on interior enforcement. She described new policies, including prosecutorial discretion, which ensures that those enforcing immigration laws make appropriate use of the discretion they already have in deciding the types of individuals we prioritize for removal from the country. Secretary Napolitano’s full speech can be found here.

April 2011 - Secretary Janet Napolitano Speaks at NDN: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano gave a strong defense of the Administration's border enforcement at an event hosted by NDN/NPI. Specifically, Secretary Napolitano called on lawmakers in Congress to stop moving the goal post on Border Security as a means to stop work on a legislative overhaul on the nation's immigration laws. A video of Secretary Napolitano's remarks can be found here.

OTHER RESOURCES:

January - MPI Report Highlights Major Progress in Border Security: A January report released by the Migration Policy Institute demonstrates that our significant investment in border security has paid off, reducing undocumented migration and making our side of the Mexican border among the safest parts of the U.S. today. According to the report, the U.S. government spends $18 billion on immigration enforcement, more than on all other federal law enforcement combined. The report also found that Border Patrol staffing, technology, and infrastructure have reached historic highs, while levels of apprehensions have fallen to historic lows. To read the full report please click here.