Immigration Legislation

Immigrants and Emigrants

commentary
The Public Charge Rule's Likely Hazard to Our Nation's Health During COVID-19
The Public Charge rule makes immigrants who receive Medicaid and other publicly-funded benefits potentially ineligible for green cards, and, in some cases, subjects them to deportation. Fear and reluctance to seek assistance among immigrants is likely to worsen during the COVID-19 epidemic.
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Apr 6, 2020
The Hill
Kathryn Pitkin Derose

Migrants

commentary
America's Overwhelmed Immigration System
The Trump administration's options to deal with the surge of asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. border appear to be limited. What policies could help address the problem?
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Dec 5, 2018
Dallas Morning News
Blas Nunez-Neto
commentary
A Threat to Immigrant Health Care with Potential Consequences for All
The proposed changes to the “public charge” rule could jeopardize decades of progress towards improved health care access and health for immigrants and U.S. citizens. Negative effects may include worse health outcomes, increased use of emergency rooms, and increased prevalence of communicable diseases.
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Oct 12, 2018
The Hill
Kathryn Pitkin Derose
commentary
Restoring Asylum Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence
Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded asylum protections earlier this month for victims of domestic violence. The decision and the supporting analysis goes against decades of research on violence against women. Congress could reverse the decision by amending the asylum law.
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Jun 25, 2018
The Hill
Douglas C. Ligor @DougLigor, Lisa H. Jaycox
commentary
The Immigration Debate: Building a Bridge Across the Deportation-Amnesty Divide
Discussions of U.S. immigration are dominated by arguments that pit “rule of law” proponents — focused on apprehension, detention, and deportation — against “humanitarian” supporters seeking a pardon or amnesty that will allow immigrants to stay in the country. Minor changes to the statute known as “Cancellation of Removal” could offer a compromise.
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Feb 28, 2018
The Hill
Douglas C. Ligor @DougLigor
Domestic Terrorism

commentary
Why a Travel Restriction Won't Stop Terrorism at Home
It's not unreasonable to seek a review of immigration, and refugee-vetting procedures make sense. But America's jihadist terrorists are not imported from abroad. They are mostly homegrown.
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Feb 10, 2017
The Hill
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Domestic Terrorism

commentary
If Terrorism Is Homegrown, a Visa Overhaul Won't Keep Americans Safe
Despite being the focus of renewed scrutiny, only three people involved in terrorist incidents have entered the United States via the visa waiver program in the past quarter-century.
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Dec 7, 2015
The Guardian
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Immigrants and Emigrants

commentary
Should Undocumented Immigrant Youth Pay In-State Tuition to Attend College?
Undocumented children are entitled to free primary and secondary public education everywhere in the United States, regardless of their legal status. But when they finish high school, their options for college vary depending on the state in which they live.
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Jul 28, 2015
The RAND Blog
Robert Bozick
commentary
The Forgotten Cornerstone in the Immigration Reform Debate
The Executive Office for Immigration Review manages the U.S. immigration court system and thereby plays a pivotal role in assuring the timely processing of foreign nationals and the security of the nation and its borders. It should not be left out of discussions of immigration reform.
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Apr 30, 2015
The Hill
Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein, Martina L. Melliand
Homeland Security Legislation

commentary
Challenges and Opportunities Ahead for New Homeland Security Secretary
To ensure the Department of Homeland Security makes progress in the current constrained budget environment, its new secretary must put in place a strategic perspective to guide priorities for how to address the country's most pressing problems in disaster management, immigration reform, cybersecurity, violent extremism, and nuclear terrorism.
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Oct 24, 2013
The RAND Blog
Henry H. Willis @HenryHWillis
commentary
Border Security Is Key to Immigration Reform
Two important aspects of border security bear continued attention: strategy must be developed as one part of a holistic system of immigration management and any progress on improving this system is reliant on having concrete and sensible objectives and measures of success.
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Jul 15, 2013
Houston Chronicle
Henry H. Willis @HenryHWillis, K. Jack Riley
commentary
Is Enforcement Key to Fixing America's Immigration System?
The current debate regarding comprehensive immigration reform offers an opportunity to redesign the worksite immigration enforcement system to achieve more efficient enforcement with better intelligence on where undocumented workers are employed, say Andrew Morral and Peter Brownell.
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Feb 15, 2013
CNN
Andrew R. Morral @AndrewMorral, Peter Brownell
United States

blog
The State of the Union 2013
The 2013 SOTU address will be remembered for its impassioned call for greater gun control just two months after Sandy Hook. But President Obama's second-term agenda can be characterized by its sheer breadth, reflecting the broad range of policy challenges facing the United States today.
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Feb 13, 2013
Border and Port Security

commentary
Legalization and Border Security: Are We There Yet?
The White House and a bipartisan group of senators recently unveiled proposals for comprehensive immigration reform. The proposal raises a number of questions, says Peter Brownell: How would success in securing the border actually be determined? Would it mean absolutely zero unauthorized immigration across U.S. borders?
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Feb 7, 2013
The RAND Blog
Peter Brownell
blog
Potential Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants Takes Shape
A group of U.S. Senators this week unveiled a proposal to reform the nation's immigration laws, outlining a path to citizenship for most of the nation's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants and endorsing an increase of certain types of foreign-born workers.
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Jan 31, 2013
commentary
Immigration Needs a Hybrid Fix
Is there a way out of the dilemma? I think there is: a simultaneous combination of a pathway to citizenship for most undocumented immigrants already here and a serious commitment to enforce the law without ambiguity in the future, writes James P. Smith.
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Nov 2, 2012
The Orange County Register
James P. Smith
blog
Farsighted Leadership in a Shortsighted World: 9 Issues That Deserve Attention During the 2012 U.S. Presidential Debates and Beyond
For nearly 65 years, RAND has cultivated the farsighted perspectives required to address the big, long-term public policy issues. In an effort to look beyond the 2012 U.S. election and promote “farsighted leadership in a shortsighted world,” the latest edition of the RAND Corporation’s magazine offers commentaries that transcend partisan rhetoric and foster policies that both presidential candidates could well accept.
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Sep 24, 2012
commentary
One More Embrace, Then Slam the Door
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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May 1, 2005
Los Angeles Times
James P. Smith

Quoted

The Biden administration's lack of a competitive economic strategy, not just in Oceania but throughout the Indo-Pacific, is providing China with unique opportunities to leverage its Belt and Road Initiative to deepen trade, investment, and infrastructure development. Chinese economic overtures tend to be successful, given that Pacific Island countries are overwhelmingly small and impoverished.

Derek Grossman

Senior Defense Analyst

Source: Foreign Policy

While neurodivergent diagnoses are not automatically disqualifying from Army service, any new recruit who reveals a diagnosis jumps through hoops to serve. Some described having to prove that their diagnoses do not impede their ability to serve, which puts the burden on an eighteen-year-old to prove a negative for which the Army has no assessment criteria.

Cortney Weinbaum

Senior Management Scientist

Source: Modern War Institute (West Point)

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Assessing and Articulating the Wider Benefits of Research

Immigration Legislation

The Public Charge Rule's Likely Hazard to Our Nation's Health During COVID-19

America's Overwhelmed Immigration System

A Threat to Immigrant Health Care with Potential Consequences for All

Restoring Asylum Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence

The Immigration Debate: Building a Bridge Across the Deportation-Amnesty Divide

Why a Travel Restriction Won't Stop Terrorism at Home

If Terrorism Is Homegrown, a Visa Overhaul Won't Keep Americans Safe

Should Undocumented Immigrant Youth Pay In-State Tuition to Attend College?

The Forgotten Cornerstone in the Immigration Reform Debate

Challenges and Opportunities Ahead for New Homeland Security Secretary

Border Security Is Key to Immigration Reform

Is Enforcement Key to Fixing America's Immigration System?

The State of the Union 2013

Legalization and Border Security: Are We There Yet?

Potential Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants Takes Shape

Immigration Needs a Hybrid Fix

Farsighted Leadership in a Shortsighted World: 9 Issues That Deserve Attention During the 2012 U.S. Presidential Debates and Beyond

One More Embrace, Then Slam the Door

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