September NINSletter and news roundup

Greetings, its September! And oh my so much has happened in the news. Thanks to our immigration law guru Cassie we have our latest roundup of news from the past month.

This article delves into some of the consequences U.S. citizens may face if birthright citizenship is ended in the United States. Currently, babies born in the U.S. are automatically U.S. citizens—except in very unique situations like babies born in the U.S. to foreign diplomat parents—no matter the status of the baby’s parents. President Trump has proposed ending birthright citizenship via executive order but, so far, he hasn’t acted on that proposal. This article points out that the administrative burden would increase if there are two classes of babies born in the U.S. which would, in turn, mean an increase in the size of the federal government agency charged with administering this new rule. The estimate given in the article is that this increased processing would cost $1,200 to $1,600 per baby and there is no guarantee this would affect illegal immigration at all.

This is a great read that helps explain how the Trump Administration’s “public charge” proposal will vastly alter the type of immigrant coming into the U.S. By focusing heavily on wealthier and better educated immigrants we are likely to see increased numbers of immigrants who are already a member of the “middle class” while closing the door on applicants of more modest means. While educated/high skill immigration is a good thing (and I think we need higher visa numbers to help alleviate the severe shortages in the IT and Engineering fields) we shouldn’t close the door on these immigrants! Large sectors of our economy depend upon immigrants looking for their first foothold in the American economy. 

There last two articles aren’t really articles but I thought a few easy to digest primers on U.S. immigration law might be something our NINS readers would be interested in. The American Immigration council is a great resource for reliable immigration-based information, and they have put together a good tutorial here on the basics of U.S. immigration. The second link is a great explanation for why the “get in line” argument is so frustrating hear: there is no line for the vast majority of illegal immigrants in this country. We already prioritize highly educated/highly skilled immigrants to the point that lower skilled immigrants have no options for obtaining a green card. The U.S. does have short term visa categories for agricultural workers and tourism-based workers but the folks who hold those type of visas are not eligible to transition to a green card unlike other work-based visas like H-1B and L-1A/L-1B.