Roughly 12 million people reside illegally in the United States. More are joining the workforce, and nearly half of these households have children. Congress tried but failed to pass legislation to change the functioning of current immigration policy.
Recommendations
The next President, in order to ensure the economic, social, and civic integration of illegal immigrants, should support policies that:
- recognize the economic role and contribution of undocumented workers by implementing an earned legalization program
- create an Impact Aid Program that would offset state and local expenditures related to the program
- create a New Americans Initiative—a program to support state-level public-private partnership that would help all immigrants integrate into American society in a systematic, coordinated, and effective way, through local government and nonprofit programs
Download Position Paper (PDF)
Download Fact Sheet (PDF)
Opportunity 08 aims to help 2008 presidential candidates and the public focus on critical issues facing the nation, presenting policy ideas on a wide array of domestic and foreign policy questions. The project is committed to providing both independent policy solutions and background material on issues of concern to voters.
