Despite some direct prodding – and funding – from the federal government, summer school programs are being cut back across the country. Alice Cooper may well approve, but where does this leave American parents?
Community colleges around the country are facing tough choices on how many students they can actually serve – choices that Public Agenda's research shows are running right into the public's biggest concerns about higher education.
The U.S. admitted more than 400,000 new immigrants in 2007, and more than 600,000 people were given permanent legal status, adding up to more than a million legal immigrants a year. More than 12 percent of the U.S. population is foreign-born.
There are an estimated 11.7 million illegal or undocumented immigrants in the country. U.S. border agents say they apprehended more than one million people in 2006.
Although legal immigration rates are historically high, they have fallen since the early 1990s.
Current laws emphasize family ties for admission, and most legal immigrants are, in fact, relatives of people already here.
If you want to get people arguing these days, there’s no better topic than immigration. For talk show hosts who specialize in showcasing irate callers and displaying how angry they are themselves, devoting a show to immigration, especially illegal immigration, is a no-brainer. The topic is so bitter, and Americans are so divided about it, that we seem to have decided to live with a broken system rather than compromise on crafting a new one.
There are many ideas about how to reform the American immigration system – and frankly it’s going to take a while to really make sense of the situation and fix all the problems Americans complain about. Here are three different directions a lot of politicians talk about - directions in which the country might move.
Dramatically strengthen the enforcement of current laws and reduce the level of legal immigration
Reform immigration law to match the needs of the economy – bring in more highly-skilled immigrants and create a guest worker program for low-skilled immigrants
Reform the system to take advantage of the enormous contributions immigrants make to the U.S. and give decent, honest undocumented workers a clear path to citizenship
Our immigration system is out of control. With about 11.7 million illegal immigrants living in the United States and nearly half a million new ones arriving each year, the current system undercuts American workers and risks allowing dangerous criminals and terrorists into the U.S. It’s just wrong to tolerate the widespread breaking of the law. Read More...
About 15 percent of U.S. workers are immigrants, and over the last decade they have accounted for about half of the growth in the work force. Our economy just won’t function well without them, but we need to adjust the system so that we really do bring in the people who can help us most. Read More...
The United States is a nation of immigrants, and our whole society benefits from having a humane policy that recognizes the vast majority of undocumented workers have become valued members of our society. Plus, the country basically allowed illegal entry for decades. To suddenly pull the rug out from under people who have built good lives here is just wrong. Read More...
Here’s a sampling of what some influential people have said about the problem and some of the solutions that have been proposed.
"The good news is that Congress is cracking down on illegal immigration. The bad news: a head of lettuce will now cost $300."
Use our Citizen's Survival Kit to figure out where you stand on the issues – then use the news and e-mail addresses in Take It To The Next Level to stay engaged and tell our elected officials and other leaders what you want and what you expect them to do.
Talk It Over