Below is a sample of research and writing covering a range of topics related to immigration. Most of this work was done on behalf of the National Immigration Forum and other nonprofit clients.
Book Chapter
“Immigration Reform: Will New Political Calculations and New Actors Overcome Enforcement Inertia?” in The New Deportations Delirium: Interdisciplinary Responses, edited by Daniel Kanstroom and M. Brinton Lykes. (Principal researcher, writer), with Ali Noorani and Brittany Nystrom. Published by: New York University Press, December 2015. This chapter describes how our immigration system is broken, and how the political system’s response in recent years has been one dimensional – more enforcement.
Research Papers and Fact Sheets
2021
Topic: Immigration and Workforce Development. How Internationally Trained Immigrants & Refugees Can Fight COVID-19, Reopen Our Economy, and Advance Equity and Opportunity: Recommendations for the Biden-Harris Administration, (researcher/writer). Published by Upwardly Global, March 24, 2021. This paper explains the situation of internationally trained immigrant and refugee professionals who are working below their skill level due to various barriers to reentry into their careers after relocating to the U.S. It urges the Biden administration to invest in these foreign-trained professionals to speed their inclusion into the U.S. workforce, and offers a number of recommendations on how that might be accomplished.
2020
Topic: Immigrant Integration. Immigrant Integration Plan 2020-2030: Aurora is Open to the World, (researcher/writer). Released by the City of Aurora, Colorado, Office of International and Immigrant Affairs, December 2, 2020. This report highlights the accomplishments of the City of Aurora, Colorado’s immigrant integration efforts since its first integration plan launched in 2015, and lays out what it plans to do in the coming years.
Topic: Immigration and Public Opinion. Immigration and COVID-19: Did Immigrants Lose Public Support? (researcher/writer). Published by the National Immigration Forum, September 30, 2020. This brief puts into context public support for certain of the administration’s actions to keep immigrants and asylum seekers from entering the country during the pandemic. The public has supported measures to stop the spread of COVID-19, but that does not mean their generally positive views of immigrants have changed.
Topic: Immigration and Public Opinion. Polling Update: Americans Continue to Resist Negative Messages about Immigrants, but Partisan Differences Continue to Grow, (researcher, writer). Published by the National Immigration Forum, September 18, 2020. Americans as a whole, as measured by mainstream public opinion surveys, continue to become more pro-immigrant, even as there was majority support for a temporary halt to most immigration to stop the spread of COVID-19. Democrats and Republicans continue to be far apart on most immigration-related issues.
2019
Topic: Public Benefits. Public Charge Regulation Summary, (researcher, writer). Published by the National Immigration Forum, September 4, 2019. A summary of the final rule published by DHS on how the agency will determine who is “likely to become a public charge.”
Topic: State and Local Immigration Facts. “Immigrants in Florida,” (researcher). Published by the National Immigration Forum, June 26, 2019. Facts on immigrants in Florida, and their contributions to the state.
Topic: Immigration and Public Opinion. American Attitudes on Immigration Steady, but Showing More Partisan Divides, (researcher/author). Published by the National Immigration Forum, April 17, 2019. An update into public opinion polling two years in to the Trump administration, showing that Americans as a whole have become more pro immigrant, but with a wider partisan divide between Republicans on one side and Democrats and independents on the other.
Topic: Immigrants and the Economy. Immigrants as Economic Contributors: Immigrants Fill the Temporary Needs of American Employers, (researcher/author). Published by: National Immigration Forum, January 2019. This paper looks at immigrants who come to the U.S. on some of the key temporary work visas — H-2A, H-2B, H-1B, and the J-1 cultural exchange visa — and discuses how important these workers are to U.S. employers, especially in industries with seasonal demand for workers. Fifth in a series of papers on immigrants as economic contributors.
2018
Topic: Public Benefits. Proposed Public Charge Regulation Summary (Researcher, writer), Published by: National Immigration Forum, October 10, 2018. A summary of the proposed rule, published on October 10, 2018, to broaden the grounds of inadmissibility by expanding the list of public benefits for which immigrants would be considered “likely to become a public charge” if they were to receive more than a minimal amount.
Topic: Immigrants and the Economy. Immigrants as Economic Contributors: Immigrant Tax Contributions and Spending Power (researcher/author). Published by: National Immigration Forum, September 6, 2018. This paper highlights research on the spending power and federal, state, and local tax contributions of immigrants. Fourth in a series of papers on immigrants as economic contributors.
Topic: Immigrants and the Economy. Immigrants as Economic Contributors: Immigrant Entrepreneurs (researcher/author). Published by: National Immigration Forum, July 11, 2018. This paper discusses entrepreneurship among immigrants and refugees, and the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs to our economy in general, and to the revitalization of local and regional economies in the U.S. Third in a series of papers on immigrants as economic contributors.
Topic: Immigrants and Crime. Fact Sheet: Immigrants and Crime (researcher/ writer). Published by: Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force, June 26, 2018. Key facts to dispel persistent myths regarding immigrants and crime.
Topic: Immigrants and the Economy. Immigrants as Economic Contributors: They Are the New American Workforce, (researcher/author). Published by: National Immigration Forum, June 5, 2018. Facts and figures on the role of immigrants — including undocumented immigrants — in the American workforce of today, and the increasingly important role they will play in our future workforce. Second in a series of papers on immigrants as economic contributors.
Topic: Public Opinion. “Polling Update: Heated Immigration Debates, Public Opinion Still Supports Immigrants,” (researcher/author). Published by: National Immigration Forum, April 26, 2018. A roundup of mainstream public opinion polling on immigration from the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018.
Topic: Immigrants and the Economy. Immigrants As Economic Contributors: Complementing Not Competing, (researcher/author). Published by: National Immigration Forum, April 17, 2018. This paper highlights research showing that immigrant and native-born workers occupy different niches in our economy. First in a series of papers on immigrants as economic contributors.
2017
Topic: Public Opinion. “Polling Update: Public Support Grows for Providing Legal Status for Undocumented Immigrants,” (researcher/author). Published by: National Immigration Forum, December 21, 2017. A roundup of mainstream public opinion polling on attitudes towards Dreamers, on legal status for undocumented immigrants, on reform of the immigration system, and on immigration and diversity in general.
Topic: Immigrants in the Military. For the Love of Country: New Americans in Our Armed Forces, (researcher/principal writer). Published by: National Immigration Forum, November 7, 2017. This paper focuses on the role of immigrants in our armed forces throughout our history, discusses current efforts by the military to maintain an all-volunteer force and how immigrants — including Dreamers — serve as a vital pool of potential recruits, and shines a light on how the broken immigration system prevents some from serving their country in the way they want, or from being honored for their service. Recommendations for reform are made by Veterans for New Americans.
Topic: Public Opinion. “Polling Update: Public Attitudes on Immigration and Trump Administration Immigration Initiatives,” (researcher/author). Published by: National Immigration Forum, July 3, 2017. A roundup of mainstream public opinion polling on the treatment of undocumented immigrants, earned legal status, mass deportation, and general views on immigration and illegal immigration. In the first months of the Trump presidency, public opinion remains favorable towards immigration reform with a path to legal status, but a partisan divide is becoming more pronounced.
Topic: Immigration Enforcement. A Primer on Expedited Removal (researcher/writer). Published by: American Immigration Council, February 3, 2017. This brief paper provides explanation of expedited removal and reviews how it has been used up to the beginning of the Trump administration. It also highlights concerns with possible expansion of its use.
2016
Topic: Public Opinion. “Polling Update: Post-Election, Still Little Support for Mass Deportation,” (researcher/author). Published by: National Immigration Forum, November 22, 2016. A roundup of mainstream public opinion polling covering the period up to and through the 2016 presidential election.
Topic: Language Learning and Workplace Training. Immigrants and the Importance of Language Learning for a Global Society, (researcher/author). Published by: National Immigration Forum, October 17, 2016. This paper examines language learning and workforce training. It takes a look at promising practices using English contextualized for the workplace and English combined with technical skills training. It also looks at the growing interest in foreign language learning by native-born Americans and the benefits of dual or multiple language learning in a globalized society. It makes a series of recommendations to address barriers that adult language learners face and to increased language learning in the U.S.
Topic: Public Opinion. “Polling Update: Heated Political Rhetoric on Immigration Has Not Changed Decade-Long Public Opinion,” (researcher/author). Published by: National Immigration Forum, August 31, 2016. A roundup of mainstream public opinion polling, showing unwavering public support for the idea of allowing undocumented immigrants to gain legal status and citizenship under certain conditions — despite vitriolic rhetoric in the presidential election cycle.
Topic: Immigration and Politics. “Latino and Immigrant Voters in the 2016 Election,” (researcher/writer – Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio). Published by: America’s Voice. A series of state profiles looking at the Latino vote and how the issue of immigration was playing out in those states leading up to the 2016 election.
2015
Topic: Public Opinion. “Polling Summary: Presidential Campaign Messaging Out of Step with General Electorate Attitudes on Immigration,” Published by: National Immigration Forum, July 31, 2015. A roundup of mainstream public opinion polls leading up to the start of the 2016 presidential election, showing that the rhetoric of some of the presidential candidates was out of step with the public on attitudes towards immigrants.
Short Articles
2017
“In California Cities, Rising Housing Costs Force Immigrants Out,” Immigration Impact, American Immigration Council, January 24, 2017, http://immigrationimpact.com/2017/01/24/california-cities-rising-housing-costs-force-immigrants/.
“President Obama’s Change to Cuban Migration Policy, Explained,” Immigration Impact, American Immigration Council, January 13, 2017, http://immigrationimpact.com/2017/01/13/obama-cuba-immigration-policy/.
“What John Kelly Said About Immigration Policy at His Confirmation Hearing for DHS Secretary,” Immigration Impact, American Immigration Council, January 11, 2017, http://immigrationimpact.com/2017/01/11/john-kelly-said-immigration-policy-confirmation-hearing-dhs-secretary/
2016
“Ending DACA Comes With Costs to Business and Government,” Immigration Impact, American Immigration Council, December 19, 2016, http://immigrationimpact.com/2016/12/19/what-is-the-cost-of-ending-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals/.
“DHS Secretary Nominee John Kelly’s Resume is Thin on Immigration,” Immigration Impact, American Immigration Council, December 16, 2016, http://immigrationimpact.com/2016/12/16/john-kelly-immigration-homeland-security/.
“Immigrant Potential Is an Expensive Thing to Waste,” Immigration Impact, American Immigration Council, December 8, 2016, http://immigrationimpact.com/2016/12/08/immigrant-potential-expensive-thing-waste/.
“What the Immigration Restrictionists’ Agenda Will Look Like for the Next Four Years,” Immigration Impact, American Immigration Council, December 2, 2016, http://immigrationimpact.com/2016/12/02/immigration-restrictionists-agenda-will-look-like-next-four-years/.
“Colleges Rally to the Defense of Undocumented Students,” Immigration Impact, American Immigration Council, November 30, 2016, http://immigrationimpact.com/2016/11/30/colleges-rally-defense-undocumented-students/.
“Support for Naturalization in the States,” New Americans Campaign, August 9, 2016, http://newamericanscampaign.org/support-for-naturalization-in-the-states-2/.
“Could You Be a Citizen and Not Even Know It?,” New Americans Campaign, May 10, 2016, http://newamericanscampaign.org/could-you-be-a-citizen-and-not-even-know-it/.
“Proposed Naturalization Fee Changes Help Some Immigrants, Hurt Others,” New Americans Campaign, May 6, 2016, http://newamericanscampaign.org/proposed-naturalization-fee-changes-help-immigrants-hurt-others/.
“Partnerships with Human Services Agencies Boost Interest in Naturalization,” New Americans Campaign, March 30, 2016, http://newamericanscampaign.org/from-new-americans/.
“Task Force on New Americans Releases Progress Report,” New Americans Campaign, February 19, 2016 http://newamericanscampaign.org/task-force-on-new-americans-releases-progress-report/.
“How Cities Benefit from Citizenship,” New Americans Campaign, January 26, 2016, http://newamericanscampaign.org/naturalization-is-good-for-cities/.
2015
“Zoom In: Data on the Naturalization-eligible Could Help Providers Focus Resources,” New Americans Campaign, December 23, 2015, http://newamericanscampaign.org/zoom-in-data-on-the-naturalization-eligible-could-help-providers-focus-resources/.
“New Report Offers Rich Detail on the Naturalization-Eligible,” New Americans Campaign, December 7, 2015, http://newamericanscampaign.org/new-report-offers-rich-detail-on-the-naturalization-eligible/.
“African Immigrant Population on the Increase,” New Americans Campaign, November 9, 2015, http://newamericanscampaign.org/african-immigrant-population-on-the-increase/.
“U.S. Lags in Naturalization Rates, Commitment to Promote Naturalization,” New Americans Campaign, October 16, 2015, http://newamericanscampaign.org/u-s-lags-in-naturalization-rates-commitment-to-promote-naturalization/.
“Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month,” New Americans Campaign, September 21, 2015, http://newamericanscampaign.org/celebrating-hispanic-heritage-month/.
“For American Samoans, Citizenship Not Guaranteed,” New Americans Campaign, June 17, 2015, http://newamericanscampaign.org/american-samoans-citizenship-guaranteed/.
“Disability Waivers 101,” New Americans Campaign, May 4, 2015, http://newamericanscampaign.org/disability-waivers-101/.
“White House Task Force Releases Recommendations,” New Americans Campaign, April 14, 2015, http://newamericanscampaign.org/white-house-task-force-releases-recommendations/.
“Teaching Concepts on the Naturalization Application Form,” New Americans Campaign, March 20, 2015, http://newamericanscampaign.org/teaching-concepts-naturalization-application-form/
Maurice Belanger Consulting 