It is clear that the U.S. immigration system as it stands today has not kept pace with the changing times, especially with America’s dramatic demographic shifts and its medium- and long-term labor market needs. Addressing the estimated 10.5 million undocumented immigrants residing in the United States is key to undertaking systemic immigration reform. This project, supported by a grant from the Charles Koch Foundation, develops frameworks and policy recommendations for resolving the immigration status of millions of undocumented migrants in the United States by exploring alternative solutions for conditional residency and work authorization.
On May 5, 2021, the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico and Center for Houston’s Future held a workshop on the state of immigration in the United States and more specifically, the status of the U.S. undocumented resident population. The workshop involved 36 participants, including academic researchers, lawyers and other legal scholars, policy analysts, and on-the-ground immigration practitioners.
The workshop report is available here.
Pathways to Immigration: Prioritizing the Undocumented Population Residing in the United States
Tony Payan, Ph.D. and Pamela Lizette Cruz
Left on the Table: The Unrealized Economic Potential of the Undocumented Population
José Iván Rodríguez Sánchez, Ph.D.
A New Opportunity to Build a 21st-Century Immigration Court System
Elizabeth Mendoza, J.D.
Anna Ferri
The Quest for Elusive Reform: Undocumented Immigrants in a Polarized Nation
Daniel Tichenor, Ph.D.
The Materialization of a Dream: Creating a Pathway to Permanent Residency for DACA Recipients
Catherine Glazer, J.D.
2021 Association for Borderlands Studies (ABS) Virtual Conference, April 15-17, 2021
Center for the United States and Mexico researchers Tony Payan, José Iván Rodríguez Sánchez, Pamela Cruz and commissioned research authors Daniel Tichenor, Anna Ferri and Catherine Glazer participated in a panel at the Association for Borderlands Studies (ABS) conference titled “Practical Solutions for Addressing the Immigration Challenge.” Authors presented their research and received feedback from attendees. View the full conference program here.
