This Independent Task Force report encourages the Obama administration and Congress to adopt a "pro-America" trade policy that brings to more Americans the benefits of global engagement.

This Task Force report offers a strategy for maintaining America's political and economic leadership by attracting skilled immigrants, a program of legalization for those living in the United States illegally, and steps for securing the country's borders in an effective and humane way.

Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the Bush administration's struggle to balance security and openness in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Edward Alden writes that skilled workers, frustrated by the tight U.S. quotas on work visas and the long waits for permanent residency, are being lured by other countries that have overhauled their immigration laws and promise a smoother transition to a new life.

Featuring teaching notes by Edward Alden, director of this CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on U.S. Immigration Policy, this academic module includes additional resources to supplement the teaching of the text in the classroom. This report warns that the failure to reform dysfunctional immigration laws and procedures threatens to harm the U.S. economy, complicate diplomacy, and weaken national security. It argues that maintaining America's political and economic leadership depends on attracting talented and hard-working immigrants and on securing the country's borders in a smart, effective, and humane way.

President Obama's first big speech on immigration reform missed opportunities to chart a political roadmap for new legislation and failed to reframe the issue's security implications, writes CFR's Edward Alden.

Edward Alden writes that "unless we begin a sensible debate on what a secure border means, and how to get there, badly needed immigration legislation will forever be hostage to an elusive goal."

Edward Alden says that the real threat to U.S. national security is not the people we fail to keep out but those we fail to invite in.

Despite the political environment surrounding Senate Democrats' new immigration reform outline, it provides a serious basis for moving forward on a crucial issue, says CFR's Edward Alden.

Arizona's new immigration law is unwise, unworkable, and probably unconstitutional. And who's to blame? Actually, the rest of the country, writes CFR's Edward Alden.

Edward Alden testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security on the obstacles preventing the U.S. government from accurately identifying those who come lawfully to the United States but then overstay their terms of entry.

Edward Alden explains why there has been no surge in trade protectionism despite the worst economic downturn in 80 years.

Edward Alden says that the Supreme Court ruling on the terrorism case, Ashcroft v. Iqbal, makes it difficult for many other lawsuits to proceed.

Edward Alden says that Canada's turnaround in the 1990s from running more than two decades of budget deficits offers lessons for the United States today.

President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address focused heavily, as expected, on domestic economic recovery and reasserting U.S. competitiveness. Six CFR experts noted different aspects of the challenges facing Obama.

CFR's Edward Alden says U.S. response to recent air-security failures should be to improve existing measures that identify genuine threats instead of imposing "knee-jerk initiatives that look tough" but may be less effective.

Edward Alden discusses the Obama administration's quiet overhaul of immigration policies.

Edward Alden reviews Harold James' new book on the risks posed by the destruction of the values that underpin globalization.

Edward Alden argues that the Obama administration should promptly eliminate the "special registration" procedures under the National Security Entry-Exit System set up after September 11, 2001.

Edward Alden writes that the Department of Homeland Security "has yet to become a whole that adds up to more than its parts," reviewing books by its first two secretaries, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff.

This year's Nobelists demonstrate the United States' success in science. But Edward Alden argues that we are jeopardizing this success through shortsighted immigration restrictions that make it difficult for the most talented and ambitious scientists to come here and remain.

This Task Force report offers a strategy for maintaining America's political and economic leadership by attracting skilled immigrants, a program of legalization for those living in the United States illegally, and steps for securing the country's borders in an effective and humane way.

This module features teaching notes by CFR Senior Fellow Edward Alden, author of The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration, and Security Since 9/11, along with other resources to supplement the text. In this book, Mr. Alden examines the complicated interplay between the United States' need for homeland security and economic openness in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.