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• Latin America, America Latin: The Dynamics of Immigration and Integration in the Western Hemisphere

  Director:	Shannon K. O'Neil, Douglas Dillon Fellow for Latin America Studies

  May 22, 2007 - May 22, 2007

  An estimated twelve million illegal immigrants live in the United States, up from five million just ten years ago. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2005 some 78 percent of this population was from Latin America. Despite these startling statistics, U.S. immigration law has not changed in twenty years. There is agreement across the political spectrum that the status quo does not work and that immigration reform is necessary, said Deborah W. Meyers, senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute. Yet as migration policy experts, immigration lawyers, and journalists discussed in a recent symposium hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, “The Dynamics of Immigration and Integration in the Western Hemisphere,” the specifics of how to reform U.S. immigration law have provoked heated debate. Panelists discussed the contentious dynamics of U.S. immigration reform from the perspectives of U.S. policymakers, the general public, and immigrants themselves. The symposium was the final event in this year’s “Latin America, America Latin” series at the Council, organized by Council Fellow for Latin America Studies Shannon O’Neil and made possible by the generosity of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

  Summary Report of Symposium: Downloadable PDF

  
  

   

  • Meetings  
  • Further Readings  

   

  Meetings

  Latin America, America Latin: The Dynamics of Immigration and Integration in the Western Hemisphere--Dynamics of Entry (Session 1)

  Symposium

  
  May 22, 2007

  Related Project: Latin America, America Latin: The Dynamics of Immigration and Integration in the Western Hemisphere

  Speakers:	Stephen Pitti, Professor of History and American Studies, and Director of Ethnicity, Race, and Migration, Yale University
  	Deborah Meyers, Senior Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute
  	Cyrus Mehta, Founder and Managing Attorney, Cyrus D. Mehta & Associates, P.L.L.C.
  Presider:	Ray Suarez, Senior Correspondent, The Newshour with Jim Lehrer

  Transcript: Council on Foreign Relations Half-Day Symposium on Latin America, America Latin: The Dynamics of Immigration and Integration in the Western Hemisphere
  Audio: Latin America, America Latin Symposium: Session 1: Dynamics of Entry (Audio)
  Video: Latin America, America Latin Symposium: Session 1: Dynamics of Entry (Video)

  This meeting is on the record.

   

  Latin America, America Latin: The Dynamics of Immigration and Integration in the Western Hemisphere: Dynamics of Integration--Exclusion, Assimilation, or Transformation? (Session 2)

  Symposium

  
  May 22, 2007

  Related Project: Latin America, America Latin: The Dynamics of Immigration and Integration in the Western Hemisphere

  Speakers:	Eliseo Medina, International Executive Vice President, Service Employees International Union
  	John Trasvina, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
  	Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
  Presider:	Julia Preston, National Correspondent covering immigration, The New York Times

  Transcript: Council on Foreign Relations Half-Day Symposium on Latin America, America Latin: The Dynamics of Immigration And Integration in the Western Hemisphere
  Audio: Latin America, America Latin Symposium: Session 2: Dynamics of Integration: Exclusion, Assimilation, or Transformation? (Audio)
  Video: Latin America, America Latin Symposium: Session 2: Dynamics of Integration: Exclusion, Assimilation, or Transformation? (Video)

  This meeting is on the record.

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  Further Readings

  Council Report: The Economic Logic of Illegal Immigration

  Daily Analysis Brief: The Ys and Zs of Immigration

  Op-Ed: “The Fundamental Flaws of Immigration Reform” by Shannon O’Neil (washingtonpost.com)

  Op-Ed: “Not Enough Immigrants” by Shannon O’Neil (Los Angeles Times)

  Op-Ed: “The Low Risk From Immigrants” by Sebastian Mallaby (Washington Post)

  Campaign 2008: Issue Tracker—The Candidates on Immigration

  Foreign Affairs: “Immigration Nation” by Tamar Jacoby (November/December 2006)

  More on Immigration

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  New CFR Books

  

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  Complete list of CFR Books.

  

  

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  Dealing with Damascus

  In this Council Special Report, the authors make a strong case that the Bush administration’s policy of diplomatic isolation of Syria is not serving U.S. interests, and offer informed history and thoughtful analysis of the country and its external behavior.

  Complete list of Council Special Reports.

  

  

  David Rockefeller Studies Program Contacts

  For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:

  Gary Samore
  Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
  +1-212-434-9627
  gsamore@cfr.org

  Sebastian Mallaby
  Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, Deputy Director of Studies, and Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics
  smallaby@cfr.org

  Janine Hill
  Deputy Director of Studies Administration
  +1-212-434-9753
  jhill@cfr.org

   

  

  

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