Parsing Immigration Policy

Center for Immigration Studies
  • 4.3 (58)
  • Politics
  • Updated Weekly

A weekly discussion of immigration policy matters, both immediate and long-term, with researchers from the Center for Immigration Studies and guests.The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit, research organization. Since our founding in 1985 by Otis Graham Jr., we have pursued a single mission – providing immigration policymakers, the academic community, news media, and concerned citizens with reliable information about the social, economic, environmental, security, and fiscal consequences of legal and illegal immigration into the United States. Listen to all episodes of Parsing Immigration Policy at Ricochet.com.

  1. 6d ago

    Podcast: 9/11 and Immigration - Twenty-Five Years of Lessons and Unfinished Business

    Twenty-five years after 9/11, is the United States better prepared to prevent another terrorist attack? This week's podcast is an edited rebroadcast of the Center's panel held to examine that question, discussing the role immigration and border security played in the attacks, the major policy changes that followed, and the national-security challenges that remain. Former U.S. Senator and Attorney General Jeff Sessions introduced the panel and offered brief remarks. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest at the time of the attacks, Sessions was deeply involved in congressional oversight of immigration and national security in the years following 9/11. The panel at examined how the attacks reshaped U.S. immigration policy, including the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, changes to visa screening and information sharing, and increased attention to border security. The panel also revisited the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission: What was implemented? What was left undone? In addition, a European security expert discussed how 9/11 affected policy there as well. Host Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies. Guests General Jeff Sessions, Former U.S. Senator and Attorney General. Andrew R. Arthur, CIS Fellow in Law and Policy, who served as immigration oversight counsel to House Judiciary Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner beginning in July 2001 and worked on major post-9/11 immigration and national-security legislation. George Fishman, CIS Senior Legal Fellow, who served for two decades as Republican Chief Counsel of the House Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee and worked on major post-9/11 immigration and national-security legislation. Jessica M. Vaughan, CIS Director of Policy Studies, who was at CIS on 9/11 and specializes in immigration screening, visa programs, immigration enforcement, and public safety. Viktor Marsai, CIS Fellow, Director, Migration Research Institute in Budapest, and professor of security studies at Ludovika University of Public Service. Links Press Release and Video Streams: YouTube, Facebook, X C-Span Coverage Intro Montage Voices in the opening montage: Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

  2. Sep 3

    What Europe’s Migration Crisis Looks Like from Italy

    Italy is increasingly pushing back against Europe’s approach to illegal immigration, including a growing dispute with Germany over who should take responsibility for migrants rescued in the Mediterranean. On this week’s episode of the Center for Immigration Studies’ Parsing Immigration Policy podcast, Italian journalist Francesca Ronchin offers an Italian perspective on the migration pressures facing Europe and the growing frustration with uncontrolled flows. Ronchin, a journalist with RAI-Radiotelevisione Italiana, Italy’s national public broadcaster, focuses on immigration in Europe. She explains the Italian government view that when German NGOs rescue migrants in the Mediterranean, Germany should take responsibility for them, rather than bringing them to Italy and subsequently asking Italy to take them back. Among the topics discussed:Italy and Germany: The dispute over Mediterranean rescues, asylum responsibility, and whether NGO rescue operations create an incentive for additional migration.Ceuta and weaponized migration: The large-scale arrival in Spain’s North African exclave of Ceuta at the end of July, including the role of social media and traffickers and the view that Morocco used migration as a political tool.Immigration and Italy’s demographics: Whether immigration can solve Italy’s exceptionally low birth rate and what large-scale immigration means for wages, employment, taxes, and the welfare state.Integration and assimilation: The challenges of absorbing large numbers of newcomers and the difficulty of discussing assimilation openly in Italy.The migration route from Africa to Europe: Ronchin’s documentary, La Grande Bugia – Eritrea Andata e Ritorno (The Great Lie – Eritrea There and Back), which examines migration from northeastern Africa and questions surrounding claims of Eritrean nationality and asylum. An English-language version is forthcoming.Host Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies. Guest Francesca Ronchin is a journalist with RAI-Radiotelevisione Italiana. Links Francesca Ronchin's X Account“ La Grande Bugia – Eritrea Andata e Ritorno” (“The Great Lie – Eritrea There and Back”) Francesca Ronchin's author page at LaVerita Intro Montage Voices in the opening montage: Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

  3. Aug 27

    Does Immigration Drive Up Housing Costs?

    The connection between immigration and housing costs is the subject of this week’s episode of the Center for Immigration Studies’ Parsing Immigration Policy podcast. Jason Richwine, a resident scholar at the Center, discusses his forthcoming study, scheduled for publication this fall in the peer-reviewed journal Cityscape. The large majority of academic studies find a positive relationship between immigration and housing prices, with relatively little debate over the basic nexus. Richwine’s research updates the evidence using 2014 and 2023 data and examines the effects of increased immigration on rents across nearly 1,700 public-use microdata areas (PUMAs). Among the findings:A 1 percentage-point increase in the foreign-born share is associated with approximately a 1.5 percent increase in rents paid by natives, when direct and spillover effects are included.Immigration in one area also raises rents in surrounding areas, creating a ripple effect beyond the community experiencing the initial increase.Housing construction cannot necessarily respond quickly enough to accommodate large, sudden increases in population, while restrictions on new construction and opposition to higher-density housing further constrain supply.Richwine also discusses research linking higher housing costs to lower fertility and increases in the sheltered homeless population, arguing that the difficulty of rapidly expanding housing supply is another reason to favor "lower and slower" immigration. In the episode’s commentary, CIS Executive Director Mark Krikorian discusses a NYT article reporting a private meeting between Jared Kushner and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries about potential areas of immigration policy agreement. Krikorian considers what the administration can do to reassure immigration restriction supporters that it will not compromise on its agenda, including more aggressive workplace enforcement and further measures to tighten legal immigration. Host Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies. Guest Jason Richwine is a Resident Scholar at the Center for Immigration Studies Links Abstract: “Immigration and Rent: PUMA-Based Spatial Analysis” Intro Montage Voices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

  4. Aug 20

    J-1 Visa Program: A Cheap Labor Program

    Americans visiting beaches, neighborhood pools, summer camps, and resorts this summer are likely to encounter foreign workers filling jobs as lifeguards, ice-cream scoopers, housekeepers, counselors, and restaurant workers. Many may not realize that these workers are in the United States on J-1 exchange visas—a program the State Department promotes as an instrument of cultural exchange and public diplomacy. A new episode of the Center for Immigration Studies podcast Parsing Immigration Policy examines the findings of the recently published CIS report, Exchange Visa Programs Operate Mainly For Cheap Labor, Not Cultural Exchange, with Jessica Vaughan, the Center's director of policy studies. The report finds that the J-1 program has evolved into a major temporary foreign-worker program:About 75 percent of the 275,000 J-1 visas issued in 2025 went to workers, while only about 25 percent went to more traditional exchange programs.Summer Work Travel alone accounted for 105,000 visas, making it the largest J-1 category. Another 32,000 went to foreign camp counselors.The State Department has approved more than 1,500 third-party organizations to administer J-1 programs, effectively outsourcing much of the program's oversight to organizations that can benefit financially from placing foreign workers with U.S. employers.J-1 summer exchange workers are supposed to head home soon, but thousands will ignore the rules and overstay, joining the illegal population. The J-1 category has one of the highest overstay rates among U.S. entry categories, according to DHS overstay data.The episode also examines potential reforms, including stronger penalties for sponsors, greater scrutiny of countries with high overstay rates, the termination of the subcategories that have no meaningful public diplomacy value, and transferring work-based J-1 programs to the Department of Labor for appropriate labor-market oversight. Host Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies. Guest Jessica Vaughan is the Director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies Links Exchange Visa Programs Operate Mainly For Cheap Labor, Not Cultural Exchange J-1 Visas: Cheap Labor as Cultural Exchange Intro Montage Voices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

  5. Aug 13

    Panel: Who Gets to Be a Citizen?

    A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision addressing birthright citizenship has renewed debate over one of the most consequential questions in immigration policy for any nation: Who should be entitled to citizenship? To examine the current state of citizenship policy, especially as it relates to immigration, the International Network for Immigration Research (INIR) held a panel discussion featuring policy experts from the United States, France, Israel, and Hungary, hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies. The panel explored how different democracies define citizenship, the historical development of their laws, and the policy choices that shape them today. While the United States has long interpreted the 14th Amendment to confer citizenship broadly on nearly all children born on U.S. soil, many countries have adopted different approaches. Some place greater emphasis on parental citizenship, while others have modified their laws over time; France, for example, revised its citizenship laws in the 1990s to move away from automatic citizenship at birth. Host Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies Guests Pawel Styrna is the Director of International Relations at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Washington, D.C. Nicolas Pouvreau-Monti is the Executive Director of the Immigration and Demography Observatory (OID), Paris. Yonatan Jakubowicz is the Executive Director of the Israeli Immigration Policy Center, Jerusalem. Viktor Marsai is the Executive Director of the Migration Research Institute, Budapest. Links Press Release Video Transcript Live Stream Intro Montage Voices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

  6. Aug 6

    Spain's Ceuta Migrant Surge Highlights How Migration Can Be Weaponized

    The surge of more than 60,000 migrants into Spain's North African exclave of Ceuta has reignited debate over border security, immigration policy, and the growing use of migration as a geopolitical weapon. In the latest episode of the Parsing Immigration Policy podcast, Fellow in Law and Policy Andrew Arthur, filling in for host Mark Krikorian, welcomes European immigration expert Juan Soto to examine the causes of the crisis and the lessons it holds for the United States. Soto argues that the July 30 mass crossing was more than a spontaneous migration event. Instead, he contends it was a coordinated effort intended to send a political message to Spain, given Morocco’s continued claims to sovereignty over Ceuta, Melilla, and the Canary Islands. He explains how recent Spanish government policies, including a broad legalization program for illegal immigrants, a citizenship expansion law, and a Spanish Supreme Court ruling limiting the immediate return of migrants arriving by sea, contributed to the crisis. Arthur and Soto also examine the broader geopolitical context of the surge, the muted and often critical response from the European Union and the United States, and how Spain's recent foreign policy positions may have shaped international reactions to the crisis. The episode concludes with Soto's recommendations for responding to instances where migration is used as a geopolitical weapon. He argues that governments must "fix the facts" by accurately describing coordinated mass crossings as hybrid attacks rather than ordinary immigration crises and establish clear consequences in advance—from diplomatic measures to economic sanctions—to deter foreign actors’ use of migration to advance political and strategic objectives. Host Andrew Arthur is a Fellow in Law and Policy at the Center for Immigration Studies. Guest Juan Soto is a European immigration expert and co-founder and CEO of Fortius Consulting. Links Juan Soto's X Account Juan Soto's Author Page at the Hungarian Conservative Juan Soto's INIR Article: Battlefield, Ceuta Intro Montage Voices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

  7. Jul 30

    Why Immigration Has Become France’s Defining Political Issue

    This week’s episode of the Center for Immigration Studies’ “Parsing Immigration Policy” podcast features Nicolas Pouvreau-Monti, co-founder and executive director of the French immigration think tank L'Observatoire de l'Immigration et de la Démographie (OID), discussing how record immigration, failed assimilation, and growing public frustration have made immigration the dominant political issue in France ahead of next year’s presidential election. The discussion examines immigration’s demographic, economic, and cultural impacts on France, as well as the emergence of OID as one of the country’s leading sources of non-partisan immigration research at a time when immigration has become the central issue in French politics. Founded just three years ago by six co-founders concerned about France’s migration crisis, OID was established to fill what Monti describes as a void in public debate by providing reliable data, research, and analysis on immigration. Among the topics discussed:France’s foreign-born population has reached a historic high, with immigration increasingly originating from outside Europe.Why most French citizens support lower immigration levels, yet government policy has largely failed to respond.The economic effects of large-scale immigration, including workforce participation, welfare spending, and pressure on public services.France’s retreat from assimilation and the challenges of integrating immigrants from culturally distinct regions.Why immigration is expected to be the defining issue in France’s 2027 presidential election.Monti is the author of the award-winning book Immigration, Mythes et Réalités, which challenges common claims about immigration using demographic and economic data. OID is a member of the International Network for Immigration Research (INIR), joining the Center for Immigration Studies and other partner organizations in the United States, Israel, and Hungary. In his commentary, Krikorian, the Center's executive director, introduces new CIS Fellow Mahvash Siddiqui, a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer. Siddiqui’s first analyses for the Center examine industrialized fraud in the H-1B visa program, based on her experience as a consular officer, and a recent federal court decision striking down the Trump administration’s $100,000 entry fee for H-1B visa holders . Host Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies. Guest Nicolas Pouvreau-Monti is the co-founder and executive director of the French immigration think tank L'Observatoire de l'Immigration et de la Démographie (OID). Links L'Observatoire de l'Immigration et de la Démographie Immigration, Mythes et Réalités Mahvash Siddiqui Intro  Voices in the opening montage: Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

  8. Jul 23

    Immigration Newsmaker: A Conversation with Border Czar Tom Homan

    This week's episode of Parsing Immigration Policy is a rebroadcast of a recent installment of the Center's Immigration Newsmaker series featuring the White House Border Czar Tom Homan. In the interview hosted by Center Executive Director Mark Krikorian, Homan discusses the recent pause in traffic stops, the administration's enforcement priorities, recent record-setting ICE arrests, sanctuary jurisdictions, and the future of mass deportations. A highlight of the conversation is Homan's proposal to dramatically expand I-9 inspections by creating a centralized operation staffed by contractors to conduct large-scale audits. Rather than relying exclusively on armed Homeland Security Investigations agents to review employment records, Homan argues that contractors could identify criminal and administrative violations and refer those cases to investigators — freeing agents to focus on criminal investigations and enforcement operations. In his closing commentary, Mark Krikorian discusses a regulatory change that will end the Department of Homeland Security's “duration of status” policy for F, J, and I nonimmigrant classifications. Host Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies. Guest Tom Homan is the White House Border Czar. Links Immigration Newsmaker Press Release Immigration Newsmaker Video mmigration Newsmaker Transcript Immigration Newsmaker Series DHS Ends ‘Duration of Status’ for Students, Exchange Visitors, and Foreign Media Intro Montage Voices in the opening montage: Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

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About

A weekly discussion of immigration policy matters, both immediate and long-term, with researchers from the Center for Immigration Studies and guests.The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit, research organization. Since our founding in 1985 by Otis Graham Jr., we have pursued a single mission – providing immigration policymakers, the academic community, news media, and concerned citizens with reliable information about the social, economic, environmental, security, and fiscal consequences of legal and illegal immigration into the United States. Listen to all episodes of Parsing Immigration Policy at Ricochet.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Center for Immigration Studies
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    273
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Center for Immigration Studies
  • Show Website
    Parsing Immigration Policy

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