The current “humanitarian crisis” where thousands of children and and adults are crammed into shelters, and migrant mothers and children making do in makeshift encampments – is stirring a round of finger-pointing and a debate over and what the United States can or should do in response.
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Potential executive action by the White House, along with the recent surge in unaccompanied children attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, has once again brought the political spotlight to America’s immigration system.
Certain demographic transformations now underway are poised to change the nature of human communities and how they function. These trends are vital context for reporting and research of all kinds.
According to the United States Refugee Act of 1980, “a refugee is a person who is outside his or her country and who is unable or unwilling to return because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution.”
While the political debate over immigration reform continues to evolve, underlying patterns of migration to the United States have been shifting in recent years.
Economic theory predicts that in the short run, increased immigration in a competitive job market should lower workers’ wages. Studies have been less conclusive, however, leading to research on how immigration affects workers with different skills or in different demographic categories.
