Robert Hildreth used to be quiet about his philanthropy. But that changed when federal immigration agents raided a leather factory in New Bedford, Mass., on a March day two years ago, arresting hundreds of illegal immigrants as they stitched clothing and equipment for American soldiers overseas.

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View the full media release here.

For the media release in Spanish, please click here.

Jacobo Diego and his wife, Ramona Estrada, are among hundreds of families to receive assistance from the New York-based National Immigration Bond Fund.

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As the Obama Administration begins to consider the key issues of U.S. immigration reform this summer, the Center for Global Development (CGD) and the Center for International Development at Harvard University convened a research conference, “Beyond the Fence: Research Lessons on How Immigration and Remittances Shape Global Development,” on May 26, 2009 with thought leaders from Harvard University, CGD, the University of Chicago, and the World Bank, among others, to offer groundbreaking insights into the links between migration, remittances and prosperity. They were joined by leading voices from the policy community who offered new perspectives on the politics and possibilities of comprehensive immigration reform in the United States.

The event convened thought leaders in migration from across Harvard University, the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, and the World Bank, among others, to explore policy solutions that would benefit both developed and developing economies.

“We hope to challenge the idea that immigration is a risky proposition for America these days,” said Professor Ricardo Hausmann, CID director. “The potential for win-wins is huge.”

The discussions acknowledged the development opportunity of migration as well as the dysfunction of the current system. New research presented at the conference highlighted the surprising effects of stricter border controls, which often fail to reduce the number of economic migrants and create “mousetrap” incentives that prevent migrants from returning home when labor demand drops because they fear being unable to return as jobs rebound.

Conference papers also spoke to the enormous development gains of migration for both migrants and sending countries. “If you take any people-based measure of well-being, then migration is fantastically good for it,” argued Professor Lant Pritchett, author of Let Their People Come: Breaking the Gridlock on Global Labor Mobility. He quoted World Bank research that allowing just a 3% increase in the immigrant labor force would yield gains of more than $300 billion to citizens of developing countries while also providing a net benefit to citizens of developed countries.

The research also explored the economic benefits of immigration to the U.S., including Professor Michael Kremer’s findings that greater flows of private household workers can improve native welfare and reduce inequality in the U.S. Domestic policy strategies that emerged over the course of the event included a greater focus on designing ethical temporary worker programs that reflect both the needs of receiving countries and the priorities of economic migrants, who are often more interested in mobility and the pursuit of opportunity than full citizenship.

Professor Jeffrey Frankel presented his work on the countercyclical effects of remittances and addressed the topic of temporary workers. “It used to be we were over-focused on the Statue of Liberty and having migrants become citizens,” Frankel said. “I would make it easier to send remittances, easier for workers to go home and then return. The importance to both rich and poor countries is the ‘back and forth’ of labor.”

Download the full conference statement here

To view the agenda, transcripts, presentations and bios, follow this link

Read Bob Hildreth’s remarks here

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With high school graduations around the corner, school officials should be concerned about the 31 percent of students in the class of 2008 who did not go on to college. In their lifetimes, each will earn at least half a million dollars less than students with bachelor’s degrees. This wealth disparity is perpetuated when young students are deterred from even applying to college by limited experience and resources. Schools are often unable to give students enough individual attention to make sure that they have a plan for when they walk out the door.

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Academics from universities across the country came to Washington, DC last month to present research papers and data about immigration. The conference was organized by Harvard University Kennedy School’s Center for International Development and the Center for Global Development and was named “Beyond the Fence”. It was a very civilized event: nobody shouted or called anybody stupid, a liar or a traitor. It was the opposite of talk radio. They sought empirical truth and used the instruments of social research to capture it.

It was exciting—really! Surprisingly, we didn’t talk about amnesty, the hot bottom issue that derailed immigration reform two years ago. To academics amnesty is a stock problem: what do you do with the stock of immigrants who are already living here? There was little to discuss since everyone in the room agreed: give them amnesty. It’s well within the power of the government to do so. It’s been done before.

The fireworks were over the flow problem. What do we do about the illegal immigrants who will flow into the US in the future? Should we open the doors wide, slam them shut, or hire a bouncer to open and shut the door? But who would be the bouncer- the government with its laws or capitalism with its needs?

The academics warned that if the flow problem wasn’t solved, the country would face another amnesty problem a few years after passing reform. When pressed by the academics for an answer, Ali Noorani, the head of the National Immigration Forum, a major organization working for comprehensive immigration reform turned the question back on them: when would they, together with big labor and big business, reach a consensus on future flow?

Good luck. Labor and business don’t agree about the door. Naturally, labor wants to limit the flow that would depress wages while business wants as many workers with the skills they need, when they need them. Labor has proposed a committee to set immigration limits each year.

Picture the economy growing again, a real boom with gapping labor holes. Oh Lord, the immigrants would come then. How would a committee stop them? The government might adopt draconian measures—constant ID checks, constant raids along with expedited measures to send the immigrants to jail or back home as quickly as possible. Would you be willing to wait in a traffic jam every holiday as police checked IDs? Would you be willing to have a baseball game interrupted by a police raiding the bleachers? What if you get arrested because you left your ID at home?

Of course, the argument is a waste of time unless the government can enforce its immigration laws. At the conference, economists were clear that capitalism controls the flow of immigrants. That means the government must control capitalism. Ouch. As capitalism pushes immigrants out into the current, the government must act as a dam blocking their flow. The dam would be the same as putting the country in lockdown, sweeping the streets and bus stops, checking everybody’s IDs over and over. In other words the government could stop the flow, but democracy and due process could get caught in the dam like dead fish.

In fact, even in the terrible economy of today in which the flow of immigrants has declined, you can get a whiff of dead fish. The Obama administration is arresting immigrants at the fastest pace in the country’s history. In a really strong economy that whiff would become a putrid stench.

Job Description
Tutor

This position is directly supervised by the Head Instructor.

Responsibilities
• Work with the Head Instructor to develop the curriculum for the afterschool tutoring program for the La Vida YES program.
• Implement teachings needed by YES students.
• Attend regular supervision meetings.
• Individualize math, literacy and vocabulary exercises based on students’ needs as identified by teachers and parents.
• Meet regularly with staff and parents to discuss students’ progress.
• Serve as a liaison with the school personnel of the Lynn Public Schools and YES and its families.

Qualifications
• Certification to teach in Massachusetts
• Bachelor’s degree
• Experience teaching middle and high school students
• Experience working with Limited English Proficiency students
• Dedication to working with Latino students
• Good oral and written communication skills
• Proficient in computer use
• Successful CORI check

You can send your coverletter and resume to info@la-vida.org.