The United States is shockingly irrational in the way it handles immigration. Unlike other nations that strategically use immigration to pursue national goals, we lurch from concerns about border security to illegal immigrants to drugs and crime without considering our long-term political and economic priorities.

One of the chief sources of irrationality is the myths that have arisen about immigrants and immigration policy. Befitting a subject that is politically charged, here’s where ordinary Americans and policymakers often get it wrong: READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

By Cythia Tucker

Many opponents of a comprehensive immigration reform bill — a plan that would give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship — base their opposition on the alleged failure of border security. When the federal government does a better job of patrolling the borders, they say, they will consider immigration reform. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Adam Serwer of the American Prospect is guest blogging for The Plum Line this week.

A recent report from the Pew Hispanic center shows illegal immigration declining by nearly 67 percent, reports Tara Bahrampour:

Between 2000 and 2005, an average of 850,000 people a year entered the United States without authorization, according to the report released Wednesday. As the economy plunged into recession between 2007 and 2009, that number fell to 300,000.

According to the report, the America’s illegal immigrant population has actually decreased by 8 percent. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

By Michael S. Derby

Wall Street Journal Blogs

The San Francisco Fed is wading into the contentious debate over whether immigrants help or hurt employment for American citizens, in a paper that asserts new entrants to the nation help make almost everybody wealthier.

The report, published Monday, was written by Giovanni Peri, an economics professor at the University of California, Davis. He is currently a visiting scholar at the bank. The report counters those who believe immigrants to the U.S. take away the jobs of citizens and depress wages.

“There is no evidence that immigrants crowd out U.S.-born workers in either the short or long run,” Peri writes. Instead, the evidence suggests “the economy absorbs immigrants by expanding job opportunities rather than by displacing workers born in the United States.” READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>