Breaking the Immigration Stalemate: From Deep Disagreements to Constructive Proposals
The Brookings-Duke Immigration Policy Roundtable
October 6, 2009

The Roundtable presented its proposed immigration policy changes.

The Obama administration has committed to tackling immigration reform. But despite all the problems of our current system—threats to the rule of law, exploitation of vulnerable newcomers, real and perceived competition with Americans for jobs and public resources—reform will be exceedingly difficult. To break this stalemate, the Brookings-Duke Immigration Policy Roundtable is proposing six policy changes.

These changes include emphasizing enforcement at the workplace, setting standards for the legalization of illegal immigrants and establishing an independent Standing Commission on Immigration.

The October 6 event featured the release of the Roundtable’s report and a discussion of the proposals and the potential pitfalls to achieving them. The report is the result of months of deliberation by the Roundtable, a joint project of the Brookings Institution and the Kenan Institute for Ethics. Roundtable members represent a broad spectrum of conflicting views from across the “pro-immigration” and “restrictionist” divide, but have nonetheless come together in support of this single set of recommendations.

Read the report
Read the Executive Summary

Download the full audio of this event.

Participants:

Moderator:
William A. Galston
Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution
America’s story is the story of immigration, but it has often been contentious, Galston says. The report, he adds, is an effort to clarify many of the issues plaguing immigration policy. Video of comments.

Featured Speakers:
Noah Pickus
Nannerl O. Keohane Director, The Kenan Institute for Ethics
Pickus says legalization is about citizenship, commitment and inclusion. But the current system, he notes, is makeshift, uncoordinated and divided; all of which renders it ineffective. Video of comments.

Peter Skerry
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Governance Studies
One recommendation of the study, Skerry points out, calls for a radical approach to legalization that could amount to legalizing about 11 million undocumented immigrants. Video of comments.

Panelists:
James Gimpel
Professor of Government, University of Maryland, College Park

Angela Kelley
Vice President for Immigration Policy and Advocacy, Center for American Progress
Kelley says that when comparing family-based immigration to job-skills immigration, the report fails to state how family-based immigrants assimilate more quickly and satisfactorily. Video of comments.

Reihan Salam
Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation