Frugality, something second nature to our colonial forebears, is a trait we Americans seem to have forgotten. We are profligate in our material acquisitions and in their disposition. (Witness the growing mountains of toxic electronic waste that are almost as hard to be rid of as spent nuclear fuel.) Saving for a rainy day
State Department
Memo to Immigration Reformers: “First catch your [EB-5] hare!”
Winston Churchill, whose mother was American (Jennie Jerome of Brooklyn), could just as well have been speaking about the components of comprehensive immigration reform. Instead he was commenting on the Allies’ post-World War II plans for world governance when, in the summer of 1942 with the war yet unwon, he said:
I hope these speculative studies…
A New Immigration Recipe: Specialty Chefs Need a Dream Act Too!
[Blogger’s note: Today’s guest blog is by my friend and scholarly colleague, Nathan Waxman. Nathan revisits an issue he first considered eight years ago in this space when he bemoaned the increasingly poor quality of ethnically authentic food in New York City, and laid the blame upon our immigration laws. Having suffered through several …
The 2012 Nation of Immigrators Awards – The IMMIs
As we count out the final hours of 2012, let’s recall the highs and lows of the past year in America’s dysfunctional immigration ecosphere.
Nation of Immigrators is pleased to confer its third annual IMMI Awards. (Full disclosure: As in past years, these are my personal choices. If you disagree or believe I’ve missed an…
Reforming Immigration “with Liberty and Justice for All”
As Republicans join Democrats in contemplating reform of the nation’s dysfunctional immigration system, the final line of the Pledge of Allegiance (“with liberty and justice for all”) is the best place to start.
Revitalizing our broken and outdated 20th Century immigration laws to respond to the needs of 21st Century America will turn in large…
The Immigration Week That Was
Youthful fans of Saturday Night Live may be forgiven for assuming, however mistakenly, that SNL invented satirical television comedy. The patent for this invention probably ought to go instead to other earlier contenders, Jack Paar, Sid Caesar, Imogene Coco or Steve Allen. While I love these past and present paragons of humor, I’ll never…
L-1B Spécialité Horrifique: The Immigration War on the Consulting Industry (And Its Customers)
Last week, the American Council on International Personnel (ACIP) convened its 40th annual symposium in Pentagon City VA, just outside Washington DC, an event attended by scores of immigration managers and corporate counsel hailing from Fortune 500 and Forbes 100 companies.
A week earlier, on the other side of the globe, hedge funds and…
With Hope Springing Eternally, ACUS Is Working on Immigration Again
“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” ~ Satchel Paige
One of the benefits of having played in the immigration sandbox for a long time is to see old friends return. A fondly remembered playmate — who left in 1995 and returned in 2010 — is a good ol’ cuss…
Pre-Election Bipartisanship — Except on Immigration, Where Sen. Grassley Stubbornly Obstructs
At President Obama’s signing ceremony for the JOBS Act last week, White House guests slapped high fives with bipartisan glee. They came to the Rose Garden to help “Jumpstart Our Business Startups,” as the new law’s title optimistically promises to do. With pen in hand, the President joined in the merriment, observing that it’s not…
Immigration’s Private Parts Modestly Yet Shockingly Exposed
With more than three decades of experience under my belt, I like to fancy myself an expert in immigration. Yet however much I think I understand the subject, new things surface that blow my mind and puncture my inflated sense of self. I have come to realize that much of what I “know,” I merely surmise or…