Multicultural policies accept that societies are diverse, yet they implicitly assume that such diversity ends at the edges of minority communities. By forcing people into ethnic and cultural boxes, they help create the very divisions they were meant to manage.
Edward Alden, CFR’s Bernard L. Schwartz senior fellow, elucidates President Obama’s executive order for undocumented immigrants in the United States, explaining who will be affected and how, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy and State and Local Officials Conference Call series.
Following Barack Obama's executive action to give as many as five million immigrants legal status in the United States, Julia Sweig reflects in her column on other potential areas where the President could leave his mark during his last two years in office.
Department of Homeland Security released this review of executive actions that President Obama could take for reforming the U.S. immigration system. President Obama outlined executive actions he will take in a speech on immigration on November 20, 2014.
President Barack Obama spoke on November 20, 2014, to explain executive actions he will take address reforms in the U.S. immigration system. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Legal Council, and Council of Economic Advisors released analysis and recommendations for these reforms.
Emerson Brooking and Janine Davidson, writing in Defense One, assess the state of the special immigration program reserved for Afghan interpreters who have assisted American forces. The authors argue that its renewal is both a strategic and moral imperative.
"Flows of migrants and refugees influence and change the social, economic and political dynamics of their destinations -- and the places they have left behind," writes the Inter Press Service on human migration. In the United States, politicians are saying they are committed to reform of the U.S. immigration system. Immigration Research Links provides resources for news, legislation, statistics, organizations, and reports on immigration.
Authors: Jagdish N. Bhagwati and Francisco Rivera-Batiz Los Angeles Times
Jagdish Bhagwati and Francisco Rivera-Batiz argue that the United States must adopt a more humane policy regarding illegal immigrants. They argue that top-down approaches such as sanctions, border security, and punishments are not effective. Instead, they propose a shift to a bottom-up reform based on state competition.
Authors: Jagdish N. Bhagwati and Francisco Rivera-Batiz
Even if immigration reform managed to get through congress, it would do little to stem illegal immigration or improve the plight of the undocumented. So policymakers should shift their focus to a more humane, bottom-up approach: letting states compete for illegal immigrants.
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
Campbell evaluates the implications of the Boko Haram insurgency and recommends that the United States support Nigerian efforts to address the drivers of Boko Haram, such as poverty and corruption, and to foster stronger ties with Nigerian civil society.
Koblentz argues that the United States should work with other nuclear-armed states to manage threats to nuclear stability in the near term and establish processes for multilateral arms control efforts over the longer term.
The authors argue that it is essential to begin working now to expand and establish rules and norms governing armed drones, thereby creating standards of behavior that other countries will be more likely to follow.
Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2014 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass. Read and download »