Writing for The Boston Globe, President L. Rafael Reif expresses support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. “As the president of one of America’s leading technical universities — an institution built on intellectual excellence, a meritocratic openness to talent, and a long tradition of national service — I believe repealing DACA would be a mistake.”
As the population ages and the labor force decreases, the U.S. can remain one of the world’s youngest populations with continued immigration, write Joseph Coughlin, director of the AgeLab, and research associate Luke Yoquinto. “There is broad agreement that slashing the raw number of immigrants to the U.S. would be an economic mistake.”
A new analysis by MIT researchers shows that immigrants are a vital part of the Boston area’s economy, writes Katie Johnston for The Boston Globe. “It’s very hard to imagine our economy succeeding without immigration,” says Prof. Paul Osterman. “The economy would be strengthened if immigration increased from its present level.”
In an article for The Washington Post, Prof. David Singer examines how an overhaul of the H-1B visa program could impact the American job market. Singer writes that “restricting visas for highly skilled foreign workers could prompt high-tech firms in the United States to shift operations overseas in search of skilled labor.”
A study by MIT and Harvard researchers provides evidence that a new executive order on immigration could reduce the number of doctors in portions of Appalachia and the Industrial Midwest, reports Sam Petulla for NBC News. "In these places, there are lots of incentives for American-trained doctors and foreign-trained doctors to move and work," explains graduate student Michael Stepner.
Boston Globe reporter Felice Freyer writes that a study by MIT and Harvard researchers examines how an executive order on immigration could impact the number of doctors in Appalachia and the Rust Belt. Doctors from the countries included in the order “handle about 14 million patient visits a year…often settling in areas where American doctors are reluctant to work.”
Boston Globe reporter Laura Krantz writes that MIT students, faculty and staff gathered on Sunday in response to the Trump administration’s executive order on immigration. “It’s certainly ill-judged and likely counterproductive,” said Associate Provost Richard Lester. “Our community is here because they are contributing research and new knowledge creation that benefits this country.”
In an article for USA Today, research associate James Walsh writes about the Trump administration’s executive order on immigration. Walsh writes that he believes the order will “make international cooperation more difficult, increase animosity towards the United States, and strengthen the hands of ISIS to recruit followers and make the case that the US is anti-Islam.”
John Tirman of the Center for International Studies writes for The Huffington Post about the politics behind the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments about President Obama’s executive order on immigration. Tirman writes that the case, “puts on hold a genuine solution to the status of these mostly Latino immigrants.”
In an article for The Boston Globe, John Tirman writes about why people are fleeing countries like Libya, Syria, and Mexico. Tirman writes that much of the migration “results from unsustainable livelihoods, the disruption of traditional forms of agriculture, production, and government services that for decades provided adequate — in many cases, barely so — incomes in the developing world.”
John Tirman, executive director of the MIT Center for International Studies, writes for WBUR about opposition within the Republican party to immigration reform. “Opposition to immigration reform is one of the more perplexing symptoms of Washington paralysis nowadays,” says Tirman.
In an article for The Huffington Post, John Tirman argues that the wave of migration from African and Latin American countries is a crisis caused partially by economic and political policies that American and European leaders have played a role in shaping. “Until the first world policies change, the third world will keep coming, at all costs,” Tirman writes.
Suzanne Gamboa of NBC News writes that MIT researchers have found that Latin Americans are less likely to be approved for work authorizations in the U.S. than immigrants from other areas. Researchers found that authorization disparities “disappeared in cases when officials looked more closely at supporting documents.”
Fusion reporter Ted Hesson writes about a new study, co-authored by MIT Professor Emilio Castilla, examining labor certifications for U.S. immigrants. The researchers found that “Asian and Canadian immigrants have a much better chance of being approved for a work visa than immigrants from Latin America.”
Professor Simon Johnson writes for The Guardian that relaxing some immigration constraints could help to reduce unemployment in the U.S. “[S]ome categories of immigrants tend to create jobs, so letting them in would directly increase employment opportunities for people already in the United States,” explains Johnson.