Study: One in Ten Adults in U.S. Not Proficient in English

The number of working-age adults in the United States with limited proficiency in English has more than doubled since 1980, according to a new Brookings Institution study. The increase has not limited the job prospects for immigrants or their children, the study notes, though immigrants proficient in English make more money. “English proficiency is a strong predictor of economic standing among immigrants, regardless of the amount of education they have attained, and it is associated with the greater academic and economic success of the workers’ children,” the study found.

Immigration court backlog now exceeds 400,000 cases

The backlog of pending deportation cases in federal immigration court has risen to nearly 400,000 amid a crush of tens of thousands of unaccompanied children and families caught crossing the Mexican border illegally this year, according an analysis of court data released Friday. The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University said in its latest report that as of the end of July, 396,552 cases were pending in the Justice Department’s 59 immigration courts. TRAC collects and studies a variety of federal prosecution records.

Homeland Security Released 169 Illegal Immigrants Convicted of ‘Homicide-Related’ Crimes

In the midst of the summer recess, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) issued a press release on Aug. 21 concerning a letter he wrote to the Department of Homeland Security seeking details about the release of 36,007 illegal aliens last year who had been convicted of a crime and were released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while awaiting deportation proceedings.

Mexican President Thanks California for Aiding Illegals

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto thanked California on Thursday for improving the lives of immigrants from his country, including legalizing drivers’ licenses for undocumented migrants and making it easier for them to work and start businesses. Pena Nieto, on his first trip to the United States since becoming president in 2012, addressed a joint session of the California legislature, detailing economic and electoral reforms enacted back home and emphasizing his country’s social and economic ties to the state. “I want to thank you for what you have done for migrants, especially the ones from Mexico,” Pena Nieto said.

Shock Poll: A Third Of All Mexicans Want To Move To America

As Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto travels across California and declares America to be “the other Mexico,” a Pew Research survey has found that 60% of Mexicans disapprove of Peña Nieto on the economy. Perhaps as a result, a plurality of Mexicans think that life is better across the border, and a third want to move to America. In addition, the Pew survey found that “two-thirds are dissatisfied with the way things are going in Mexico today” while “only 30% are satisfied with the country’s direction.