February 20, 2014
“Societal Consequences of Mass Immigration”
On 2/20/14 ICON hosted Mark Krikorian who spoke on societal consequences of mass immigration. He focused especially carefully on considerations of the particular effects of current immigration realities on blacks, Hispanics, and youth. Many relevant issues were described, including the difficulty that current young immigrants have in developing a core commitment to their new nation. He described the role of schools in teaching new citizens what it means to be an American citizen. During earlier waves of immigration the schools had played a pivotal role in the successes of the integration process. Currently, in contrast, new immigrants are not being coached in these skills, and in fact over the period of high school, new immigrants emerge less supportive of this nation, more aligned with their former nation, and less respectful of our legal system.
Mark Krikorian is Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies. CIS is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit, research organization. Since ther founding in 1985, it has pursued a single mission – providing immigration policymakers, the academic community, news media, and concerned citizens with reliable information about the social, economic, environmental, security, and fiscal consequences of legal and illegal immigration into the United States.
The Center is governed by a diverse board of directors that has included active and retired university professors, civil rights leaders, and former government officials. CIS research and analysis has been funded by contributions and grants from dozens of private foundations, from the U.S. Census Bureau and Justice Department, and from hundreds of generous individual donors.
The data collected by the Center during the past quarter-century has led many of their researchers to conclude that current, high levels of immigration are making it harder to achieve such important national objectives as better public schools, a cleaner environment, homeland security, and a living wage for every native-born and immigrant worker. These data may support criticism of US immigration policies, but they do not justify ill feelings toward our immigrant community. In fact, many at the Center are animated by a “low-immigration, pro-immigrant” vision of an America that admits fewer immigrants but affords a warmer welcome for those who are admitted.
Extended Bio for Mark Krikorian
Mark Krikorian, a nationally recognized expert on immigration issues, has served as Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) since 1995. The Center, an independent, non-partisan research organization in Washington, D.C., examines and critiques the impact of immigration on the United States. Animated by a pro-immigrant, low-immigration vision which seeks fewer immigrants but a warmer welcome for those admitted, the Center was established in 1985 to respond to the need for reliable, fact-based research in the immigration area.
Mr. Krikorian’s knowledge and expertise in the immigration field are sought by Congress, as well as the mainstream and new media. He frequently testifies before Congress and has published articles in numerous outlets including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Commentary. He is a contributor at National Review Online, and has appeared on 60 Minutes, Nightline, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, CNN, and NPR, among other television and radio programs. He is on Twitter at @MarkSKrikorian.
Mr. Krikorian addresses a variety of audiences on a multitude of immigration topics. In addition, Mr. Krikorian is the author of the books The New Case against Immigration, Both Legal and Illegal and How Obama is Transforming America through Immigration.
His most recent publication is Open Immigration: Yea & Nay, co-authored with Alex Nowrasteh of the Cato Institute.
Mr. Krikorian holds a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University. He spent two years at Yerevan State University in then-Soviet Armenia.