The RP’s Weekly Web Gems: The Politics of Immigration

How does an American president, fully aware of the need for immigration policy reform and the ROI that progressive immigration reform could bring to the economy, convince a jittery public that it’s in the American interest to provide people with a path to citizenship? Read more here from NPR.

In the same speech on the U.S.-Mexican border, President Obama also mocked Republican lawmakers for “never be[ing] satisfied” with border security. “Maybe they’ll need a moat,” he said. “Maybe they’ll want alligators in the moat.” Ah, presidential humor. The AP from NPR

This is a fascinating new book on the history of immigration in the United States, from colonial times through today. Dr. Susan F. Martin of Georgetown University explores three models of historical immigration in the United States that, she claims, have all favored immigration more consistently than immigrants. A Nation of Immigrants