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Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/TheUrbanInstitute

As Congress again tries to draft comprehensive immigration reform legislation, lawmakers should balance the protection of children and the integrity of their families with immigration law enforcement objectives, according to a new Urban Institute study. "Facing Our Future: Children in the Aftermath of Immigration Enforcement" takes a hard look at current immigration policies' impacts on children of unauthorized immigrants, a part of the immigration picture that has so far been left out of focus. The report chronicles the experiences of more than 100 children affected by six worksite raids or targeted arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Much of the contentious immigration debate has revolved around the country’s estimated 12 million unauthorized immigrants. Largely invisible have been the 5.5 million children with unauthorized parents. Almost three-quarters of these children are U.S.-born citizens.

The economy continues to struggle, notwithstanding the $787 billion stimulus package enacted in 2009. Some fear a double-dip recession and point to the IMF’s warning that fragile progress could be undone by mistiming an exit from stimulus-focused policies. Others see signs that a recovery is under way and point to the nation’s huge deficits and ballooning debt as reasons to begin trimming our fiscal sails.

NeighborhoodInfo DC, a partnership between the Urban Institute and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, held the second dialogue on the foreclosure crisis facing the Greater Washington region to answer these questions. The panel discussion on Banking and Servicer Solutions featured Jennifer Murphy from Center for New York City Neighborhoods and their innovative program to work with servicers.

Federal and state budgets are under unprecedented pressure: deficits are ballooning, programs are being cut back, and tax rolls are anemic, or worse. As part of the federal government's response to the severe recession, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) cushioned state budget cuts, particularly in education, and included investments in children and families -- yet next steps after ARRA are unknown. New research by Urban Institute and Brookings Institution analysts reveals how children -- collectively and at different ages -- fare in the federal budget and how federal and state spending mesh. Drawing on these forthcoming reports, a panel of distinguished experts will begin a vital and timely exchange on how the nation can, amid severe fiscal and budgetary challenges, make the wisest public investments in its children.

As the recession sends more and more people into the ranks of the impoverished and vulnerable, the public is left to ponder the inadequate support available when hard times hit and why help comes from a patchwork of programs instead of from an integrated system. Panelists will discuss the oftentimes incongruous values, attitudes, and philosophies that drive the intricate U.S. safety net and the difficulties in providing effective services to people with complex needs.

Same-sex couples in the United States face higher costs than their heterosexual counterparts, largely because federal law either precludes or does not require equivalent treatment. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) specifically prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex couples as married. President Obama has pledged to repeal DOMA and to seek the equal treatment of same-sex couples by the federal government.

Anthony A. Williams, the District of Columbia's two-term mayor from 1999 to 2006, has become a member of the Urban Institute's Board of Trustees.

Five panelists,each with a unique perspective on the child welfare system, will look back at the lessons of ASFA and assess what they mean for tomorrow’s vulnerable children and families, including opportunities presented by the new Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act.

While economic opportunity and upward mobility form the core of the American dream, we know too well that many Americans don’t move up the income ladder, and recent trends in wages warn of serious obstacles ahead. Urban Institute research, supported by Pew’s Economic Mobility Project, also shows that most government spending doesn’t advance a mobility agenda.

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