A Three-Criteria Framework for U.S. Immigration Reform: Humane Treatment, Resource Reallocation, and Proportional Fallback
Location
Library 3152
Event Type
Presentation
Start Date
11-5-2026 6:10 PM
End Date
11-5-2026 7:10 PM
Description
This project examines how U.S. immigration enforcement could be restructured around three criteria: humane treatment, resource reallocation, and proportional consequences. The evidence, drawn from journalism, peer-reviewed research, government data, and international comparisons, consistently shows that current enforcement is poorly targeted, fiscally costly, and harmful to the community it depends on. At the same time, the picture is not one-sided: a real population of serious offenders exists, some workers benefit economically from restrictive policies, and even the strongest international models have real flaws. Administrative reforms within DHS could begin moving the system in a slightly better direction now. However, durable change will require Congress, and the hardest design questions remain open.
Faculty Sponsor: Professor Maureen Heffern Ponicki
A Three-Criteria Framework for U.S. Immigration Reform: Humane Treatment, Resource Reallocation, and Proportional Fallback
Library 3152
This project examines how U.S. immigration enforcement could be restructured around three criteria: humane treatment, resource reallocation, and proportional consequences. The evidence, drawn from journalism, peer-reviewed research, government data, and international comparisons, consistently shows that current enforcement is poorly targeted, fiscally costly, and harmful to the community it depends on. At the same time, the picture is not one-sided: a real population of serious offenders exists, some workers benefit economically from restrictive policies, and even the strongest international models have real flaws. Administrative reforms within DHS could begin moving the system in a slightly better direction now. However, durable change will require Congress, and the hardest design questions remain open.
Faculty Sponsor: Professor Maureen Heffern Ponicki
https://dc.cod.edu/srs/2026/schedule/23