The French Riots and U.S. Immigration Policy - Lessons for Lawmakers?

WASHINGTON (November 2005) -- As riots engulf France’s immigrant communities and threaten to spread across Europe, government leaders there are learning -- perhaps too late -- that immigrant numbers and integration matter.

The United States, with its more successful history of immigration and assimilation, still has time to avoid going down the same path. However, proposals for huge new foreign-worker schemes, that could dwarf even the great wave of immigration we have experienced over the past generation, would create for the United States many of the problems Europe is experiencing.

To assess these developments and discuss proactive policy choices for American lawmakers, the Center for Immigration Studies is sponsoring a Capitol Hill panel discussion on Monday, November 14, in Rayburn House Office Building Room 2141, at 9:30 a.m. The panel will include:

* Mark Krikorian, Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies;
* Frank Gaffney, President, Center for Security Policy;
* Stephen Steinlight, Fellow, Center for Immigration Studies.

The panel discussion is free and open to the public. For more information, contact John Keeley at (202) 466-8185 or jmk@cis.org.