2 Sep 2010
How Many Unlawful Aliens Are in the US?
Published estimates are much less certain than advertised
by Richard Belzer
in Information Quality
Estimating the quantity of something that does not want to be estimated could be the most difficult quantitative task around. For this reason, estimates of the unlawful alien population are prone to both error and bias.
The Pew Hispanic Center published new estimates on September 1. Pew's estimates are reported as being much more certain than they actually are.
More...15 Aug 2010
Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 12
Does the Privacy Act protect the records of unlawful aliens?
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Policy
The Washington Examiner reports that the Department of Homeland Security will not release records of unlawful aliens detained in Prince William County VA, on the ground that doing so would violate the Privacy Act of 1974.
Is this correct?
More...2 May 2010
Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 11
How Opposition to Arizona SB 1070 May Be Harming Unlawful Aliens
by Richard Belzer
in Legislation, Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy
We have reviewed Arizona's new immigration law (SB 1070) and posted
an analysis
of its major provisions. The Arizona House subsequently passed a
revision, and we analyzed
that. Meanwhile, opponents have reacted stridently,
calling the state of Arizona:
- A police state (Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.); Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.); The Nation, via National Public Radio; New York Times Supreme Court correspondent Linda Greenhouse; American Civil Liberties Union; LaRaza President and CEO Janet Murguia) in which Americans would have to "present their papers" (Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.))
- Reminiscent of Nazi Germany (Cardinal Roger Mahoney, Al Sharpton, Mack, Polis), the Soviet Union (Greenhouse, Mahoney), the Jim Crow South (Sharpton, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.), rapper Rass Kass, demonstrators in Newport News VA), or apartheid South Africa (Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Sharpton)
- Racist (Polis, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson)
As our previous posts here and here make clear, these characterization are not based on the text of the law, which makes it a state crime to violate federal immigration law. Ironically, the use of extreme language by opponents of the law may have the unintended effect of better achieving the law's objectives than the law itself.
More...
30 Apr 2010
Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 10
Arizona legislature may amend SB 1070
by Richard Belzer
in Legislation, Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy
Alia Beard Rau of the Arizona Republic reports that Arizona legislators are proposing to make technical changes to SB 1070, the law enacted on April 23 that makes certain federal immigration law violations state crimes.
More...27 Apr 2010
Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 9
Arizona Senate Bill 1070
by Richard Belzer
in Legislation, Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy
Arizona's legislature last week enacted legislation that has garnered considerable press attention and commentary, including criticism by President Obama (New York Times, Fox News, NPR, Real Clear Politics. In a Sunday op-ed published by the Washington Post, Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon says the bill is the product of a "far-right legislature"; that it is unconstitutional; and that it is motivated by "the vocal, spiteful few" who are "bitter, small-minded and full of hate." Gordon and others vow to challenge the law's constitutionality "because of the civil rights being violated and the vagueness of the statute." Colorado Democratic Rep. Jared Polis compares the law with Nazi Germany prior to the Holocaust and says he fears "Arizona is headed for a police state."
Gordon's views seem typical of those views expressed in commentaries published since Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill into law on April 23. We've seen very few editorials and commentaries supporting the law (e.g., IBD, ).
News stories seem to track this editorial pattern; the AP, for example, uses opponents as its source for fact claims about the law, not its actual text. Meanwhile, published commentary appears to be unrepresentative of public opinion. Pollster Scott Rasmussen reports 70% of Arizona voters favor the law and 23% oppose it.
Today we analyze the text of the bill.
More...14 Jan 2010
Paperwork Reduction Act
How to improve implementation of the law
by Richard Belzer
in Paperwork Burdens
On October 28, 2009, the Office of Management and Budget solicited comments on its implementation of the Paperwork Reduction Act. The purpose of the PRA is to minimize burdens on the public resulting from the federal government's information requests.
Neutral Source managing editor Richard Belzer submitted comments on his own behalf. These comments eventually will be uploaded by OMB to Regulations.Gov, the Federal government's web portal for all regulatory matters. (Clicking on the link above will reveal a fundamental weakness of the web portal: Unless the agency chooses to include information identifying the name and organizational affiliation of the submitter, there is no way to find any specific comment without opening them all.)
In response to numerous requests, a copy of these comment is posted to the Library.
More...25 Feb 2009
Regulatory Review in the Obama Administration, Part 3:
Cass Sunstein and his critics
by Richard Belzer
in People & Institutions, Regulatory Policy
Long time University of Chicago Law (and recent Harvard Law) professor Cass Sunstein is expected to be nominated by President Obama to be the new Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. OIRA is the statutory office within the White House Office of Management and Budget that, among other things, has conducted centralized regulatory oversight on behalf of the president since 1981.
When Susan Dudley was nominated in 2006 to head this office, Neutral Source published an eight-part analysis of her "paper trail," which is summarized here. We undertook this task because her nomination generated controversy from certain activist groups, most notably Public Citizen, and we found significant factual discrepancies between the actual content of this paper trail and her critics claims about it.
We intend to repeat this effort, but Sunstein presents an unusually difficult challenge.
More...24 Feb 2009
Regulatory Review in the Obama Administration, Part 2:
Alive and well, reports to the contrary notwithstanding
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Policy
In a February 17 article, Politico reporter Josh Gerstein claims that "[i]n his first weeks in office, President Barack Obama shut down his predecessor’s system for reviewing regulations" and "managed to take all these actions with nary a mention from the White House press corps." Gerstein further claims that this "escaped notice because they were never announced by the White House Press Office and were never placed on the White House web site."
Gerstein's reporting is erroneous.
More...
3 Feb 2009
Regulatory Review in the Obama Administration, Part 1:
Executive Order 13497
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Policy
On January 30, President Obama signed Executive Order 13497, which begins the process of changing the way the Office of Management and Budgwet performs centralized review of draft proposed and draft final regulations. In a memorandum to agency heads, the President also announced a plan to produce "a set of recommendations" within 100 days (~ May 14, 2009).
Texts for both documents are provided below.
More...12 Nov 2008
Petition for Correction to the Office of Management and Budget Concerning the Draft 2008 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulation
by Richard Belzer
in Information Quality
On November 7, 2008, Regulatory Checkbook -- Neutral Sourcve's sister nonprofit organization -- filed a public comment on the Office of Management and Budget's draft 2008 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulation.
This public comment also was submitted as a formal Petition for Correction under OMB's Information Quality Guidelines (PDF). Under those guidelines, influential information OMB disseminates must be substantively and presentionally objective, transparent and reproducible, and provide utility for its intended purposes of informing Congress and the public.
The draft Report does not satisfy these information quality standards.
OMB is obligated by its own guidelines to respond within 60 days (i.e., by January 6, 2009).
More...
25 Sep 2008
Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulation:
2008 draft report published for public comment
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Economics
The Office of Management and Budget has published its 2008 draft report to Congress on the benefits and costs of federal reguilation. OMB is required by lawe to publish this report every year.
Public comments are due by Friday, November 7, 2008.
More...31 Dec 2007
Immigration Economics and the Wall Street Journal:
A marriage with irreconcilable differences
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Economics
Policy debates about illegal immigration almost always can be illuminated by careful data collection and analysis. Sometimes, data are nice but aren't necessary because elementary economic theory is sufficient to predict the direction (if not the magnitude) of effects. Today, the Wall Street Journal editorializes that new "data tell a very different story" than the picture emerging from "[t]alk radio hosts, cable newscasters and Presidential hopefuls." We're not sure which of these claims the Journal is seeking to refute, but we can show that it has failed to achieve its objective. More...
19 Dec 2007
Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 8
Arizona's HB 2779
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy
On July 2, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano signed into law a bill that tightens an existing statutory definition for felonious "aggravated taking identity of another person" and establishes a new statutory regime that will sanction employers who violate federal immigration law after January 1, 2008. The bill passed the State House of Representatives 47-11 and the State Senate 20-4. More...
7 Dec 2007
Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 7
Oregon to consider authorizing in-state tuition for illegal aliens
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy
The Associated Press reports that Oregon's Board of Higher Education is considering a plan that would offer in-state tuition to qualified graduates of Oregon high schools who are not in the U.S. legally. More...
16 Nov 2007
Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 4b
NY Governor abandons 3-tiered driver license plan
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy
This week, New York Governor Elliot Spitzer abandoned his plan for a three-tiered driver license program that would have allowed illegal aliens to obtain an inferior-form license. More...
