Encouraging signs are present in manufacturing and services, with a marked pickup in temp employment and initial signs that direct hiring is on the upswing.

Texas' foreign-born population increased in 2008 by 58,320, or 1.5 percent, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

Immigration consultant Lisa Roney, former director of Research and Evaluation in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Office of Policy and Strategy, discusses the government's E-Verify program.

Economist Richard Fry, senior research associate at the Pew Hispanic Center, a Washington think tank, discusses the challenges of improving educational outcomes for the country's rapidly growing Hispanic population.

Limited access to migrant networks and strong geographic preferences may underlie border migrants' willingness to settle for lower wages on the border rather than seek higher wages by venturing into the U.S. interior.