In order to grapple with such a large and complex issue on a local scale, the Study Commission established four areas to direct their efforts - Public Safety, Economic Development/Workforce, Education, and Healthcare.  Each of these four areas are significantly affected by the influx of illegal immigrants.  More importantly they are areas where local and state elected officials can have a role in the immigration issue through the implementation of public policy.  While there are many other areas that could have been studied in depth, such as housing, social services, and assimilation, those areas and others are partially addressed in the four study areas.

 

A key component of studying illegal immigration is to understand the legal immigration system from the existing federal laws to the complex and lengthy process of obtaining "legal permanent status."  To date, much of the immigration information and data is provided by federal government agencies: U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its many divisions, Department of Labor, Department of State, U.S. Census Bureau and others. 

 

State and local data on immigration issues, particularly illegal immigrant-related data has been minimal.  However, work by the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Urban Institute at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte have significantly contributed to the information available.  Interest groups such as the Pew Hispanic Trust, the American Immigration Law Foundation, Federation for Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies, and The National Council for La Raza, among others, have also produced detailed information.  Their efforts are part of an increase in the amount of information, studies, surveys, and opinions that have been presented on the illegal immigration issues over the past two years. 

 

While the amount of information and data regarding illegal immigration is growing, to date, there has not been such a comprehensive, local study of the immigration issue as what has been presented in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Such a study is believed to be unparalleled in the United States by a local government.