How the Immigration System Works

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Fact Sheet
Temporary Protected Status: An Overview

This fact sheet provides an overview of how Temporary Protected Status designations are made, what benefits TPS confers, and how TPS beneficiaries apply for and regularly renew their status.

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All How the Immigration System Works Content

  • Fact Sheet

Birthright Citizenship in the United States

Publication Date: 
March 14, 2025
This fact sheet explains birthright citizenship, the Fourteenth Amendment, and its interpretations. Who is eligible for birthright citizenship? Can birthright citizenship be taken away?
  • Fact Sheet

The Trump Administration’s Registration Requirement for Immigrants

Publication Date: 
February 26, 2025
In this factsheet, the American Immigration Council analyzes the Trump Administration’s Registration Requirement for Immigrants.
  • Fact Sheet

Understanding INA Section 212(f): The President’s Authority to Suspend the Entry of Noncitizens

Publication Date: 
February 6, 2025
Under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the president of the United States has the authority to “suspend the entry” of certain noncitizens into the United States under...
  • Fact Sheet

Temporary Protected Status: An Overview

Publication Date: 
January 22, 2025
This fact sheet provides an overview of how Temporary Protected Status designations are made, what benefits TPS confers, and how TPS beneficiaries apply for and regularly renew their status.
  • Fact Sheet

Documented Dreamers: An Overview

Publication Date: 
November 18, 2024
This fact sheet provides an overview of Documented Dreamers, explains how they can age out of immigration status at 21, and summarizes the current federal legislative proposals to protect them from...
  • Fact Sheet

FEMA’s Role in Migrant Assistance: Exploring the Shelter and Services Program

Publication Date: 
October 10, 2024

When local communities receive new immigrants who have been released at the border by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), they often provide necessary support to ensure that people have...

  • Fact Sheet

An American Immigration Council Analysis of the President’s 212(f) Proclamation and Interim Final Rule Restricting Asylum

Publication Date: 
June 5, 2024
On June 4, the Biden administration issued a presidential proclamation and an Interim Final Rule restricting access to asylum for people crossing into the United States without legal status. The...
  • Fact Sheet

Naturalization in the United States

Publication Date: 
January 19, 2024
This fact sheet provides an overview of the benefits of obtaining naturalized citizenship in the United States, as well as information about the naturalized population and those who meet the...
  • Fact Sheet

The Biden Administration’s Humanitarian Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans: An Overview

Publication Date: 
October 31, 2023
An overview of the Biden administration's parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV), which admit up to 30,000 people per month with the ability to live and work in the...
  • Fact Sheet

An Overview of the “Uniting for Ukraine” Program

Publication Date: 
January 13, 2023
This program allows Ukrainians displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine to apply to come to the United States through “humanitarian parole.” Ukrainians who are granted humanitarian parole may...
  • FOIA

Seeking Records from Immigration Courts about Processing FOIA and Records of Proceedings Requests

The Council seeks records from immigration courts about how they process record requests and comply with proactive disclosure requirements. This information will help advocates ensure that noncitizens in removal proceedings have access to their records and that the courts are complying with record disclosure requirements.
  • FOIA

FOIA Request Seeks Records Regarding Parole Guidance and Incorrect Addresses on CBP Documents After Migrants Flown to Martha's Vineyard

The requested records will shed light on CBP's practices with respect to granting and extending humanitarian parole and the agency's determinations regarding which addresses to include on immigration paperwork.
  • Litigation

Challenging USCIS To End Naturalization Application Delays

This lawsuit challenges USCIS' unreasonable delay in processing naturalization applications that were filed in 2020 and has prevented applicants from becoming U.S. citizens.
  • Declaration

Council Submits Declaration in Deportation Moratorium Case, Explaining the Complex System of Enforcement and Removal

Publication Date: 
February 12, 2021
The Council submitted this declaration in support of the ACLU's defense of the Biden Administration's moratorium on deportations. This declaration explains how the removal and detention system works.
  • Advocacy

Summary of Proposed Changes to Student and Exchange Visitor Admissions Process by DHS

October 6, 2020

This document provides a summary of the Department of Homeland Security's September 25, 2020, Proposed Rule, "...

  • Advocacy

Letter Requesting 60-Day Comment Period on Proposed Rule Expanding Collection of Biometrics

September 15, 2020
This new rule will increase the total number of people who are required to submit biometric data from 3.9 million currently to 6.07 million—an increase of more than 60%.
  • Advocacy

Statement for the House Committee on Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship Hearing on "Oversight of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services"

July 29, 2020

The American Immigration Council submitted a written statement to the House Committee on Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship for a July 29, 2020 hearing on "Oversight of U....

  • Advocacy

Statement for the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship Hearing “Policy Changes and Processing Delays at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.”

July 16, 2019
The statement highlights the Council’s concerns regarding systemic U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services delays in responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
  • Practice Advisories

Nightingale v. USCIS and FOIA Requests for Immigration Case Files (A-Files)

Publication Date: 
April 17, 2023
This practice advisory explains 1) the ways to submit a FOIA request for a client’s immigration records, or A-File, 2) provides suggestions for avoiding agency rejections of the requests, and 3) identifies issues related to the Nightingale injunction that class counsel are monitoring.
  • Blog

Invisible Gatekeepers: DHS’ Growing Use of AI in Immigration Decisions

May 9, 2025

On April 30, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the updated 2024 inventory of unclassified and non-sensitive AI use cases within the department. The public data revealed something...

  • Blog

Recovery and Reform: An Ex-Gang Member’s Story

March 26, 2025

Congress approved a full-year continuing resolution on March 14 that will fund mass deportation while gutting domestic spending. The economic and humanitarian costs will plunge the most vulnerable...

  • Blog

While Federal Firings Focus on Immigration Processing, Funding for Immigration Enforcement Expands

March 6, 2025

In recent weeks, significant personnel reductions throughout the federal government made in the name of eliminating “waste” have caused concerns about the government’s ability to continue...

  • Blog

GOP Budget Reconciliation Plan —Cutting Essential Programs To Supercharge Deportations 

February 21, 2025

Early Friday morning, the Senate is expected to begin the process for passing a budget reconciliation bill, a somewhat obscure Congressional procedure which allows a funding bill to pass both...

  • Blog

A Young U.S. Citizen’s Long Legal Road Back Home

January 31, 2025

Across the country, deportation is often discussed as an absolute end. Many politicians run on a platform of stoking fear on immigration, with deportation being the punishment and means to remove...

  • Blog

Unpacking Myths About Noncitizen Voting — How Heritage Foundation’s Own Data Proves It’s Not a Problem

August 1, 2024
Many politicians have called for overhauling the United States’ election systems by mandating strict voter ID for both registering to vote and actual voting. However, noncitizen voting is extremely rare.
  • Blog

Houston Celebrates Over 2,200 New Citizens in Historic Naturalization Ceremony

July 25, 2024

Naturalization is viewed by many as the end point of an immigrant’s journey—the finish line—and for good reason. The path to naturalization can take many years and requires immigrants to navigate...

  • Blog

Biden’s New Changes to the Asylum Process: What You Need to Know

June 5, 2024

On June 4, President Biden issued a sweeping order under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act claiming that allows him to “suspend the entry” of most migrants who cross the border...

  • Blog

USCIS Reduces Its Backlog for the First Time in Years

February 16, 2024

On February 9, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released data about its progress toward meeting its strategic goals in fiscal year (FY) 2023. For the first time in years, the...

  • Blog

New Board of Immigration Appeals Decision Sets Roadblock for Cubans, Others Seeking Green Cards 

September 28, 2023

A recent Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision bars certain recently arrived noncitizens from becoming lawful permanent residents. In Matter of Cabrera-Fernandez, the BIA held that the...

  • Press Release

Court Allows Turnbacks of Asylum Seekers Without CBP One Appointments to Continue

October 13, 2023
A federal court in California denied a preliminary injunction in a legal challenge to the Biden administration’s policy of turning back asylum seekers who request protection without first obtaining an appointment via the government’s CBP One smartphone app.
  • Press Release

AILA and the American Immigration Council Respond to Supreme Court Oral Arguments in U.S. v. Texas

November 29, 2022
In response to the Supreme Court of the United States hearing oral arguments in the case, U.S. v. Texas -- a dispute over the Biden Administration’s authority to set immigration policy, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council (AIC) have issued the following statement.
  • Press Release

The Immigrant Success Story: How Family-Based Immigrants Thrive in America

June 12, 2018
Through analysis of data from the decennial census and administrative data from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, this special report examines the earnings gains over time of all immigrants, as well as the earnings gains experienced by family-based immigrants compared to employment-based immigrants.
  • Blog

Invisible Gatekeepers: DHS’ Growing Use of AI in Immigration Decisions

May 9, 2025

On April 30, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the updated 2024 inventory of unclassified and non-sensitive AI use cases within the department. The public data revealed something...

  • Blog

Recovery and Reform: An Ex-Gang Member’s Story

March 26, 2025

Congress approved a full-year continuing resolution on March 14 that will fund mass deportation while gutting domestic spending. The economic and humanitarian costs will plunge the most vulnerable...

  • Fact Sheet

Birthright Citizenship in the United States

Publication Date: 
March 14, 2025
This fact sheet explains birthright citizenship, the Fourteenth Amendment, and its interpretations. Who is eligible for birthright citizenship? Can birthright citizenship be taken away?
  • Blog

While Federal Firings Focus on Immigration Processing, Funding for Immigration Enforcement Expands

March 6, 2025

In recent weeks, significant personnel reductions throughout the federal government made in the name of eliminating “waste” have caused concerns about the government’s ability to continue...

  • Fact Sheet

The Trump Administration’s Registration Requirement for Immigrants

Publication Date: 
February 26, 2025
In this factsheet, the American Immigration Council analyzes the Trump Administration’s Registration Requirement for Immigrants.
  • Blog

GOP Budget Reconciliation Plan —Cutting Essential Programs To Supercharge Deportations 

February 21, 2025

Early Friday morning, the Senate is expected to begin the process for passing a budget reconciliation bill, a somewhat obscure Congressional procedure which allows a funding bill to pass both...

  • Fact Sheet

Understanding INA Section 212(f): The President’s Authority to Suspend the Entry of Noncitizens

Publication Date: 
February 6, 2025
Under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the president of the United States has the authority to “suspend the entry” of certain noncitizens into the United States under...
  • Blog

A Young U.S. Citizen’s Long Legal Road Back Home

January 31, 2025

Across the country, deportation is often discussed as an absolute end. Many politicians run on a platform of stoking fear on immigration, with deportation being the punishment and means to remove...

  • Fact Sheet

Temporary Protected Status: An Overview

Publication Date: 
January 22, 2025
This fact sheet provides an overview of how Temporary Protected Status designations are made, what benefits TPS confers, and how TPS beneficiaries apply for and regularly renew their status.
  • Fact Sheet

Documented Dreamers: An Overview

Publication Date: 
November 18, 2024
This fact sheet provides an overview of Documented Dreamers, explains how they can age out of immigration status at 21, and summarizes the current federal legislative proposals to protect them from...

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