Immigration 101

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

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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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  • Blog

The Fossilization of Donald Trump’s Views on Immigration Complete

September 1, 2016

Recent rumors that Donald Trump was considering “softening” his immigration policy positions were nothing but a ruse. In fact, what has happened in the past few days has been a hardening, and...

  • Blog

Why Going Home First to Get Legal Status (“Touchback”) Makes No Sense

August 30, 2016

No one is quite sure where Donald Trump stands on immigration anymore. More precisely, experts are trying to divine what Trump would do with the 11 million undocumented immigrants now living in...

  • Blog

Softening Rhetoric but No Immigration Policy Shift From Donald Trump

August 25, 2016

When it comes to immigration, Donald Trump is big on rhetoric and short on substance. This is why no one is quite sure what to make of Trump’s change in tone as to what should be done about the 11...

  • Blog

No Pivot Here: Donald Trump’s Rhetorical Tricks on Immigration

August 24, 2016

The media has swooned over a few vague statements made of late by presidential candidate Donald Trump. He has spent the past few days hinting that he may “soften” his immigration policy with...

  • Blog

Will a Questionnaire Catch a Terrorist? Donald Trump’s “Extreme Vetting” Plan

August 23, 2016

One of Donald Trump’s more recent, outrageous ideas having to do with immigration is to conduct what he calls “extreme vetting” of prospective immigrants to the United States. The basic idea is to...

  • Blog

Donald Trump’s Shortsighted Immigration Plans Won’t Secure the Homeland

August 16, 2016

As any serious national security expert will tell you, trying to find a potential terrorist by treating all immigrants or Muslims as security risks is far too vague to be effective. Accurate...

  • Blog

Lincoln v. Trump on Immigration

August 2, 2016

Although much has been written about how the party of Abraham Lincoln became the party of Donald Trump, one additional area where these two men parted ways is immigration. The world of today is...

  • Blog

Democratic National Convention Highlights the Need for Immigration Reform

July 29, 2016

Hillary Rodham Clinton accepted the nomination to serve as the Democratic Party’s pick for President Thursday night in Philadelphia, making her the first woman to ever top a mayor party ticket....

  • Blog

Texas Ends Attempt to Deny Birth Certificates to Children of Immigrants

July 26, 2016

More than a year ago, Texas county officials began to require that foreign passports presented by parents seeking to obtain their child’s birth certificate include a valid U.S. visa. The state...

  • Blog

How the Democratic Party Platform Addresses Immigration

July 25, 2016

In contrast to the Republican Party Platform on immigration released last week, which was generally negative on immigration and lacked any practical ideas for reforming U.S. immigration, the...

  • Fact Sheet

The End of Immigration Enforcement Priorities Under the Trump Administration

Publication Date: 
March 7, 2018
Enforcement of U.S. immigration laws has historically been guided by policies that emphasize prioritization. However, this practice has largely been abandoned since the inauguration of President...
  • Blog

Removal of ‘Nation of Immigrants’ from USCIS Mission Ignores Agency’s Mandate and American History

February 26, 2018

Francis Cissna, Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), unveiled a new mission statement for the agency last week, notably deleting the words “a nation of...

  • Blog

Lawmakers Are Blaming Undocumented Immigrants for the Opioid Epidemic

February 15, 2018

The scapegoating of immigrants for crime in the United States was on full display at a February 15 hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing was devoted to exploring the ways in which...

  • Blog

Immigrants Bring Home the Gold for the U.S. Olympics Team

February 14, 2018

From their meme-worthy Opening Ceremony gloves to some stunning wins on the halfpipe, Team USA has started the 2018 Winter Olympics off with a bang. Early victories in the Pyeongchang, South Korea...

  • Blog

What Views Do Millennials Hold Around Immigration?

February 12, 2018

The Millennial Generation constitutes the most racially and ethnically diverse generation America has ever known. Millennials are the largest living generation by population size (79.8 million in...

  • Blog

A New Report Shows the Continuing Overcriminalization of Immigrants

February 9, 2018

After more than a century of research and analysis, it has become quite clear that immigrants are far less prone to criminal conduct than the native-born population. And yet researcher John R....

  • Blog

U.S. Government Skews Terrorism Data to Add Fuel to the Anti-Immigrant Fire

January 23, 2018

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a report which comes to a rather predictable conclusion: most of the “international terrorists” in the United...

  • Blog

What You Need to Know About Foreign-Trained Doctors in the U.S. Healthcare System

January 17, 2018

There are more than 247,000 doctors with medical degrees from foreign countries practicing in the United States. A fourth of all physicians in the nation are foreign-trained—the majority of whom...

  • Blog

Trump’s Derogatory Comments Revive Racist Legacy in Immigration Policy

January 12, 2018

Media outlets around the globe reported on President Trump’s disparaging comments regarding nationals of certain countries. According to the Washington Post, during a discussion with lawmakers in...

  • Blog

How Criminalizing Communities of Color Has Driven the Anti-Immigrant Narrative

January 11, 2018

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, taken away Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans in the United States, and staged raids...

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