Immigration 101

Our legal system rests upon the principle that everyone is entitled to due process of law and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. But for far too long, the immigration system has failed to provide noncitizens with a system of justice that lives up to this standard. Learn about ways in which the immigration system could ensure that all noncitizens have a fair day in court.  

Recent Features

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 Immigration 101 Content

  • Fact Sheet

The Future of a Generation: How New Americans Will Help Support Retiring Baby Boomers

Publication Date: 
February 14, 2012
The United States is in the midst of a profound demographic transformation that will long outlast the current economic downturn. In 2011, the first of the baby boomers—Americans born between 1946 and...
  • Special Report

Opportunity and Exclusion: A Brief History of U.S. Immigration Policy

Publication Date: 
January 13, 2012
The United States and the colonial society that preceded it were created by successive waves of immigration from all corners of the globe. But public and political attitudes towards immigrants have...
  • Fact Sheet

Eliminating Birthright Citizenship Would Not Solve the Problem of Unauthorized Immigration

Publication Date: 
November 4, 2011
There is no evidence that undocumented immigrants come to the U.S. just to give birth.
  • Fact Sheet

Mexican Migration Patterns Signal a New Immigration Reality

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2011
Fewer Mexicans are Entering the U.S., Fewer Are Leaving, and Mexican American Births Now Outpace Immigration from Mexico Much of what we thought we knew about immigration is changing, and...
  • Special Report

Second Annual DHS Progress Report

Publication Date: 
April 12, 2011
In its second year under the Obama Administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—which is responsible for the nation’s three immigration agencies (USCIS, CBP, and ICE)—continues to...
  • Special Report

Constitutional Citizenship: A Legislative History

Publication Date: 
March 28, 2011
Attacks against the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment have picked up in recent months, with legislators at both the national and state levels introducing bills that would deny U.S. citizenship...
  • Fact Sheet

Papers Please: Eliminating Birthright Citizenship Would Affect Everyone

Publication Date: 
January 4, 2011
Attacks on birthright citizenship at the federal and state level are bound to take many forms—from outright repeal of the Fourteenth Amendment to refusal by states to issue birth certificates to...
  • Special Report

The New American Electorate (October 2010)

Publication Date: 
October 14, 2010
At a time when federal, state, and local elections are often decided by small voting margins—with...
  • Special Report

The Unwanted: Immigration and Nativism in America

Publication Date: 
September 13, 2010
It’s hardly news that the complaints of our latter-day nativists and immigration restrictionists—from Sam Huntington to Rush Limbaugh, from FAIR to V-DARE—resonate with the nativist arguments of some...
  • Research and Analysis

Explaining the Recent Decline in Unauthorized Migration

Publication Date: 
September 9, 2010
Immigration Enforcement in a Time of Recession Recent estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center indicate that the number of unauthorized...
  • Blog

A New Bill Would Allow Millions of Immigrants to Apply for Green Cards

October 11, 2022

On September 28, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill in Congress that would allow millions of immigrants who have lived in the United States for many years to become Lawful Permanent...

  • Blog

Biden Administration’s New Public Charge Rule Should End Fear of Trump Wealth Test

September 16, 2022

Three years ago, the Trump administration sent fear throughout immigrant communities across the nation with its Public Charge rule, which functioned as a wealth test for green card applicants....

  • Blog

Hispanics in the US: What the Data Reveals About Shifting Geography, Ancestry, and Voting Patterns

September 14, 2022

This Hispanic Heritage Month, we look at the most recent Census and data to highlight the importance of Hispanics in the United States. For those wondering why Hispanic Heritage Month starts mid-...

  • Blog

Biden Administration Close to Reaching Increased Cap on Employment-Based Green Cards

September 13, 2022

The Biden administration is close to using all of the employment-based immigrant visas (green cards) allotted for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced...

  • Blog

Immigration Status Will No Longer Be a Barrier for Aspiring Lawyers in New Mexico

September 9, 2022

Written by American Immigration Council staff Leani García Torres and Raul Pinto The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative provides certain young, undocumented immigrants with a...

  • Blog

Fact Check: Migrants Aren’t the Ones Smuggling Fentanyl Into the United States

September 7, 2022

There is no doubt that fentanyl is a major problem inside the United States. Over the last decade, rising availability of fentanyl has caused a spike in overdose deaths across the nation. In 2021...

  • Blog

The Economic Impact When International Students Return Back to Campus

August 31, 2022

As hundreds of thousands of students prepare to go back to school this fall, it’s important to consider the outsized role international students play in both campus life and the United States...

  • Blog

How Schools Welcome Newly Arrived Immigrant and Refugee Students

August 25, 2022

School is back in session. For many states and localities across the country, that means welcoming newly arrived immigrant and refugee youth into the classroom. There will be increased need for...

  • Blog

Who Enforces Immigration Policy Anyway?

August 10, 2022

The lack of a major overhaul in the United States’ immigration system for roughly thirty years has created an ecosystem where states have attempted to insert their authority over immigration,...

  • Blog

Debunking Major Myths About Immigrants’ Socioeconomic Status in the US

August 4, 2022

Opponents of immigration often claim that European immigrants who came to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are radically different than the Latin Americans and Asians...

  • Press Release

New Report Reveals Immigrant Roots of Fortune 500 Companies

August 29, 2023
In an annual review of the most successful companies in the United States, the American Immigration Council unveiled today (August 29, 2023) a report that sheds light on the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs and their children to the U.S. economy.
  • Blog

The Ghost of Public Charge Keeps Scaring Immigrant Families Away From Public Benefits

August 25, 2023

When the Trump administration proposed an overhaul of federal policy regarding when immigrants could be denied green cards or visas based on use of public benefits – the public charge rule – it...

  • Practice Advisories

Practice Alert: Overview of the Supreme Court's Decision in Pugin v. Garland

Publication Date: 
August 22, 2023
This practice advisory looks into the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court issued in Pugin v. Garland, 143 S. Ct. 1833 (2023). This immigration decision addressed the generic definition of the obstruction of justice aggravated felony ground at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(S).
  • Fact Sheet

Undocumented College Students

Publication Date: 
August 2, 2023
This fact sheet looks at the population of undocumented students in higher education institutions across the country.
  • Blog

States Continue to Lead on Inclusive Immigration Policies: A 2023 Midyear Review of State Legislative Sessions

July 31, 2023

With most state legislatures having adjourned for the year, states—once again—continue to lead the way for welcoming immigrants and refugees. The American Immigration Council tracked over 1,000...

  • Blog

America Is Falling Behind in the Global Talent Competition

July 26, 2023

In June, the Canadian immigration minister announced a new initiative to attract high-tech talent to Canada — from the United States. The Tech Talent Strategy targets foreign-born workers who have...

  • Blog

2023 ‘Celebrate America’ Creative Writing Contest Winner: 3

July 18, 2023

Written by 5th grade student Lillie Villezcas of Nevada  3 I am number 3, but how does number 3 apply to me? I am third generation of an immigrant family, third generation of fading traditions and...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Refuses to Narrow Criminal Grounds of Removability

July 5, 2023

In a split decision issued on June 22, the Supreme Court ruled against two noncitizens seeking to overturn agency findings that their state criminal convictions qualified as “aggravated felonies...

Cover of Refugee Report
  • Special Report

Starting Anew

Publication Date: 
June 20, 2023
A record 100 million people around the globe were forced to flee their homes in 2022, up from 65 million in 2015. Of those displaced last year, 32.5 million were refugees who had to leave their...
  • Blog

14 Percent of All Women in the U.S. Are Immigrants

June 12, 2023

Immigrants—many of whom are women—make up a significant portion of the U.S. population. In 2021, 23.2 million lived in the United States, outnumbering immigrant men, according to recent analysis...

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