Immigration 101

The U.S. immigration system is complex and can be difficult to understand. These resources provide key data points, historical information, and background on hot topics in immigration. Learn the basics about immigration.

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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 Immigration 101 Content

  • Research and Analysis

Fuzzy Math: The Anti-Immigration Arguments of NumbersUSA Don't Add Up

Publication Date: 
June 2, 2009
According to the anti-immigration group NumbersUSA, immigration to the United States is all about arithmetic: immigration...
  • Fact Sheet

The New Electoral Landscape and What It Means for Immigration Reform

Publication Date: 
December 1, 2008
IPC has compiled this one-stop analysis of all the available data on the Asian, Latino and New American vote and shows how and why they voted the way they did in the 2008 election cycle. The report...
  • Fact Sheet

Election 2008: The Importance of Latinos and Immigrants to the Economies and Electorates of the "Super Tuesday" States

Publication Date: 
November 1, 2008
During the presidential primaries, candidates and the media focused a great deal of attention on the debate over how immigrants impact state economies and the fiscal balance of state treasuries. At...
  • Fact Sheet

Election 2008 Recap: The Electoral Landscape and What it Means for Immigration Reform

Publication Date: 
November 1, 2008
IPC has prepared a fact sheet to remind policymakers, the press, and the public about the enormous influence of the immigrant, Latino, and Asian vote in the 2008 elections.
  • Fact Sheet

The Politics of Contradiction: Immigration Enforcement vs. Economic Integration

Publication Date: 
May 21, 2008
Since the mid-1980s, the federal government has tried repeatedly, without success, to stem the flow of undocumented immigrants to the United States with immigration-enforcement initiatives: deploying...
  • Special Report

Today's Immigrant Woman Entrepreneur

Publication Date: 
January 5, 2008
Immigrant women entrepreneurs are rapidly making their mark in the U.S. business sector, in every region of the country and across a large range of industries. Today, immigrant women of the post-...
  • Research and Analysis

Thinking Ahead About Our Immigrant Future: New Trends and Mutual Benefits in Our Aging Society

Publication Date: 
January 1, 2008
By Dowell Myers, Ph.D. There are two stories now being told about immigration and the future of America. Each has some basis in fact,...
  • Special Report

The Myth of Immigrant Criminality and the Paradox of Assimilation

Publication Date: 
February 21, 2007

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  • Research and Analysis

Undocumented Immigration by Congressional Districts

Publication Date: 
October 1, 2006
In this IPC Policy Brief, author Rob Paral uses new census data to update his earlier IPC report (Playing Politics on Immigration: Congress Favors Image over Substance in Passing H.R. 4437) on the...
  • Research and Analysis

The Growth and Reach of Immigration: New Census Bureau Data Underscore Importance of Immigrants

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2006
New data from the 2005 American Community Survey (ACS), released by the Census Bureau on August 15, 2006, underscore the extent to which immigration continues to fuel the expansion of the U.S. labor...
  • Blog

Why USCIS’ New Mission Statement Is So Crucial

February 10, 2022

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unveiled a new mission statement this week, signaling an important shift in how the agency wants to tell its story and shape its priorities ahead...

  • Blog

Biden’s ‘Secret’ Flights of Migrants Debunked as a Routine Part of the US Immigration System

February 2, 2022

Some media outlets have reached a fever pitch over what they have deemed President Biden’s “secret flights of migrants.” They claim that the Biden administration is covertly flying migrants into...

  • Blog

The Immigration Policy Successes and Failures of the Biden Administration

December 8, 2021

The Biden administration has—in its first year—rolled back many of the worst discriminatory policies implemented by the Trump administration that targeted non-U.S. citizens. But much work remains...

  • Blog

Here Are the Immigration Cases Before the Supreme Court This Term

November 18, 2021

The United States Supreme Court will face challenging questions impacting immigration law as it begins considering cases in its October 2021 term. The Court’s decisions on these cases will impact...

  • Blog

The Border Isn’t Open. Just 1 in 3 People at the Border Last Year Could Access the Asylum Process.

October 26, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published new data last week showing that over the past 12 months, the Border Patrol has carried out nearly 1.7 million apprehensions at the southern...

  • Blog

US Policy Toward Haitian Immigrants Is Part of a Long, Troubled History

September 24, 2021

Shocking images have emerged of Border Patrol officers on horseback charging toward Haitian immigrants in and around the border town of Del Rio, Texas. Thousands of Haitians have come to our...

  • Blog

Fear of Another 9/11 Continues to Drive US Immigration Policy 20 Years Later

September 14, 2021

The September 11th terrorist attacks not only led to the tragic deaths of 2,977 people, they fundamentally changed the nature of immigration law and policy in the United States. Since 9/11, the U....

  • Blog

The House Offers First Glimpse at Legalization for Millions of Immigrants Through Reconciliation

September 13, 2021

House Democrats began to mark up a budget reconciliation bill on September 10 that would provide a path to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Although the...

  • Blog

California Law Would Prevent Transfers From Local Law Enforcement to ICE Custody

September 9, 2021

Proposed legislation in California that would further limit the state’s involvement in immigration detention has made progress toward becoming law. The VISION Act would prevent transfers to U.S....

  • Blog

President Biden is Overseeing a Historic Decline in Legal Immigration

August 31, 2021

The Biden administration predicts that it will fail to issue many of the legal permanent resident visas—also known as green cards—allotted this year for immigrants who have been sponsored by a U.S...

  • 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...
  • Blog

Time Is Running Out for Congress to Act on Immigration This Year

December 8, 2022

Can immigration avoid a cold winter in Congress? That’s the question immigrants and their advocates are asking as time runs out on the current Congress. The fate of Afghan evacuees, Dreamers,...

  • 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.
  • Blog

From Farm to Your Thanksgiving Table: America’s Food Supply Relies on Immigrant Crop Workers

November 22, 2022

As Thanksgiving approaches, many cooks are busy planning their holiday meals. However, this year’s Thanksgiving meals will likely be more expensive as food prices soar. This is partly due to...

  • Fact Sheet

The Changing Demographics of the Electorate at a State Level

Publication Date: 
November 9, 2022
With the 2022 midterm elections on the horizon, this factsheet takes a look at the latest Current Population Survey data from 2022 and compares it to data from 2020 and 2016 in order to provide a...
  • 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.
  • Blog

Midterms 2022: How and Where Immigrants Have Helped Create a More Diverse Electorate

October 11, 2022

With the 2022 midterm elections just weeks away, all eyes are shifting to states where close races are expected. A lot has changed since the last midterm elections in 2018—including the...

  • 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...

  • Press Release

New Research Reveals Changing Demographics in Foreign-Born Voters and Younger Voters in Swing States

October 4, 2022
The data interactive, “The Changing Demographics of the Electorate at a State Level,” highlights the changes in the demographics of eligible voters in every state now compared to 2016, broken down by gender, age, and ethnicity.
  • Special Report

Midterms 2022: The Changing Demographics of the Electorate

Publication Date: 
October 4, 2022
With the 2022 midterm elections on the horizon, our interactive map uses data to show which states’ electorates are changing most rapidly.

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