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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Publication Date: 
January 31, 2013
While there are many facets to an intelligent immigration reform package, one thing is clear: legalization for undocumented immigrants helps all of us. Most economists recognize that legalization...
Publication Date: 
January 31, 2013
As the immigration debate heats up in Congress, the central question will be what to do about the 11 million...
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August 2, 2012
The evidence of non-citizens voting is sparse and...
Publication Date: 
July 13, 2012
A wave of restrictive voting laws is sweeping the nation. The Brennan Center for Justice at New York...
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June 28, 2012
Immigrants from Africa constitute a highly diverse and rapidly growing group in the United States. As Census data demonstrate, the African foreign-born population doubled in size between 2000 and...
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April 26, 2012
Latinos in the United States are a diverse and fast-growing group that is amassing considerable economic and political power. As data from the 2010 Census and other sources demonstrate, Latinos now...
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April 26, 2012
Asians in the United States are a highly diverse group that is growing fast not only in size, but in political and economic power as well.
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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...
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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...
Publication Date: 
November 4, 2011
There is no evidence that undocumented immigrants come to the U.S. just to give birth.
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...

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,...

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...

July 20, 2022

Lawsuits asking courts to order government employees to decide long-pending immigration filings have increased sharply in the past year. According to a recent report by the Transactional Records...

July 5, 2022

As communities across the United States came together this past weekend to commemorate and reflect upon our country’s independence, the holiday holds special significance for one group in...

June 29, 2022

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) operates under a flawed funding model. This virtually guarantees that the agency will always be under-funded and under-staffed. As a result, USCIS...

May 13, 2022

Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, could have damaging effects to immigrant rights secured through the courts. The...

May 11, 2022

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a temporary rule last week that automatically extends employment authorization for certain noncitizens waiting for USCIS to process their...

May 2, 2022

Data from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau show that there are approximately 20.7 million Asian and Pacific Islanders in the United States—comprising 6.2 % of the U.S. population—that make up the...

April 22, 2022

The Biden administration failed to issue many of the immigrant visas—more commonly known as green cards—that were allotted last year for immigrants who have been sponsored by a U.S. employer or...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

May 17, 2023

Each May, the United States recognizes the influence and contributions of Asian and Pacific Islanders during AAPI Heritage Month. It also serves as a time to reflect on the many differences among...

May 5, 2023

Written by Bella Wexler, Communications Fellow at the American Immigration Council. As of 2023, Arizona remains the only state with English-only education legislation still in effect. Its law—...

March 21, 2023

On March 8, a Florida court blocked the Biden administration from using a key border program referred to as Parole plus Alternative to Detention (Parole + ATD). The court’s decision vacated the...

March 17, 2023

Immigration agencies have a problem with transparency. With an immigration system as complex as ours and Freedom of Information Act offices that are chronically underfunded, it’s no surprise that...

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