Legislation

Recent Features

A Guide to S.744: Understanding the 2013 Senate Immigration Bill

This guide to provide policymakers, the media, and the public with an easy-to-understand guide to the main components of S. 744 and the purpose behind them.

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A Comparison of the DREAM Act and Other Proposals for Undocumented Youth

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act's main provision provides permanent resident status to young undocumented immigrants. It however, has not yet been passed by Congress and become law.

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All Legislation Content

  • 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 Analysis of the Senate Border Bill

Publication Date: 
February 8, 2024
If passed in its current form, the 2024 Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act would be the most sweeping immigration bill of the twenty-first century
  • 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.
  • Special Report

Beyond A Border Solution

Publication Date: 
May 3, 2023
America needs durable solutions. These concrete measures can bring orderliness to our border and modernize our overwhelmed asylum system.
  • Fact Sheet

An Overview of the Government Funding Process: Appropriations

Publication Date: 
December 15, 2021
This fact sheet aims to explain the basics of the federal government funding process, also known as appropriations, and show how it affects the world of immigration and immigration enforcement.
  • Fact Sheet

Legalization Through “Registry”

Publication Date: 
September 28, 2021
This fact sheet provides information on a provision called “registry” that allows certain non-citizens who are long-term residents of the United States, but who are either undocumented or present in...
  • Fact Sheet

Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021

Publication Date: 
August 27, 2021
This fact sheet provides an overview about the legalization program through which certain undocumented farmworkers in the United States could earn legal status.
  • Fact Sheet

The Dream Act: An Overview

Publication Date: 
March 16, 2021
This fact sheet provides an overview of the most recent version of the Dream Act and similar legislative proposals.
  • Fact Sheet

The RAISE Act

Publication Date: 
August 11, 2017
The Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act (RAISE Act) or S. 354 would mark a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. immigration system. It would significantly reduce levels of legal...
  • Fact Sheet

A Guide to H.R. 15: The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act

Publication Date: 
March 26, 2014
On October 2, 2013, Democrats in the House of Representatives proposed an immigration reform bill addressing border security, legalization of the undocumented, interior enforcement of immigration...
  • Blog

Five State Immigration Bills You Should Know About

May 14, 2025

By: Jojo Tompkins, State and Local Policy Fellow State legislatures are advancing policies that directly impact immigrant communities — creating new rules, expanding enforcement, and offering...

  • Blog

In-State Tuition Policies for Undocumented Students Change Lives. I Should Know—Mine Changed for the Better

May 9, 2025

“And I think it is healing behavior, to look at something so broken and see the possibility and wholeness in it.”  — adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy The Texas Dream Act was signed into law...

  • Blog

States with Healthcare Shortages Turn to Foreign-Trained Doctors, Showing Bipartisan Immigration Policies Benefit All

March 11, 2025

At a time when immigration policy remains one of the most divisive issues in American politics, an area of bipartisan agreement has emerged: expanding licensure pathways for international medical...

  • Blog

Texas Dream Act: Protecting Undocumented Students’ Access to Higher Education Is Economic, Educational Imperative

March 4, 2025

In 2001, Texas set a precedent by enacting House Bill 1403, commonly known as the Texas Dream Act, which grants eligible undocumented students access to in-state tuition rates at public colleges...

  • 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

The Laken Riley Act Would Give States Sweeping Power Over Immigration Policy

January 8, 2025

Want to take action on the Laken Riley Act? The House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act, H.R. 29. It will likely go to a vote in the Senate. Contact your senators and urge them to vote...

  • Blog

We’ve Tracked Over 700 Immigration Bills This Year. Here Are the Trends We’ve Seen.

July 8, 2024

Written by Juan Avilez, State and Local Policy Associate and Victoria Francis, Deputy Director of State and Local Initiatives  As we reach the mid-year point in 2024, most states have concluded...

  • Blog

Immigrant Workers Help Florida Thrive. Anti-Immigrant Policies Threaten That.

June 26, 2024

In 2022, more than one in five Florida residents were immigrants. In that same year, immigrants in Florida were over 14% more likely than their U.S.-born neighbors to be of working age,...

  • Blog

FY 2024 Government Funding Package Is a Mixed-Bag on Immigration

April 9, 2024

President Biden signed the final 6-bill “minibus” funding package for fiscal year (FY) 2024 on March 23, which includes funding for the agencies that implement our immigration laws. This was the...

  • Blog

Senate Deal Would Significantly Transform Border Policy

February 7, 2024

The “Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024” was released on February 4. For months, a bipartisan group of senators negotiated the compromise bill, which proposes...

  • Press Release

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Block on SF 2340, Iowa’s Anti-Immigrant Law

January 25, 2025

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI, JAN. 25, 2025 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit today upheld a temporary block on SF 2340, Iowa's worst-ever immigration law.

  • Press Release

Misguided Laken Riley Act Does Nothing to Fix the Problems That Plague Our Immigration System

January 22, 2025

WASHINGTON, JAN. 22, 2025 — Today, the House voted in the final step for passing S.

  • Press Release

Senate Border Bill a Step in Right Direction, but Falls Short in Guaranteeing Due Process for Asylum Seekers

February 5, 2024
On Sunday night, a bipartisan group of senators released the “Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024." Jeremy Robbins, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council, responds to this controversial legislation that faces an uncertain future.
  • Press Release

Civil Rights and Legal Advocates File Lawsuit Against Florida’s Anti-Immigrant Law SB 1718

July 17, 2023
Legal organizations filed a federal lawsuit challenging Florida’s new anti-immigrant law, Senate Bill 1718.
  • Press Release

Legal Advocates to File Lawsuit Challenging the Constitutionality of Florida’s Anti-Immigrant Law

July 1, 2023
The Southern Poverty Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and American Immigration Council have announced they will file a federal lawsuit challenging Florida’s draconian Senate Bill 1718, which goes into effect, July 1.
  • Press Release

The American Immigration Council Welcomes Bi-Partisan Senate Immigration Bill

April 17, 2016

Washington D.C. – The American Immigration Council applauds the “Gang of Eight” Senators who have introduced the "

  • Press Release

Time for Congress to Go Back to Bi-Partisan Comprehensive Solutions to Immigration

October 20, 2015

Washington D.C. - Today, the Senate rejected the motion to proceed on Senator David Vitter’s (R-LA) “Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act” (S. 2146).

  • Press Release

The U.S. Must Not Lower the Bar on Protecting Children Fleeing Violence

July 30, 2014

Washington D.C. - The humanitarian challenge posed by the arrival of thousands of unaccompanied children and young families at our southern border has once again ignited passions over

  • Press Release

Speaker Boehner Ignores the Costs of Doing Nothing

November 14, 2013

Washington D.C. - Yesterday, Speaker of the House John Boehner reassured the far-right wing of the Republican Party and anti-immigrant activists that he would never agree to a conf

  • Press Release

House Democrats Unveil Comprehensive Immigration Reform Proposal

October 2, 2013

Washington D.C.

  • Blog

Five State Immigration Bills You Should Know About

May 14, 2025

By: Jojo Tompkins, State and Local Policy Fellow State legislatures are advancing policies that directly impact immigrant communities — creating new rules, expanding enforcement, and offering...

  • Blog

In-State Tuition Policies for Undocumented Students Change Lives. I Should Know—Mine Changed for the Better

May 9, 2025

“And I think it is healing behavior, to look at something so broken and see the possibility and wholeness in it.”  — adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy The Texas Dream Act was signed into law...

  • Blog

States with Healthcare Shortages Turn to Foreign-Trained Doctors, Showing Bipartisan Immigration Policies Benefit All

March 11, 2025

At a time when immigration policy remains one of the most divisive issues in American politics, an area of bipartisan agreement has emerged: expanding licensure pathways for international medical...

  • Blog

Texas Dream Act: Protecting Undocumented Students’ Access to Higher Education Is Economic, Educational Imperative

March 4, 2025

In 2001, Texas set a precedent by enacting House Bill 1403, commonly known as the Texas Dream Act, which grants eligible undocumented students access to in-state tuition rates at public colleges...

  • 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...

  • Press Release

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Block on SF 2340, Iowa’s Anti-Immigrant Law

January 25, 2025

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI, JAN. 25, 2025 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit today upheld a temporary block on SF 2340, Iowa's worst-ever immigration law.

  • Press Release

Misguided Laken Riley Act Does Nothing to Fix the Problems That Plague Our Immigration System

January 22, 2025

WASHINGTON, JAN. 22, 2025 — Today, the House voted in the final step for passing S.

  • Blog

The Laken Riley Act Would Give States Sweeping Power Over Immigration Policy

January 8, 2025

Want to take action on the Laken Riley Act? The House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act, H.R. 29. It will likely go to a vote in the Senate. Contact your senators and urge them to vote...

  • 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...

  • Blog

We’ve Tracked Over 700 Immigration Bills This Year. Here Are the Trends We’ve Seen.

July 8, 2024

Written by Juan Avilez, State and Local Policy Associate and Victoria Francis, Deputy Director of State and Local Initiatives  As we reach the mid-year point in 2024, most states have concluded...

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