Legislation

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.

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

Understanding H.R. 3431: The American Families United Act

Publication Date: 
March 1, 2014
On October 30, 2013, Representatives Steve Pearce (R-NM) and Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) announced the introduction of H.R. 3431, the American Families United Act (AFUA). Co-sponsors as of January 2014...
  • Fact Sheet

Cracking the SAFE Act

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2013

On June 6, 2013, the House Judiciary Committee considered H.R. 2278, the “Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act,” commonly known as the SAFE Act. This...

  • Fact Sheet

An Unlikely Couple: The Similar Approaches to Border Enforcement in H.R. 1417 and S. 744

Publication Date: 
July 24, 2013
The House of Representatives and the Senate have embarked upon very different paths when it comes to immigration reform. On June 27, the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill—...
  • Special Report

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

Publication Date: 
July 10, 2013
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.
  • Fact Sheet

The Power of Reform: CBO Report Quantifies the Economic Benefits of the Senate Immigration Bill

Publication Date: 
June 20, 2013
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), the fiscal and economic effects of the Senate immigration reform bill (S. 744) would be overwhelmingly...
  • Special Report

Crafting a Successful Legalization Program: Lessons From the Past

Publication Date: 
June 19, 2013
One of the themes that emerged from the Senate Judiciary Committee mark up of the 2013 Senate immigration bill was the necessity of avoiding the mistakes of the past. In the context of legalization...
  • Fact Sheet

Built to Last: How Immigration Reform Can Deter Unauthorized Immigration

Publication Date: 
May 20, 2013
One of the explicit goals of the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act’’ (S.744) is to curtail future flows of unauthorized immigration by correcting some of the...
  • Fact Sheet

Defining “Desirable” Immigrants

Publication Date: 
March 1, 2013
Under S. 744, “The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act,” a merit-based point system is proposed as a tool to allocate a portion of new immigrant visas each year...
  • Fact Sheet

A Bipartisan Bridge to Prosperity: High-Skilled Immigration Legislation in the 113th Congress

Publication Date: 
March 1, 2013
In the spirit of bipartisan immigration reform, a geographically diverse contingent from both chambers of Congress have introduced legislation to strengthen high-skilled immigration and spur economic...
  • Fact Sheet

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

Publication Date: 
June 5, 2012
Each year, approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from American high schools. While many hope to pursue higher education, join the military, or enter the workforce, their lack of legal...
  • Blog

Newly Introduced Border Bill Would Create More Chaos at the Border, Not Less

May 9, 2023

With the pandemic-related expulsion policy “Title 42” set to expire May 11, the House GOP introduced its first large-scale border and immigration package on Monday. The bill combines three...

  • Blog

GOP’s Extreme Border Bill Rejects Solutions and Embraces Ending Asylum

April 19, 2023

On Monday, April 17, the House GOP introduced its first comprehensive border bill of the 118th Congress. The bill comes after months of disagreement within the caucus surrounding legislative...

  • Blog

Florida Has Everything to Lose If It Repeals In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students

March 10, 2023

Undocumented students, like millions of other students in the United States, have the ambition to succeed. College opportunities are often priceless for these students. And though a degree can...

  • Blog

Florida Doubles Down with New Law Designed to Spend Millions to Relocate Migrants

March 3, 2023

Florida made headlines last year as it passed a law allowing Governor Ron DeSantis to spend up to 12 million dollars to transport migrants out of Florida. DeSantis used over $1 million of that...

  • Blog

At Dueling Border Hearings, New House Majority Pushes Partisan Narrative Over Facts

February 10, 2023

In January, Republicans took control of the House of Representatives. After a lengthy fight over the Speaker of the House resolved, the new majority wasted no time in holding multiple hearings on...

  • 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,...

  • Blog

Congress Proposes the Case Backlog and Transparency Act to Tackle USCIS Backlogs

November 11, 2022

The backlog of pending applications at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has increased exponentially in the last few years. Congress is finally taking notice. The Case Backlog and...

  • Blog

Arizona Dreamers’ Chance of In-State Tuition Rely on the Midterm Elections

November 1, 2022

While it seems like all eyes are on the states that could determine the outcome of this year’s midterm elections, it’s important to remember that the consequences of November 8 will extend beyond...

  • Blog

House GOP’s Immigration Framework Recreates Trump’s Border Wish List

August 18, 2022

As midterm election season heats up, House Republicans on the “American Security Task Force” have produced a new framework for what they say is a plan to “secure the border.” Despite the claim of...

  • Blog

Urgent Immigration Measures Rest With the Senate After August Recess

August 16, 2022

When members of Congress return from their August recess, they will find several immigration measures urgently awaiting their attention. The House Appropriations Committee already has passed a...

  • Press Release

Senate Judiciary Committee Votes to Pass Immigration Bill on to Full Senate

May 21, 2013

Mark-Up Characterized by Transparency and Bipartisan Cooperation

  • Press Release

Legalizing 11 Million Aspiring Americans

May 20, 2013

Washington D.C. - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee continues mark-up of S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.

  • Press Release

Senate Legislative Process Must Maintain Spirit of Compromise

May 9, 2013

Washington D.C. - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee begins “mark-up” of S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.

  • Press Release

The American Immigration Council Welcomes Senate's Bipartisan Principles on Immigration Reform

January 28, 2013

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

Senators Reintroduce the DREAM Act

May 11, 2012

Washington, D.C. - Today, Senators Richard Durbin, Harry Reid, and Robert Menendez re-introduced the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Ac

  • Press Release

More Fear and Loathing in the House Judiciary Committee

July 13, 2011

Washington, D.C. – Tomorrow, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take up two immigration bills that supposedly address community safety,

  • Press Release

Once Again, Congress Pursues Costly E-Verify Legislation to the Peril of U.S. Economy

June 14, 2011

Washington D.C. - On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement will hold a hearing on the “Legal Workforce Act,” another en

  • Press Release

House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement

January 26, 2011

Washington D.C. - Today, the newly named House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement held its first hearing of the new session entitl

  • Press Release

State Legislators Attack Fundamental Constitutional Values

January 5, 2011

Washington, D.C. - Today, State Legislators for Legal Immigration (SLLI), a coalition of state legislators, revealed their plan to challenge the

  • Press Release

Restrictionist Group Continues Cynical Legacy of Counting Costs While Ignoring Benefits

December 1, 2010

In a new report, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) paints a misleading financial portrait of the DREAM Act.

  • 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...

  • Blog

200 Immigration-Related Bills Have Already Been Introduced in State Legislatures in 2024

January 26, 2024

Amid inaction from the federal government on immigration policy and growing calls for action from localities, some state legislatures are taking a proactive role in welcoming immigrants and...

  • Blog

White House Leans Into Trump-Era Immigration Policy Changes to Get Ukraine Aid

December 13, 2023

The Biden administration signaled on December 12 that it is willing to make disastrous—and permanent—changes to asylum and immigration policy to obtain temporary military aid for Ukraine, Israel,...

  • Blog

Congress Punts on Supplemental Funding While Setting up Future Fight on Immigration

November 17, 2023

After weeks of uncertainty as to whether Congress would reach a deal to fund the government and avoid a shutdown, earlier this week Congress passed a continuing resolution bill which funds the...

  • 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

State Legislatures in Florida and Texas Propose and Enact Harmful Immigration Bills

June 2, 2023

Usurping the role of the federal government, state legislatures in Florida and Texas have proposed multiple harmful immigration bills during this year’s legislative session. Several Florida...

  • Blog

Congress Introduces Sweeping Immigration Reform Bill ‘DIGNIDAD Act’ to Address Systematic Challenges

May 25, 2023

On May 23, members of Congress introduced what has sadly become an increasingly rare bit of legislation; a comprehensive immigration reform bill aimed at addressing large-scale systematic problems...

  • Blog

Newly Introduced Border Bill Would Create More Chaos at the Border, Not Less

May 9, 2023

With the pandemic-related expulsion policy “Title 42” set to expire May 11, the House GOP introduced its first large-scale border and immigration package on Monday. The bill combines three...

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