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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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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  • Blog

4 Ways USCIS’ Proposed Fee Increase Fails to Solve the Agency’s Problems

January 6, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) recent proposal to increase most of their fees has been met with strong opposition. The proposal drew widespread attention, garnering nearly 10,...

  • Blog

New Jersey Caps Off A Tremendous Year for Expanding Access to Driver’s Licenses

January 3, 2020

Many New Yorkers had a reason to celebrate on December 16, as they were permitted to apply for a driver’s license for the first time, even if they lacked permanent immigration status. Now, thanks...

  • Blog

3 Ways Our Immigration System Can Eliminate Barriers to Becoming a US Citizen

December 19, 2019

When people who immigrate to the United States are enabled to become U.S. citizens, everyone benefits. Citizenship allows people to have more stable lives by granting access to better work,...

  • Blog

Federal Court Orders Government to Recognize American Samoans as US Citizens

December 18, 2019

In a landmark decision last week, a federal court in Utah ordered the U.S. government to extend birthright citizenship to people born in the U.S. territory of American Samoa. In a lengthy decision...

  • Blog

The Number of People in ICE Detention with Criminal Records Continues to Drop

December 11, 2019
As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has expanded immigration capacity across the country in recent years, the number of people held in its facilities with actual criminal records...
  • Blog

USCIS Plans Massive Fee Hike for Access to Genealogical Records

December 9, 2019

If you have ever wanted to trace your family’s immigration history, you should do it now—accessing genealogical records from the 1800s and 1900s may soon become far more expensive than ever before...

  • Blog

Stephen Miller‘s Racially Motivated Animus Toward Immigrants Is Revealed

November 21, 2019

White House Senior Policy Adviser Stephen Miller is no friend to immigrants—particularly those he views as racially “lesser than.” While this is evident from the anti-immigrant policies Miller has...

  • Blog

USCIS Proposes Increased Fees for All Immigration-Related Applications

November 14, 2019

In a new proposal officially put forward on Thursday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) called for major fee hikes for immigration-related applications. The cost for becoming a...

  • Blog

Poland Enters the US Visa Waiver Program, Signaling a Boost to the Countries’ Relationship

November 12, 2019

Poland officially began its participation in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP) on November 11. Under the program, Polish nationals can now spend up to 90 days in the United States without first...

  • Blog

What Is Next for Trump’s Health Care Ban?

November 4, 2019

A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s health care ban on Saturday, one day before it was scheduled to go into effect. The ban would have barred entry for any prospective...

  • Blog

3 Things You Need to Know About Trump’s Unconstitutional Census Executive Order

July 22, 2020

President Trump issued an executive order on June 21 that laid out a plan to violate the U.S. Constitution by excluding undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census. An accurate census count is...

  • Blog

USCIS Wastes Time and Money With Increased Vetting in Citizenship Processing

July 21, 2020

The Trump administration has justified major changes to citizenship processing to “safeguard” the U.S. immigration system from application fraud. Yet the increased vetting has not lowered the...

  • Blog

USCIS Upends the Lives of Immigrants by Refusing to Print Their Work Permits and Green Cards

July 15, 2020

Update: On August 3, 2020, a federal court in Ohio granted a temporary restraining order requiring USCIS to print a work permit within 7 days for all individuals who had been approved for one. The...

  • Blog

USCIS Holds Drive-Thru Naturalization Ceremonies to Work Through COVID-19 Backlog

July 13, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expects, by the end of July, to have worked through nearly the entire backlog of naturalization oath ceremonies put on hold in response to the...

  • Blog

ICE Says International Students Must Take Classes in Person or Leave the Country

July 7, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge across the United States, many universities have chosen to temporarily move to online-only classes to protect public health. However, new guidance from...

  • Fact Sheet

The Exchange Visitor Program and J-1 Visas

Publication Date: 
June 18, 2020
The Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) initially brought scholars to the United States to teach or conduct research. Today, there are 14 categories of programs through which EVP participants can teach,...
  • Blog

Cities with ‘Sanctuary’ Policies Save Lives from Domestic Violence

June 5, 2020

Many communities across the U.S. have adopted so-called “sanctuary policies” that are intended to ensure that we all live in safe neighborhoods. When these policies are in place, local police don’...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Safeguards Federal Court Review of Torture Protections

June 4, 2020

The U.S. Supreme Court found on Monday that federal courts have the authority to review certain claims from people who are seeking protection from torture. The case, Nasrallah v. Barr, is about...

  • Blog

5 Ways Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Agenda Gets in the Way of an Effective Coronavirus Response

May 27, 2020

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government has implemented sweeping revisions to U.S. immigration policy. Many of the changes fail to prioritize the health of immigrants or...

  • Blog

USCIS Claims It’s Strapped for Cash, Requests Emergency Funding From Congress

May 21, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) says it’s running out of money, fast. In a letter to Congress, USCIS declared that the coronavirus pandemic had caused unavoidable budget...

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