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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  • 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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  • Blog

Record Low U.S. Birth Rate and Retirements Will Result in Contracting U.S. Prosperity, If Unaddressed

April 26, 2019

The U.S. population is aging quickly. Baby boomers are retiring en masse and Americans are having far fewer children, on average, than any other time in our history. The median age in this country...

  • Blog

Why the White House’s Measures to Curb Visa Overstays Are Inadequate

April 25, 2019

The White House issued a memo on Monday directing the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to provide recommendations to reduce visa overstays. The recommendations, which are expected within...

  • Blog

Closing USCIS International Offices Will Leave US Citizens, Military Members, and Refugees Abroad Without Help

April 18, 2019

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ international field offices provide critical services to Americans living abroad, as well as refugees and other immigrants. But in a supposed effort to...

  • Blog

How America’s Fluid Racial Identities Are Challenging the Assumption of a Declining White Majority

April 1, 2019

For years, politicians, the media, and social scientists have predicted a declining white-majority population in the United States and a not-too-distant future where minorities assume political...

  • Blog

Immigrants Are Regularly Kept Locked up for Months After Deportation Orders

March 27, 2019

When the U.S. government orders that an immigrant in its custody must be deported, the person isn’t supposed to remain incarcerated for long. Yet the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) often...

  • Blog

Making Sense of the Rising Number of Families Arriving at the Border

March 25, 2019

Over the past few months, a new trend has emerged at the U.S.-Mexico border: more families are crossing and presenting themselves to U.S. officials to ask for asylum. But even though the number of...

  • Blog

Immigration Groups Are Using This Tool to Expose Government Secrets

March 15, 2019

Many of the country’s top immigration agencies operate in secret. This lack of transparency in how immigration laws are implemented, administered, and enforced has the potential to devastate the...

  • Blog

Number of Undocumented Immigrants in US at a 25-Year Low

March 1, 2019

  Contrary to President Trump’s claim that “large-scale unlawful migration” across the southern border constitutes a “national emergency” that requires building a wall, research suggests that...

  • Blog

Immigrants Have More Faith in American Institutions Than the Native-Born

February 7, 2019

Despite the fact that immigrants living in and arriving in the United States today are not exactly receiving a warm welcome by key government institutions, a recent poll by the Cato Institute...

  • Blog

Trump’s State of the Union Speech Reflects a Fundamental Misunderstanding of Immigration

February 6, 2019

Speaking before Congress and the nation Tuesday evening, President Trump once again promised bipartisanship and instead delivered division. When it came to immigration, the president neither...

  • Blog

What Are the Proposed New Bars to Asylum?

January 8, 2020

In yet another move to gut asylum protections in the United States, the Trump administration proposed a rule last month that would add severe new restrictions on asylum access. The restrictions...

  • 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...

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