Immigration 101

The U.S. immigration system is complex and can be difficult to understand. These resources provide key data points, historical information, and background on hot topics in immigration. Learn the basics about immigration.

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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

Most Americans Reject Trump’s Nativist Agenda

June 27, 2016

Republican presidential contender Donald Trump may claim to speak in the name of the “American people,” but the fact is that most Americans continue to reject his nativist rhetoric of fear and...

  • Blog

This Year’s Celebrate America Creative Writing Contest Winning Entry

June 24, 2016

The American Immigration Council’s 19th Annual Celebrate America Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest winner is Eliana Jaffee from the Pardes Jewish School in Scottsdale, Arizona. The contest...

  • Blog

These Anti-Immigrant Organizations Are Behind the Effort to Derail Executive Action on Immigration

June 13, 2016

The tentacles of the modern anti-immigrant movement in the United States extend far and wide, but they emanate from a single source: John Tanton—a white nationalist trying his hardest to ensure...

  • Blog

The Ever-Changing Demographics of America

June 9, 2016

If there’s one constant throughout human history, it’s that everything changes. New scientific discoveries are made and new technologies are invented. New nations are born from the ashes of...

  • Blog

States Will Need Immigrants to Counter Aging of the Labor Force

June 1, 2016

New population projections from the University of Virginia’s Demographics Research Group show that in many states in the Northeast and Midwest, growth of the working-age population is slowing due...

  • Blog

Restrictive Voting Laws Threaten to Block Millions of Latino Voters, Including Many Newly-Naturalized

May 12, 2016

Naturalization and voter registration rates have surged in recent months, but strict new voter laws in many states are threatening to reduce the number of Latinos voters (including many newly...

  • Blog

What the New Citizenship Fee Structure Means for Aspiring Americans

May 11, 2016

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is primarily a fee-funded agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Every two years they are required to review the fees they...

  • Blog

Report on Immigrant Welfare Use is Fundamentally Flawed—Here’s Why

May 10, 2016

It’s déjà vu all over again at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). Having released one flawed report on immigrant “welfare” use late last year, CIS has followed up with another that contains...

  • Blog

Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan Would Seriously Damage the U.S. Economy

May 9, 2016

Donald Trump’s approach to immigration seems to rest on three pillars: the construction of a big wall across the entire U.S.-Mexico border, the banning of all Muslim immigration to the United...

  • Blog

Sorry Trump, Immigration is Still Associated with Less Crime and Safer Communities

April 29, 2016

Donald Trump opened a political rally in Southern California last night by sharing the stage with activists who have lost loved ones at the hands of immigrants in the U.S. without legal status....

  • Fact Sheet

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program: An Overview

Publication Date: 
November 13, 2017
This fact sheet provides an overview of the diversity visa program, the requirements and security checks currently in place, and demographic information about recipients.
  • Blog

The Military’s Strategic and Recruitment Goals Fail When Immigrants Can’t Serve

November 9, 2017

The United States Armed Forces has long valued the contributions of immigrants—from the War of 1812 to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, U.S.-born and immigrant soldiers have fought...

  • Blog

How Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Turns Immigrants Into Criminals

November 6, 2017

It has been well established for decades that the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, immigrants who have committed no violent offense are often...

  • Blog

How the Diversity Visa Lottery Honors American Values

November 1, 2017

Americans value diversity and family. That is why our immigration system generally reflects those values. The U.S. diversity visa lottery, which was enshrined into law in 1990, was created to...

  • Blog

Immigrants Make up a Smaller Share of the U.S. Population Than They Did 100 Years Ago

October 23, 2017

The United States has been created by successive waves of immigration over the course of centuries. Each wave of immigrants from different parts of the world has helped to build the U.S. economy...

  • Blog

Immigrants and Refugees Are Among America’s 2017 Nobel Prize Winners

October 19, 2017

The Nobel Prizes, awarded annually in recognition of extraordinary achievement in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace, have once again been won by Americans who came...

  • Blog

The White House Has Slashed Refugee Admissions to Record Lows

October 2, 2017

The White House announced late last week that for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, beginning Oct. 1, 2017, the United States will only admit a maximum number of 45,000 refugees. This represents the lowest...

  • Blog

Public’s Appetite for Harsh Immigration Polices on the Decline

September 22, 2017

While undocumented immigration remains a concern among two-thirds of the American public, most Americans, including Republicans, support proposals which provide law-abiding immigrants a chance to...

  • Blog

Welcoming Week Opens Its Arms to Immigrants Across the Country

September 15, 2017

Each year, a series of events and community gatherings take place across America that bring both the foreign- and native-born together to build inclusive communities. These “Welcoming Week”...

  • Blog

Trump Administration Issues New Visa Sanctions on Four Countries, In Retaliation for Their Stance on Deportation

September 14, 2017

Following through on a directive from President Trump made during his first week in office, the State Department on Monday invoked a rarely-used law to impose visa restrictions on Cambodia,...

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