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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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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All Immigration 101 Content

  • Fact Sheet

Mexican Migration Patterns Signal a New Immigration Reality

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2011
Fewer Mexicans are Entering the U.S., Fewer Are Leaving, and Mexican American Births Now Outpace Immigration from Mexico Much of what we thought we knew about immigration is changing, and...
  • Special Report

Second Annual DHS Progress Report

Publication Date: 
April 12, 2011
In its second year under the Obama Administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—which is responsible for the nation’s three immigration agencies (USCIS, CBP, and ICE)—continues to...
  • Special Report

Constitutional Citizenship: A Legislative History

Publication Date: 
March 28, 2011
Attacks against the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment have picked up in recent months, with legislators at both the national and state levels introducing bills that would deny U.S. citizenship...
  • Fact Sheet

Papers Please: Eliminating Birthright Citizenship Would Affect Everyone

Publication Date: 
January 4, 2011
Attacks on birthright citizenship at the federal and state level are bound to take many forms—from outright repeal of the Fourteenth Amendment to refusal by states to issue birth certificates to...
  • Special Report

The New American Electorate (October 2010)

Publication Date: 
October 14, 2010
At a time when federal, state, and local elections are often decided by small voting margins—with...
  • Special Report

The Unwanted: Immigration and Nativism in America

Publication Date: 
September 13, 2010
It’s hardly news that the complaints of our latter-day nativists and immigration restrictionists—from Sam Huntington to Rush Limbaugh, from FAIR to V-DARE—resonate with the nativist arguments of some...
  • Research and Analysis

Explaining the Recent Decline in Unauthorized Migration

Publication Date: 
September 9, 2010
Immigration Enforcement in a Time of Recession Recent estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center indicate that the number of unauthorized...
  • Special Report

Back to the Border: A Historical Comparison of U.S. Border Politics

Publication Date: 
September 2, 2010
By Katherine Benton-Cohen and...
  • Fact Sheet

Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Force

Publication Date: 
August 4, 2010
New CBO Report Underscores Diverse Contributions of Foreign-Born Workers A recent report from the...
  • Research and Analysis

Reforming America's Immigration Laws: A Woman's Struggle

Publication Date: 
June 28, 2010
While immigrant communities across the nation endure the long wait for immigration reform, there are roughly 19 million immigrant women and girls currently in the U.S. Immigrant women, particularly...
  • Blog

U.S. Census: A Closer Look at the Fastest Growing Minority Group in the United States

May 2, 2022

Data from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau show that there are approximately 20.7 million Asian and Pacific Islanders in the United States—comprising 6.2 % of the U.S. population—that make up the...

  • Blog

The Biden Administration Needs to Change Course on Green Cards Before It’s Too Late

April 22, 2022

The Biden administration failed to issue many of the immigrant visas—more commonly known as green cards—that were allotted last year for immigrants who have been sponsored by a U.S. employer or...

  • Blog

New Census Data Highlights Important Role of Immigration in Countering US Population Decline

March 30, 2022

More than two-thirds of U.S. counties saw natural decreases in population between 2020 and 2021, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. This means that almost 2,300...

  • Blog

The New Public Charge Standard Will No Longer Penalize Medicaid and SNAP Recipients

February 24, 2022

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to clarify the meaning of the “public charge ground of inadmissibility” on February 24. The new guidance will be...

  • Blog

Canada’s New Immigration Targets Show How the United States Is Falling Behind

February 22, 2022

The Canadian government released its 2022-2024 immigration targets earlier this week. Should it reach these targets, the number of new immigrants entering Canada would reach levels not seen in...

  • Blog

Why USCIS’ New Mission Statement Is So Crucial

February 10, 2022

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unveiled a new mission statement this week, signaling an important shift in how the agency wants to tell its story and shape its priorities ahead...

  • Blog

Biden’s ‘Secret’ Flights of Migrants Debunked as a Routine Part of the US Immigration System

February 2, 2022

Some media outlets have reached a fever pitch over what they have deemed President Biden’s “secret flights of migrants.” They claim that the Biden administration is covertly flying migrants into...

  • Blog

The Immigration Policy Successes and Failures of the Biden Administration

December 8, 2021

The Biden administration has—in its first year—rolled back many of the worst discriminatory policies implemented by the Trump administration that targeted non-U.S. citizens. But much work remains...

  • Blog

Here Are the Immigration Cases Before the Supreme Court This Term

November 18, 2021

The United States Supreme Court will face challenging questions impacting immigration law as it begins considering cases in its October 2021 term. The Court’s decisions on these cases will impact...

  • Blog

The Border Isn’t Open. Just 1 in 3 People at the Border Last Year Could Access the Asylum Process.

October 26, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published new data last week showing that over the past 12 months, the Border Patrol has carried out nearly 1.7 million apprehensions at the southern...

  • Blog

English-Only Education is on the Decline—But Arizona Holds Out

May 5, 2023

Written by Bella Wexler, Communications Fellow at the American Immigration Council. As of 2023, Arizona remains the only state with English-only education legislation still in effect. Its law—...

  • Blog

A Florida Court Blocks ‘Parole + ATD’ Program in Latest Fight Between State and Federal Immigration Authority

March 21, 2023

On March 8, a Florida court blocked the Biden administration from using a key border program referred to as Parole plus Alternative to Detention (Parole + ATD). The court’s decision vacated the...

  • Blog

Immigration Agencies Violate FOIA, Harming Immigrants and Government Transparency Alike

March 17, 2023

Immigration agencies have a problem with transparency. With an immigration system as complex as ours and Freedom of Information Act offices that are chronically underfunded, it’s no surprise that...

  • Blog

Black Immigrants in the United States: Population, Spending Power, and Political Capital

February 24, 2023

Written by Steven Hubbard, Senior Data Scientist and Robin Lundh, Research Manager Black immigrants make up a vital part of America’s rich cultural life. Think of authors Chinua Achebe and...

  • 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

USCIS’ Funding Crisis Might Be Too Big for the Agency to Fix by Itself

January 17, 2023

On January 3, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finally published a new proposed fee schedule for immigration benefits—which is to say, it took an important step to becoming a...

  • 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

From Farm to Your Thanksgiving Table: America’s Food Supply Relies on Immigrant Crop Workers

November 22, 2022

As Thanksgiving approaches, many cooks are busy planning their holiday meals. However, this year’s Thanksgiving meals will likely be more expensive as food prices soar. This is partly due to...

  • Blog

Midterms 2022: How and Where Immigrants Have Helped Create a More Diverse Electorate

October 11, 2022

With the 2022 midterm elections just weeks away, all eyes are shifting to states where close races are expected. A lot has changed since the last midterm elections in 2018—including the...

  • Blog

A New Bill Would Allow Millions of Immigrants to Apply for Green Cards

October 11, 2022

On September 28, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill in Congress that would allow millions of immigrants who have lived in the United States for many years to become Lawful Permanent...

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