Immigration Reform

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

Fact Sheet
The Cost of Immigration Enforcement and Border Security

Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, the federal government has spent an estimated $324 billion on the agencies that carry out immigration enforcement. 

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Special Report
Back to the Future: The Impact of Legalization Then and Now

While there are many facets to an intelligent immigration reform package, one thing is clear: legalization for undocumented immigrants helps all of us. 

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All Immigration Reform Content

  • Special Report

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

Publication Date: 
September 2, 2010
By Katherine Benton-Cohen and...
  • Special Report

Truth Held Hostage: Dissecting the Lies about Kidnapping in Arizona

Publication Date: 
August 20, 2010
Arizona politicians who support the state’s sweeping anti-immigrant law (SB 1070) are not particularly fond of...
  • 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...
  • Research and Analysis

Arizona's Anti-Immigration Law is also Anti-Faith

Publication Date: 
June 17, 2010
While visiting Phoenix, AZ in late January with a group of evangelical leaders who were in the border region to learn more about immigration, I met an immigrant family struggling to survive in a...
  • Research and Analysis

Arizona is Not the First State to Take Immigration Matters into their Own Hands

Publication Date: 
May 26, 2010
UPDATED 05/26/10 - Arizona’s controversial new immigration law (SB 1070) is the latest in a long line of efforts to regulate...
  • Research and Analysis

Real Enforcement with Practical Answers for Immigration Reform (REPAIR) Proposal Summary

Publication Date: 
May 3, 2010
On April 29, 2010, Democratic Senators Schumer, Reid, Menendez, Feinstein, and Leahy unveiled a proposed outline for a comprehensive immigration reform bill. The “conceptual framework” offers a...
  • Research and Analysis

The Fiscal Bottom Line on Immigration Reform

Publication Date: 
April 13, 2010
The Costs of Enforcement-Only and the Benefits of Comprehensive Reform Tax Day is an appropriate time to take stock of a few fiscal bottom lines about immigration enforcement and immigration reform...
  • Research and Analysis

Future Flow: Repairing Our Broken Immigration System

Publication Date: 
February 1, 2010
One of the greatest challenges in immigration reform is the need to realistically assess our future employment-based immigration needs. This includes permanent and temporary visas, high-skilled and...
  • Research and Analysis

The Economic Benefits of Immigration Reform

Publication Date: 
January 11, 2010
A new report, “Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” by Dr. Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, finds that comprehensive immigration reform...
  • Research and Analysis

Raising the Floor for American Workers

Publication Date: 
January 7, 2010
Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, legalizing undocumented workers through comprehensive immigration reform would yield $1.5 trillion...
  • Blog

Congress Debates Reauthorization of Expired Violence Against Women Act

March 20, 2019

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a landmark piece of legislation that was the first to offer clear protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, is up for reauthorization...

  • Blog

An Update on TPS: A Promising New Bill, More Lawsuits, and an Uncertain Future

March 18, 2019

More than 300,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders whose status was due to expire in the coming months have new reasons to be hopeful. On the legislative front, Congress proposed a new...

  • Blog

After Shutdown Loss, Trump Doubles Down on Immigration in His New Budget

March 12, 2019

After weeks of tense negotiations, Congress averted a second government shutdown last month by reaching a bipartisan agreement on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget—a budget which gave President...

  • Blog

Multiple Lawsuits Filed Against Trump’s National Emergency Declaration

February 19, 2019

Speaking from the Rose Garden on Friday, President Trump invoked the National Emergency Act after Congress refused to provide full funding for additions to the U.S.-Mexico border wall. By...

  • Blog

Trump Declares National Emergency to Fund His Border Wall

February 15, 2019

Following three weeks of spending negotiations, Congress passed a budget deal on Thursday to fund the federal government through the end of September. Even though it did not include the money...

  • Blog

Trump Administration’s Immigration Proposal Is Dead on Arrival

January 22, 2019

President Trump went in front of the public on Saturday and claimed he was going to propose a “compromise” to end the ongoing government shutdown. Instead of offering a bipartisan bill that would...

  • Blog

What Matthew Whitaker’s Designation as Acting Attorney General Means for Immigration

December 3, 2018

Following Jeff Sessions’ resignation as Attorney General, President Trump named Matthew Whitaker to replace him—a move that has already inspired multiple lawsuits that contend the designation was...

  • Blog

Trump’s Illegal Ban on Asylum Seekers Solves Nothing

November 9, 2018

In response to a much over-hyped caravan of migrants slowly trekking north through Mexico, the Trump administration announced new rules to block people from applying for asylum if they cross...

  • Blog

Ending Birthright Citizenship Could Put All Americans’ Nationality in Jeopardy

October 31, 2018

On Monday night, President Trump told reporters that he intended to end birthright citizenship and claimed that he could do so with an executive order. Birthright citizenship comes from the...

  • Blog

Federal Court Blocks Trump’s Efforts to Terminate Temporary Protected Status for 250,000 Recipients

October 4, 2018

Just weeks ahead of thousands of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders beginning to lose their immigration status, a federal court in California blocked the Trump administration’s decision to...

  • 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

State Lawmakers from Critical States Speak Out in Favor of DREAM Act

December 16, 2010

Washington D.C. - Today, a group of state legislators from Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Texas, and Utah participated in a briefing to share their support for fe

  • 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.

  • Press Release

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill Introduced in the Senate

September 30, 2010

Washington D.C. - On Wednesday, Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced S.B.

  • Press Release

DREAM Delayed in the Senate

September 21, 2010

Washington D.C. - Today, the Senate voted 56 to 43 against proceeding to the Defense Authorization Act.

  • Press Release

DREAM Act Coming to the Senate Floor

September 15, 2010

Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he would attach the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act

  • Press Release

President Obama’s Moment to Reassert Federal Leadership on Immigration Reform

May 6, 2010

Washington, D.C.

  • Press Release

Immigration Reform with Legalization Does Help U.S. Economy and Newly Legalized

April 9, 2010

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

Senators Issue Promising, but Vague Immigration Reform Plans

March 18, 2010

Washington D.C. - Today, in the

  • Press Release

President Declares Ongoing Commitment to Immigration Reform

January 27, 2010

  • Letters

Coalition calls on Congress to Fund Appointed Counsel in Immigration Proceedings

Publication Date: 
November 18, 2021
The American Immigration Council joined a coalition letter asking Congress to support funding for appointed counsel for immigration proceedings for Fiscal Year 2022.
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  • Letters

Coalition Effort Advocates for the Inclusion of Visa-Related Provisions in Budget Reconciliation

Publication Date: 
November 2, 2021
The Council joined 89 other organizations in a letter calling for Congress to include visa-related provisions in the budget reconciliation.
  • Fact Sheet

Legalization Through “Registry”

Publication Date: 
September 28, 2021
This fact sheet provides information on a provision called “registry” that allows certain non-citizens who are long-term residents of the United States, but who are either undocumented or present in...
  • Blog

Immigration Reform in Budget Reconciliation Is Off to a Rocky Start but Much Is Yet to Come

September 20, 2021

Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on September 19 rejected Democrats’ initial attempt to include immigration reform provisions in a $3.5 trillion spending bill currently making its way...

  • Blog

The House Offers First Glimpse at Legalization for Millions of Immigrants Through Reconciliation

September 13, 2021

House Democrats began to mark up a budget reconciliation bill on September 10 that would provide a path to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Although the...

  • Fact Sheet

Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021

Publication Date: 
August 27, 2021
This fact sheet provides an overview about the legalization program through which certain undocumented farmworkers in the United States could earn legal status.
  • Fact Sheet

Documented Dreamers: An Overview

Publication Date: 
August 20, 2021
This fact sheet provides an overview of Documented Dreamers, explains how they can age out of immigration status at 21, and summarizes the current federal legislative proposals to protect them from...
  • Press Release

Federal Judge Blocks ICE Enforcement Guidelines and Attempts to Upend Prosecutorial Discretion

August 19, 2021
A Texas judge blocked the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement priorities. The decision was issued in a case challenging ICE’s enforcement activities outside the scope laid out in the Feb. 18 enforcement memo.
  • Advocacy

Coalition Outlines Immigration Priorities for a Just Budget in Fiscal Year 2023

Publication Date: 
August 17, 2021
The Council and more than 130 organizations urged the Biden administration to redirect government funding for fiscal year 2023 away from draconian enforcement measures and invest in legal services...
  • Blog

Reconciliation and Immigration: What You Need to Know

August 6, 2021

On the day that President Biden took office, he promised to send a bill to Congress to create a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants. Unfortunately, that bill, the U.S. Citizenship Act...

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