Immigration Reform

While updating our immigration system has been a slow process, over the last decade, there have been efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation and the DREAM Act. Other reform efforts include executive actions such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). Learn more about the ways America can upgrade its immigration system.

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

  • 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...
  • Research and Analysis

Summary of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009

Publication Date: 
December 15, 2009
Summary of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act (CIR ASAP) of 2009.
  • Fact Sheet

Immigration Reform as Economic Stimulus

Publication Date: 
September 1, 2009
The public debate over immigration reform, which all too often devolves into emotional rhetoric, could use a healthy dose of economic realism. As Congress and the White House fulfill their recent...
  • Research and Analysis

Comprehensive Immigration Reform: A Primer

Publication Date: 
July 24, 2009
America’s immigration laws are some of the most complex and archaic provisions that can be found in the U.S. statutes. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA) rivals the tax code in the...
  • Research and Analysis

Immigration Reform Cited as an Economic Necessity and a Net Gain

Publication Date: 
April 28, 2009
The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has culled the words of leading economists and numerous experts who agree that immigration reform is an economic necessity and a net gain to the U.S. economy.
  • Fact Sheet

What Immigration Reform Could Mean for the U.S. Economy

Publication Date: 
April 1, 2009
Now more than ever, Americans are seeking real solutions to our nation’s problems, and there is no better place to start than protecting our workers, raising wages, and getting our economy moving...
  • Research and Analysis

Recapture of Unused Immigrant Visas: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Publication Date: 
September 9, 2008
Critics of H.R. 5882, a bill that would would allow visas that have gone unused due to bureaucratic delays to be "recaptured" and issued to family- or employment-based legal immigrants, claim it will...
  • Research and Analysis

Does the "SAVE Act" Save Anything? The Real Price of "SAVE"

Publication Date: 
April 17, 2008
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released an estimate of the costs of the “Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act” (“SAVE Act,” HR 4088), and concluded that the “SAVE...
  • Research and Analysis

The "Secure America through Verification and Enforcement" ("SAVE Act") of 2007 (H.R. 4088) Summary and Analysis of Provisions

Publication Date: 
December 15, 2007
The “SAVE Act” was introduced in November 2007 by Reps. Heath Shuler (D-NC) and Brian Bilbray (R-CA). A companion bill (S. 2368) has been introduced in the Senate by Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Mary...
  • 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...

  • Blog

In the Face of a Shutdown, Trump and Congress Delay Border Wall Fight Until December

September 27, 2018

President Trump announced on Wednesday that he plans to sign a spending bill that will fund some federal agencies for the entire fiscal year, as well as provide a short-term fix for six others...

  • Blog

John McCain’s Legacy on Immigration

August 28, 2018

The United States Senate and Republican Party lost one of their biggest champions for bipartisan immigration reform and most vocal critics of President Trump’s immigration policies when Senator...

  • Blog

Despite Bipartisan Amendments, House Committee Passes Enforcement-Focused Bill

July 26, 2018

The House Appropriations Committee passed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that provides the agency with its budget for Fiscal Year 2019, which begins October 1, 2018. The...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Upholds President Trump’s Muslim Ban

June 26, 2018

The Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Trump v. Hawaii on Tuesday, upholding the third iteration of the president’s Muslim Ban. The decision by the closely divided court, which...

  • Blog

Here Is the Latest on President Trump’s Family Separation Policy

June 21, 2018

President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday in response to public outcry about family separation – a horrific policy that has led to the forced separation of over 2,000 minor children...

  • 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

  • Press Release

New Report Highlights Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

January 7, 2010

For Immediate Release

New Report Highlights Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

  • Press Release

Biden’s Plan to Attract Foreign STEM Talent Recognizes Immigration’s Importance in the Global Economy

January 21, 2022
The Biden administration announced new efforts to modernize parts of our immigration system, and remove barriers to legal immigration. DHS will add 22 new fields of study in the STEM Optional Practical Training program through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, and will implement a series of additional changes to allow foreign students, scholars, and researchers to come to the United States and make meaningful contributions to America’s scholarly, research and development, and innovation communities.
  • Press Release

One Year In: The Biden Administration’s Promises on Immigration Remain Unfulfilled

January 19, 2022
President Biden announced a welcoming and inclusive vision for immigration in a legislative proposal and a series of executive actions signed on his first day in office. But one year into Biden’s presidency, his promises on immigration remain unfulfilled.
  • Fact Sheet

An Overview of the Government Funding Process: Appropriations

Publication Date: 
December 15, 2021
This fact sheet aims to explain the basics of the federal government funding process, also known as appropriations, and show how it affects the world of immigration and immigration enforcement.
  • 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.
coalition_effort_advocates_inclusion_visa_related_provisions_budget_reconciliation_thumbnail
  • 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.
  • 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.

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