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. Immigration in the United States is complex and ever-evolving. Start here to understand the fundamental aspects of immigration policy, its history, and its impact on both individuals and the country at large. Learn commonly used terms about immigration law and how the U.S. immigration system is designed. Explore layered topics like how and whether immigrants can become citizens, as well as what individual protections look like under the law.
How the United States Immigration System Works
- How the Immigration System Works
- June 24, 2024
U.S. immigration law is very complex, and there is much confusion as to how it works. This fact sheet provides basic information…
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Birthright Citizenship in the United States
- Birthright Citizenship
- October 16, 2024
This fact sheet explains birthright citizenship, the Fourteenth Amendment, and its interpretations. Who is…
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Asylum in the United States
- Asylum
- August 27, 2014
Asylum seekers must navigate a difficult and complex process that can involve multiple government…
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Judge Voids USCIS Asylum Policies Because Ken Cuccinelli Wasn’t Appointed Legally
The Trump administration suffered another blow on Sunday, when a federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully appointed to the role of acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The ruling voids two asylum policies Cuccinelli had signed off on. Read More
Undocumented, Black, and Unseen
I am one of approximately 619,000 undocumented, Black immigrants living in the United States. My immigration story began at seven years old, when I came to the United States from Belize without my mother, father, or siblings. The latter is a common narrative for DACA recipients like me. But the… Read More
With Public Charge Rule Now in Effect, Trump Achieves One of the Largest Cuts to Legal Immigration
After months in the courts, the Trump administration declared victory and began enforcing its new “public charge” rule. The rule goes into effect on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, inside the United States and at consular posts across the world. Under the rule, immigration officials have far… Read More
Judge Stops DHS From Arresting US Citizens’ Foreign Spouses During Marriage Interviews in Maryland
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been targeting U.S. citizens’ foreign spouses when they apply for legal immigration status. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Maryland put a halt to this practice. For the past few years, couples attending interviews about their marriages sometimes faced a terrible… Read More
The Fight to Stop ICE From Destroying Records About Deaths and Abuse in Its Custody
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to destroy thousands of records documenting horrific treatment of immigrants in the agency’s custody. The records contain vital details about people’s experience in immigration detention. They include information about deaths in detention, investigations into sexual and physical abuse, and medical and civil rights… Read More
USCIS’ Change to How ‘Unlawful Presence’ Is Calculated Is Defeated in Court
A federal district court stopped U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from drastically changing how the agency determines when a foreign student or exchange visitor is “unlawfully present” in the United States. “Unlawful presence” is defined by law as any time a foreign national spends in the United States after… Read More
Trump’s Immigration Restrictions Extend to Nearly 7% of the Entire World
President Trump issued the fourth travel ban of his presidency on Friday. This ban comes almost three years to the day after the first one brought thousands of protesters to airports around the country. People from Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar, and Kyrgyzstan are… Read More
The State of Immigration in Our Union
Three years into the Trump administration, it’s become clear that we have lost our rudder. For a nation that long-provided a welcome mat to the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, our immigration policies are not welcoming. They are punitive and isolationist. We have seen a… Read More
Tent Immigration Courts Are Still Not Fully Open to the Public
Asylum seekers subject to the Migrant Protection Protocols—or the “Remain in Mexico” program—in Laredo and Brownsville, Texas attend their court hearings in tents known as “port courts.” The government announced these secretive courts would finally be opened last week, but the public still does not have full access. For the… Read More
What Are the Proposed New Bars to Asylum?
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 would apply to people convicted of—and in some cases, merely accused of—a wide range of… Read More
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