Legislation
Welcoming and Inclusive State Policies: A Midyear Review of State Legislative Sessions in 2022
As immigration bills languish in Congress, state legislatures continue to pave the way in welcoming immigrants and refugees in 2022. With the majority of the 46 state legislatures that convened this year having adjourned, many states—once again—used the legislative process to pass bills that make their communities more inclusive for… Read More
Florida’s Anti-Immigrant Bills Follow a Decade-Long Trend
The path toward commonsense federal immigration solutions seems to be continuing the cyclical and frustrating pattern of two steps forward, one step back. As soon as a measure is introduced—be it visa recapture, reducing the H-1B backlog, or a long overdue solution for Dreamers and TPS holders—it gets clawed back. Read More
The Dignity Act Could Signal Increasing Support for Immigration Reform on Capitol Hill
Miami Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a freshman Republican from Florida’s 27th congressional district, last week introduced an immigration reform bill that she calls the “Dignity Act.” Rep. Salazar claims the bill will both halt undocumented immigration to the United States and provide a “dignified solution” to the legal… Read More
The House Passes the America COMPETES Act, Including Immigration Reforms to Help the U.S. Economy
The House of Representatives passed an economic competitiveness bill on February 4 that includes several immigration provisions. The bill is called the ‘‘America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength Act of 2022’’—or the America COMPETES Act of 2022. This bill (which is more than… Read More
Immigration Reform in Budget Reconciliation Is Off to a Rocky Start but Much Is Yet to Come
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 through Congress. Senate Democrats are already formulating alternative proposals for MacDonough to consider in the days ahead. Democrats had initially proposed that the… Read More
The House Offers First Glimpse at Legalization for Millions of Immigrants Through Reconciliation
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 bill will likely go through multiple changes before a final vote, the text provides an important marker… Read More
Reconciliation and Immigration: What You Need to Know
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, has made little progress since it was introduced in February. Even the passage in the… Read More
Congress Proposes Legislation to Expedite and Expand Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Allies
As military troops withdraw from Afghanistan, Afghan nationals that supported the operations of the U.S. government—as translators and other vital roles—are in danger of violent retribution from Taliban forces. The Department of State offers resettlement to eligible Afghans through the special immigrant visa program, but slow processing and significant backlogs… Read More
DACA Has Allowed Me to Pursue Education, But We Need A Permanent Solution Now
My name is Hali Calzadillas-Andujo and I’m originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. I first came to the United States with my mother and siblings when I was eight years old. I didn’t even know what it meant, really, except that I was rejoining my father. I came to Santa Fe, New… Read More
Sinema and Cornyn Propose Changes to Asylum Processing at the Border
The current situation at the U.S.-Mexico border has once again exposed the flaws of our country’s asylum system. On April 22, Senators Kyrsten Sinema and John Cornyn and Representatives Tony Gonzales and Henry Cueller introduced a bipartisan, bicameral bill as an effort to alleviate some of the system’s greatest deficiencies. Read More
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