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House Limits Administrative Action Instead of Acting on Immigration Reform
Work on existing bills that lay out legislative options to fix the nation’s immigration system is languishing in the House while its members focus on legislation that rolls back the president’s power to help immigrants caught in the broken system. Following up on Wednesday’s vote to approve the ENFORCE Act (HR 4138), the House on […]
Read MoreHouse Passes ENFORCE Act
The House of Representatives today passed HR 4138, the ENFORCE Act, by a vote of 233 to 181. This bill would give either chamber of Congress standing to bring a civil action in U.S. district court alleging that “President, the head of any department or agency of the United States, or any other officer or […]
Read MoreNew Directive Clarifies Existing Use of Force Policy at CBP
In the wake of a leaked report exposing Border Patrol agents’ use of excessive force, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a new directive last Friday attempting, indirectly, to address some of the allegations. The report, authored by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), stemmed from its review of CBP shooting incidents from January […]
Read MoreThe Growth of the U.S. Deportation Machine and Its Misplaced Priorities
No one can say with certainty when the Obama administration will reach the grim milestone of having deported two million people since the President took office in 2008. Regardless of the exact date this symbolic threshold is reached, however, it is important to keep in mind a much more important fact: most of the people […]
Read MoreHow Immigration Is Good for Science Research in U.S.
Research and knowledge are becoming key to economic growth worldwide, increasing the importance of intellectual work. And for the United States in particular, immigrants play an important role in science and engineering (S&E) research. Indeed, a February report from the National Science Board of the National Science Foundation (NSF), Science and Engineering Indicators 2014, notes […]
Read MoreHow the United States Immigration System Works
U.S. immigration law is very complex, and there is much confusion as to how it works. This fact sheet provides basic information about how the U.S. legal immigration system is designed.
Read MoreUnderstanding H.R. 3431: The American Families United Act
On October 30, 2013, Representatives Steve Pearce (R-NM) and Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) announced the introduction of H.R. 3431, the American Families United Act (AFUA). Co-sponsors as of January 2014 included Jim Costa (D-CA) and James McGovern (D-MA). This bipartisan immigration bill approaches immigration reform from a unique angle, focusing on amendments to the system that address the separation of immigrants from their U.S. family members. The bill expands the discretionary authority of government officials to waive minor violations of law, but does not create new mechanisms for legalizing undocumented individuals. Thus, in contrast to S. 744, the comprehensive immigration bill passed by the Senate in 2013, the AFUA focuses on a narrower group of individuals who might be eligible for lawful permanent residence under current standards if not for certain legal obstacles.
Read MoreAn Unnecessary Pre-Emptive Strike Against Young Undocumented Immigrants
This week, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) issued a criticism of the Kids Act, a bill not yet released by House leadership. The thrust of their argument is that any legalization program the bill could propose would be an “amnesty,” no matter what the requirements, and that even young, educated immigrants who came to […]
Read MoreRecent Report on Deportation Misses the Big Picture
The Obama administration has deported nearly 2 million people so far, and it still has two years left to go. This would seem to indicate that the U.S. immigration enforcement machine is running at top speed. However, a report from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC)—as well as the press stories which flowed from […]
Read MoreFremont’s Anti-Immigrant Ordinance Out of Step with Other Cities in Nebraska
Last week, the residents of Fremont, Nebraska voted to keep a 2010 anti-immigrant housing ordinance on the books. While the small town, with a seven percent foreign born population, has chosen to continue down its current path of exclusion, other places in Nebraska are pursuing inclusive strategies to welcome immigrants and other newcomers to their […]
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