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Letter from Business Urges Congress to Create a 21st Century Immigration System
As an increasing number of organizations voice their support for comprehensive immigration reform, the business community added theirs this week through a letter to Congress. Business now joins a broad swath of the American public that wants Congress to pass immigration reform. The letter sent to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives represents a […]
Read MoreU.S. needs 21st century immigration plan
CNN.com January 29, 2013 The prospects for immigration reform just got a lot brighter. Eight leading senators, four Republicans and four Democrats, came together to announce on Monday their agreement on broad principles to modernize our immigration laws, which have been largely unchanged since 1965. Since then, the world has changed dramatically and globalized markets […]
Read MoreRebooting the American Dream: The Role of Immigration in a 21st Century Economy
There is plenty of evidence that immigration helps to fuel the U.S. economy, just as it has throughout our history. Immigrants continue to play an important role in the economy as workers, entrepreneurs, taxpayers, and consumers. However, most observers agree that our current immigration system is outdated and dysfunctional, making it more difficult for the U.S. to compete in the global marketplace. The last time Congress made significant changes to the employment-based immigration system was 1990, when the Immigration Act of 1990 created the five-tiered employment-based immigration system and the numerical limits used today.
Our immigration system needs to be updated and overhauled, but inflamed rhetoric often obscures reform efforts. The first step in reforming our immigration system is to understand the basic facts surrounding the debate. This report seeks to answer some basic questions about the role of immigration in today’s economy.
Read the Executive Summary
Read the Full Report
Ending Slavery in the 21st Century: Federal Anti-Trafficking Programs Have Far to Go
Although the federal government has made significant progress over the past three years in fighting human trafficking, more is needed to end this 21st century slave trade.
Read MoreTrump’s Attack on Immigrants Is the Tip of the Spear for His Attack on Democracy
The American Immigration Council’s new special report, Mass Deportation: Analyzing the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Immigrants, Democracy, and America, is a guide to the first six months of the second Trump administration, what might be coming, and who is being harmed. This is the first in a series of blog posts lifting up the cross-cutting […]
Read MoreMass Deportation: Analyzing the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Immigrants, Democracy, and America
The first six months of President Trump’s return to office have marked the most extreme changes to the immigration system in modern U.S. history.
Read MoreUS Citizens—Not Migrants—Smuggle the Majority of Fentanyl Into the United States
President Donald Trump signed The Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act into law on July 16, 2025, aimed at strengthening prison sentences for fentanyl traffickers. All fentanyl-related substances, including copycat versions, will now be classified as a Schedule I drug. When signing the legislation, the president blamed his favorite boogeyman for the rise […]
Read MoreAfter Detaining People in El Salvador Torture Prison for 125 Days, the U.S. Government Must Be Held Accountable for Disappearing Migrants
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 19, 2025 — After 125 days imprisoned in El Salvador’s notorious “mega-prison,” the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), Venezuelan nationals Edicson Quintero Chacón and Jose Manuel Ramos Bastidas were released yesterday and placed on a U.S.-brokered flight to Venezuela, alongside approximately 250 other Venezuelans whom the United States paid to detain at CECOT. […]
Read MoreThe Social Security Insolvency Crisis: How Deportation Makes It Worse
The Social Security benefits that over 61 million retired Americans rely on are already in trouble. A recent report from the Social Security Board of Trustees finds that without action from Congress, retirement benefits could be slashed by 23% as early as 2033. Deporting undocumented immigrants will only exacerbate the problem. Immigrants—including undocumented immigrants—offset the […]
Read MoreBipartisan Group of Legislators Keep Dream of Immigration Reform Alive with Reintroduced ‘DIGNIDAD’ Act
On July 15, members of Congress reintroduced what has sadly become an increasingly rare bit of legislation: an immigration reform bill aimed at addressing large-scale systematic problems with our immigration system, which has not received any major update since the 1990s. The “DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act” represents one of the most sweeping attempts to modify the […]
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