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Getting to a Citizenship Consensus
Immigration reform is enjoying a resurgence of support in both parties, with groups from a variety of backgrounds coming out in favor of a range of changes to our current system. The most striking change may be the melting of opposition to a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. […]
Read MoreWhy Immigrants Should Have Access to Legal Counsel
U. S. immigration laws are incredibly complex, yet they provide only minimal due process protections for even the most vulnerable noncitizens. In criminal courts, defendants who cannot afford an attorney are provided one for free, but in immigration court, noncitizens do not receive the same protections. As a result, many immigrants facing deportation are forced […]
Read MoreBREAKING: Administration Confirms DACA Recipients Are “Lawfully Present”
In updated guidance released this afternoon by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Obama Administration confirmed that recipients of deferred action are authorized to be in the United States and therefore considered to be “lawfully present” under federal immigration laws. The guidance should clarify the debate over whether beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood […]
Read MoreA Clash of Conservatives in Kansas
Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist came to Topeka this week to serve as a counterweight to Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach in the national debate over immigration reform. Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, is best known for persuading congressional Republicans to sign his anti-tax pledge. However, he is also an opponent of […]
Read MoreRemovals Remain the Starkest Measure of Immigration Enforcement
For more than a decade, the general thrust of U.S. immigration policy has been aimed at expanding the grounds of removal and the tools for facilitating deportations from the country. Not surprisingly, this has come at an enormous cost. Although the figure has been disputed by restrictionists, a report from the Migration Policy Institute recently […]
Read MoreA Decade of Rising Immigration Enforcement
With roughly 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States, some question whether the nation’s immigration laws are being seriously enforced. In truth, due to legal and policy changes in recent years, the immigration laws are enforced more strictly now than ever before. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reported record numbers of removals during the Obama administration, especially of noncitizens with criminal convictions. Meanwhile, fewer noncitizens are trying to enter the country illegally, and those caught by the Border Patrol are now regularly charged with federal crimes. Together, these trends reflect a sweeping and punitive transformation in U.S. immigration enforcement.
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“Removals” & “Returns”
When noncitizens who violate the immigration laws are forced to leave the United States, their departure is classified as a “removal” or a “return.” (See the glossary for definitions of these terms.) DHS reported 391,953 “removals” during the 2011 fiscal year, slightly below the record set in 2009. Meanwhile, DHS reported 323,542 “returns” in 2011, the lowest number since 1970 {Figure 1}.
Figure 1: DHS “removals” & “returns” FY 2002-2011
Reasons for Cautious Optimism on Immigration Reform
There is considerable debate at the moment over the prospects for immigration reform this year. On the one hand, an electorally chastened Republican Party seems to be reevaluating its long-standing support for deportation-only immigration policies. On the other hand, it looks as though the White House and Congress are embarking upon lengthy debates over gun […]
Read MoreDHS Publishes New Provisional Waiver to Help Some Families Stay Together
Some families facing long separations from their loved ones because of U.S. immigration laws will have an easier time of it in 2013. Thanks to a new regulation from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), immediate relatives of U.S. citizens will be able to complete part of the processing of their immigration cases without leaving […]
Read MoreHappy Holidays From Immigration Impact!
All of us at Immigration Impact would like to wish all of our readers a very happy holidays! We’ll be back on January 2nd, 2013. We look forward to continuing the immigration conversation with you next year!
Read MoreHappy Holidays From Immigration Impact!
All of us at Immigration Impact would like to wish all of our readers a very happy holidays! We’ll be back on January 2nd, 2013. We look forward to continuing the immigration conversation with you next year!
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