Immigration Legislation
Policy Options: Protecting Immigrant Communities at the State and Local Level
State and local communities are at the forefront of shaping the lives of immigrants. While some have advanced harmful policies, other state and local governments championed efforts to protect newcomers and enable their full participation in their communities. As we look ahead to 2025 and the uncertainty around federal immigration… Read More
What Is the ‘Bipartisan Border Bill’ and How Would It Change the US Immigration System?
The “bipartisan border bill” has been front and center in the presidential election, but it is often presented to the public without clarity on what the bill would actually do. In May, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced S. 4361, the Border Act of 2024. This bill includes nearly identical… Read More
Who Is in and out Under the RAISE Act
The Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act (RAISE Act) seeks to dramatically reshape American immigration by favoring youth and a narrow set of skills over family values and diversity. It does so by virtually eliminating all family-based legal immigration categories, except for some immediate relatives. In… Read More
Three-Year-Old Immigrant Child Released After Two Years of Detention
An immigration judge ordered the immediate release of a three-year-old immigrant child and his mother from a detention center in rural Pennsylvania on Monday, stating that it was one of the most sympathetic cases for release he had encountered in his career. The child’s release marks what will hopefully be… Read More
Administration Unveils Legislation That Cuts Legal Immigration in Half and Abandons Family Values
The administration revealed legislation this week that seeks to drastically reshape American immigration, moving away from the family based immigration tradition that has both shaped our immigration policies for centuries and promoted family reunification, towards one that reduces people to numbers and rankings through a narrow and rigid point system. Read More
How to Get the Immigration System in Line With Our Nation’s Values and Interests
Over the past two decades, much of the immigration policy debate has focused on issues related to immigration enforcement. In fact, many argue that “enforcement first”—the notion that we must adequately enforce the laws on the books before considering broader immigration reforms—has de facto become the nation’s singular immigration… Read More
Life-Saving Humanitarian Aid Camp Raided by Border Patrol in Arizona Desert
Each year, hundreds of individuals perish while crossing into the United States from Mexico and Central America. Death while crossing the desert is often due to dehydration and other medical emergencies. Often migrants get lost and are poorly equipped for the treacherous journey, succumbing to the desert heat and exhaustion. Read More
ICE Wants to Deport Immigrants Congress is Trying to Protect Through Private Bills
Democratic and Republican Members of Congress alike introduce “private immigration bills” designed as a last-minute effort to protect some immigrants facing deportation. This week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that it would no longer issue stays of removal (temporary protection from deportation) for many individuals named in these private immigration… Read More
Border Wall May Be an Expensive Solution to a Nonexistent Problem
If the Trump administration fulfills its promise to build a “big, beautiful wall” along the entire length of the U.S.-Mexico border, it will be a very costly solution to a problem that no longer exists—and may not exist again for a very long time. A report from the… Read More
The Contributions of New Americans in Missouri
Today, Missouri is home to almost 225,000 immigrants. Over the past several decades, this Midwest state’s immigrant population has fluctuated considerably. In 1990, immigrants in Missouri accounted for just 1.6 percent of the state’s total population. By 2010, that share had more than doubled, reaching 4 percent. Between 2010 and… Read More
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