Immigration Reform

While updating our immigration system has been a slow process, over the last decade, there have been efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation and the DREAM Act. Other reform efforts include executive actions such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). Learn more about the ways America can upgrade its immigration system.

Recent Features

All Immigration Reform Content

Publication Date: 
May 7, 2013
With immigration reform legislation now making its way through Congress, it is imperative that we estimate as accurately as possible the full range of potential economic costs and benefits associated...
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April 3, 2013
As the legislative debate over immigration reform heats up, a central point of contention will be whether or not to create a pathway to legal status for all or most of the...
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March 1, 2013
Under S. 744, “The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act,” a merit-based point system is proposed as a tool to allocate a portion of new immigrant visas each year...
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March 1, 2013
In the spirit of bipartisan immigration reform, a geographically diverse contingent from both chambers of Congress have introduced legislation to strengthen high-skilled immigration and spur economic...
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February 14, 2013
For more than a decade, efforts to systematically overhaul the United States immigration system have been overshadowed by other events—from foreign wars and national security concerns to the...
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February 7, 2013
The most concrete proposals for immigration reform thus far in 2013 include earned legalization with a path to U.S. citizenship for unauthorized immigrants already living in the United States. This...
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January 31, 2013
The data analyzed in this report indicates that unauthorized immigrants who gained legal status in the 1980s through the legalization provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)...
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January 31, 2013
While there are many facets to an intelligent immigration reform package, one thing is clear: legalization for undocumented immigrants helps all of us. Most economists recognize that legalization...
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June 22, 2012
There are an estimated 1.4 million children and young adults in the United States who might benefit from President Obama’s...
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June 5, 2012
Each year, approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from American high schools. While many hope to pursue higher education, join the military, or enter the workforce, their lack of legal...
March 18, 2021

The U.S. House of Representatives passed two immigration bills on March 18, signaling that Congress might finally enact major immigration reform for the first time in over three decades. These...

March 11, 2021

It’s been one year since the COVID-19 pandemic first affected immigration on a global scale. The impact has been swift, devastating, and long-lasting. On March 11, 2020, former President Trump...

February 3, 2021

On February 2, 2021, following the confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of Homeland Security, President Biden signed three executive orders that take steps to further unwind the Trump...

January 22, 2021

On his first day in office, President Biden took significant steps towards undoing the harm of the Trump administration’s immigration policies—and reforming our punitive and inhumane enforcement...

January 4, 2021

This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.  When the Biden administration takes...

December 15, 2020

Progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives are gearing up to demand a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. immigration system when the Biden administration and a new Congress are in place...

December 9, 2020

The Trump administration has used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to curtail many immigrant and nonimmigrant visa programs, including J-1 cultural exchange visitors. But with vaccines on the...

July 8, 2020

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security introduced their proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (beginning October 1, 2020) this week. The budget would have significant...

June 23, 2020

The Trump administration has banned foreign nationals on certain employment-based nonimmigrant visas from entering the United States. The new ban begins June 24, at 12:01 am ET. The administration...

June 18, 2020

The Supreme Court issued its long-anticipated decision in DHS v. Regents of the University of California—the case challenging the administration’s attempt to dismantle the Deferred Action for...

October 20, 2015

Washington D.C. - Today, the Senate rejected the motion to proceed on Senator David Vitter’s (R-LA) “Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act” (S. 2146).

May 26, 2015

Washington D.C. - In a disappointing decision, a divided panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals today  denied  the federal government’s request for an emergency stay of a preliminary in

February 17, 2015

Washington D.C. - Late last night, a Texas judge issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks the implementation of President Obama’s new deferred action initiatives. These initia

December 29, 2014

Washington D.C. - Today, immigration, civil rights and labor groups joined the legal effort to defend President Obama’s recent executive action on immigration by filing an

December 22, 2014

Washington D.C. - Today, the U.S.

December 22, 2014

Washington D.C. - Today, the U.S.

Publication Date: 
October 10, 2023
New research from the American Immigration Council shows that immigrants in Greater Salem paid over $200 million in taxes and held over $536 million in spending power in 2019. The new report, New...
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September 19, 2023

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a program that allows certain individuals from designated countries that are facing severe ...

Publication Date: 
September 6, 2023
New research from the American Immigration Council shows that immigrants in Allen County paid over $160 million in taxes and exceeded $496.0 million in spending power in 2019. The new report, New...
August 2, 2023
The American Immigration Council and the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration released a report showing undocumented students enrolling in U.S. colleges and universities play a crucial role in addressing workforce gaps.
Publication Date: 
August 2, 2023
This fact sheet looks at the population of undocumented students in higher education institutions across the country.
July 31, 2023

With most state legislatures having adjourned for the year, states—once again—continue to lead the way for welcoming immigrants and refugees. The American Immigration Council tracked over 1,000...

July 17, 2023
Legal organizations filed a federal lawsuit challenging Florida’s new anti-immigrant law, Senate Bill 1718.
July 1, 2023
The Southern Poverty Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and American Immigration Council have announced they will file a federal lawsuit challenging Florida’s draconian Senate Bill 1718, which goes into effect, July 1.
June 2, 2023

Usurping the role of the federal government, state legislatures in Florida and Texas have proposed multiple harmful immigration bills during this year’s legislative session. Several Florida...

May 25, 2023

On May 23, members of Congress introduced what has sadly become an increasingly rare bit of legislation; a comprehensive immigration reform bill aimed at addressing large-scale systematic problems...

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