Immigration 101
The U.S. immigration system is complex and can be difficult to understand. These resources provide key data points, historical information, and background on hot topics in immigration. Learn the basics about immigration. Immigration in the United States is complex and ever-evolving. Start here to understand the fundamental aspects of immigration policy, its history, and its impact on both individuals and the country at large. Learn commonly used terms about immigration law and how the U.S. immigration system is designed. Explore layered topics like how and whether immigrants can become citizens, as well as what individual protections look like under the law.
How the United States Immigration System Works
- How the Immigration System Works
- June 24, 2024
U.S. immigration law is very complex, and there is much confusion as to how it works. This fact sheet provides basic information…
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Birthright Citizenship in the United States
- Birthright Citizenship
- October 16, 2024
This fact sheet explains birthright citizenship, the Fourteenth Amendment, and its interpretations. Who is…
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Asylum in the United States
- Asylum
- August 27, 2014
Asylum seekers must navigate a difficult and complex process that can involve multiple government…
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Immigration and the Environment: Why the “Over-Population” Argument Doesn’t Hold Water
A new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) thoroughly debunks the simplistic claims of nativist groups that immigration to the United States fuels the destruction of the U.S. environment by contributing to “over-population” of the country. The report, entitled From a “Green Farce” to a Green Future: Refuting False Claims About Immigrants and the Environment, points out that the “over-population” argument of the nativists is based on the false premise that more people automatically produce more pollution. However, the truth of the matter is that “more people do not necessarily equal more stress on the planet, and stopping the flow of immigrants to this country will not solve our environmental challenges.” In fact, the report finds that “immigrants actually live greener than most Americans and they can play a critical role in solving our environmental challenges.” Read More
From Bad to Worse: Immigrant Smearing in a Time of Midterm Cholera
Well it’s finally here—open season on immigrants. You don’t even have to stare into the headlights of campaign politics to observe how blithely some candidates have taken aim at their opponents and managed to catch immigrants in their crosshairs. Two recent campaign ads portray undocumented immigrants as darkly-clothed thieves—like in one of those overly-dramatized alarm system commercials where just when you turn your back, Hispanic immigrants apparently come sneaking across the border, receive over-sized checks, and steal your children’s college tuition. Right. Read More
Utah Leaders Balk at Arizona-esque Immigration Enforcement Bill
With midterm election campaigning well underway, some local candidates are lifting up state and local immigration enforcement legislation as a means to garner public support. Unfortunately, as is often the case when politics meets reality, not everyone is on board with local enforcement laws like Arizona’s SB1070—key provisions of which were enjoined by a federal district judge in late July. Over the last few months, state leaders in Ohio, Idaho, Nebraska and Houston have either heavily edited or voted not to pursue state immigration measures, citing costly lawsuits, court battles and the dubious constitutionality of such laws. This month, state leaders in Utah are also balking at an immigration measure modeled on the controversial Arizona law. Read More
Sen. Menendez Aims for Lame Duck, Urges Advocates to Focus on Policy of CIR 2010
There can be advantages to going it alone. Despite two years of repeated attempts to get a bipartisan immigration reform bill in the Senate, Senators Menendez (D-NJ) and Leahy (D-VT) finally said “enough” and introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010 (CIR 2010) last week. Plenty of people have pointed out that the bill was introduced just as Congress left Washington to go into full-time campaign mode, leaving Sens. Menendez and Leahy virtually alone in Washington to promote their new bill. On a conference call Friday, however, Sen. Menendez said he aims at moving the bill during lame duck session or next Congress, but urged advocates and the media to focus on the merits of the bill, rather than the timing. (Other immigration bills passed during lame duck include the LIFE Act and NACARA.) Read More
Polls Show Latinos and Republicans Still Drifting Apart
As Congress’ attention to lawmaking wanes in place of politicking and mid-term elections, a string of new polls are emerging that further depict the strained relationship between Latinos and Republicans. The GOP strategy of alienating the fastest growing demographic through harsh rhetoric and the blockage of immigration reform is starting to reap results. Much like polls that emerged after the failure of comprehensive immigration reform in 2007, Latinos are steadily edging away from the GOP. Read More
House Republicans Pledge More of the Same on Immigration
It was a week of broken dreams and empty promises for immigration reform. The failure of the Senate to take up the DREAM Act illustrated once again that good policy isn't enough to make legislation work. And over on the House side, GOP members unveiled their “Pledge to America,” a pledge that promises, among other things, more of the same deportation-driven strategies for resolving our immigration crisis. Although the public appears to have an insatiable appetite for talking tough on illegal immigration, if cable shows and Tea Party candidates are your measure of the public taste, catering to the worst of the public's instincts is not a strategy for the long run. Read More
New Census Data Underscores Growing Entrepreneurial Power of Latinos
New data released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau highlights the rapidly growing economic power of Latino-owned businesses in the United States. According to the Bureau’s 2007 Survey of Business Owners, there were 2.3 million Latino-owned businesses in the country as of 2007, which generated $345.2 billion in sales and employed 1.9 million people. Moreover, the number of Latino-owned businesses grew by 43.7 percent between 2002 and 2007, which was more than twice the national average. In other words, the Latino community tends to be highly entrepreneurial, and the businesses which Latinos create sustain large numbers of jobs. Read More
Will the GOP’s Failure to Move the DREAM Act Galvanize the Latino Vote?
In a procedural vote yesterday, Senate Republicans (and two Democrats) voted not to proceed (56-43) to the Defense Authorization bill in a party line vote, preventing the consideration of, among others, the DREAM Act amendment. Hemming and hawing their way through floor speeches, Senate Republicans expressed sympathy for the plight of potential DREAM Act students and offered to “debate the merits of the DREAM Act” in a standalone bill, just not on the Defense authorization bill. This latest vote, coupled with some in the GOP’s recent anti-immigrant rhetoric on birthright citizenship and Arizona’s immigration enforcement laws, has the potential to not only alienate America’s fastest growing voting bloc, but drive them to the polls in November. Read More
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to Bring DREAM Act to a Vote
In the absence of an immigration overhaul, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced yesterday that he will attached the DREAM Act as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill next week. The DREAM Act, which enjoys bipartisan support, would provide legal status to students who arrived in the U.S. before the age of 15, have lived in the U.S for at least five years, graduated from a U.S. high school and are pursuing their education or serving in the military. Some fear the DREAM Act will detract from a larger immigration overhaul; others see it as a “down payment” toward broader reform; while critics see it as a political calculation needed to turn out Hispanic voters for midterms. But however you slice it, the question remains whether Sen. Reid can muster the 60 votes necessary for cloture. Read More
Secretary Napolitano Urges Latinos to Vote in Midterms if Congress is to Reform Immigration
Yesterday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano visited the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) with one clear message: the Latino community must turn out in force in November in order set the table for passing comprehensive immigration reform next year, telling the group that “your voice is your vote, man.” Secretary Napolitano also confronted the “secure the border first” rhetoric opponents consistently use to stall reform efforts, urging lawmakers to “quit moving the goal posts” and pointing out that the administration has met Congressional border benchmarks. Read More
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