Immigration Reform
The last time Congress updated our legal immigration system was November 1990, one month before the World Wide Web went online. We are long overdue for comprehensive immigration reform.
Through immigration reform, we can provide noncitizens with a system of justice that provides due process of law and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. Because it can be a contentious and wide-ranging issue, we aim to provide advocates with facts and work to move bipartisan solutions forward. Read more about topics like legalization for undocumented immigrants and border security below.
Immigration Reform in Budget Reconciliation Is Off to a Rocky Start but Much Is Yet to Come
Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on September 19 rejected Democrats’ initial attempt to include immigration reform provisions in a $3.5 trillion spending bill currently making its way through Congress. Senate Democrats are already formulating alternative proposals for MacDonough to consider in the days ahead. Democrats had initially proposed that the… Read More
The House Offers First Glimpse at Legalization for Millions of Immigrants Through Reconciliation
House Democrats began to mark up a budget reconciliation bill on September 10 that would provide a path to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Although the bill will likely go through multiple changes before a final vote, the text provides an important marker… Read More
Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021
This fact sheet provides an overview about the legalization program through which certain undocumented farmworkers in the United States could earn legal status. Read More
Legalization Through “Registry”
This fact sheet provides information on a provision called “registry” that allows certain non-citizens who are long-term residents of the United States, but who are either undocumented or present in the country under some sort of temporary immigration status, to “register” for Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status. Read More
Federal Judge Blocks ICE Enforcement Guidelines and Attempts to Upend Prosecutorial Discretion
A Texas judge blocked the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement priorities. The decision was issued in a case challenging ICE’s enforcement activities outside the scope laid out in the Feb. 18 enforcement memo. Read More
Coalition Outlines Immigration Priorities for a Just Budget in Fiscal Year 2023
The Council and more than 130 organizations urged the Biden administration to redirect government funding for fiscal year 2023 away from draconian enforcement measures and invest in legal services and community-based programming. Read More
Reconciliation and Immigration: What You Need to Know
On the day that President Biden took office, he promised to send a bill to Congress to create a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants. Unfortunately, that bill, the U.S. Citizenship Act, has made little progress since it was introduced in February. Even the passage in the… Read More
Legalization Through 245(i)
This fact sheet from the Council provides an overview of how current immigration law allows certain undocumented immigrants to become Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) without first having to leave the United States. Read More
Council Urges Biden Administration to Ensure All Immigrant Visas are Processed
The Council led a letter urging the Biden administration to ensure that all immigrant visas are processed up to the numerical limits by September 30, 2021 to avoid the loss of visas and further increase to the backlog. Read More
Biden Administration Commits to Returning Deported Veterans
Since the founding of the United States, immigrants have served in the U.S. military. In recognition of the sacrifices involved in military service, the federal government has provided an expedited path to citizenship for immigrant servicemembers for years—but it isn’t automatic and not all who serve qualify. Given how easy… Read More
Make a contribution
Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
