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.

Recent Features

Why Don’t Immigrants Apply for Citizenship?

There is no line available for undocumented immigrants and the “regular channels” do not include them.

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Fact Sheet
Temporary Protected Status: An Overview

This fact sheet provides an overview of how Temporary Protected Status designations are made, what benefits TPS confers, and how TPS beneficiaries apply for and regularly renew their status.

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How the United States Immigration System Works

U.S. immigration law is very complex. Here's basic information about how the U.S. legal immigration system is designed.

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All Immigration 101 Content

  • Fact Sheet

Birthright Citizenship in the United States

Publication Date: 
March 14, 2025
This fact sheet explains birthright citizenship, the Fourteenth Amendment, and its interpretations. Who is eligible for birthright citizenship? Can birthright citizenship be taken away?
  • Fact Sheet

The Trump Administration’s Registration Requirement for Immigrants

Publication Date: 
February 26, 2025
In this factsheet, the American Immigration Council analyzes the Trump Administration’s Registration Requirement for Immigrants.
  • Fact Sheet

The “Migrant Protection Protocols”: an Explanation of the Remain in Mexico Program

Publication Date: 
February 12, 2025
Under the “Migrant Protection Protocols”, individuals who arrive at the southern border and ask for asylum (either at a port of entry or after crossing the border between ports of entry) are given...
  • Fact Sheet

Understanding INA Section 212(f): The President’s Authority to Suspend the Entry of Noncitizens

Publication Date: 
February 6, 2025
Under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the president of the United States has the authority to “suspend the entry” of certain noncitizens into the United States under...
  • Fact Sheet

Temporary Protected Status: An Overview

Publication Date: 
January 22, 2025
This fact sheet provides an overview of how Temporary Protected Status designations are made, what benefits TPS confers, and how TPS beneficiaries apply for and regularly renew their status.
  • Fact Sheet

The 287(g) Program: An Overview

Publication Date: 
January 20, 2025
This fact sheet provides an overview of the 287(g) program, which refers to agreements between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and local law enforcement agencies that allow local police to...
  • Fact Sheet

Documented Dreamers: An Overview

Publication Date: 
November 18, 2024
This fact sheet provides an overview of Documented Dreamers, explains how they can age out of immigration status at 21, and summarizes the current federal legislative proposals to protect them from...
  • Fact Sheet

Debunking the Myth of Immigrants and Crime

Publication Date: 
October 17, 2024
Using Uniform Crime Reporting data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and population data from the U. S. Census Bureau, the Council created a report on the relationship between immigrants...
  • Special Report

Building Community and Fueling Growth: The Role of Immigrants in Reviving the Great Lakes Region

Publication Date: 
October 15, 2024
“Building Community and Fueling Growth: The Role of Immigrants in Reviving the Great Lakes Region” was written in partnership with the American Immigration Council (AIC) and is an in-depth analysis...
  • Fact Sheet

FEMA’s Role in Migrant Assistance: Exploring the Shelter and Services Program

Publication Date: 
October 10, 2024

When local communities receive new immigrants who have been released at the border by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), they often provide necessary support to ensure that people have...

  • FOIA Litigation

Council Litigation Seeks Refugee Processing Data

This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeks to compel the U.S. Department of State to release data about the demographics, processing, and adjudication of refugees’ applications for...

  • FOIA

Seeking Records from Immigration Courts about Processing FOIA and Records of Proceedings Requests

The Council seeks records from immigration courts about how they process record requests and comply with proactive disclosure requirements. This information will help advocates ensure that noncitizens in removal proceedings have access to their records and that the courts are complying with record disclosure requirements.
  • FOIA

FOIA Request Seeks Records Regarding Parole Guidance and Incorrect Addresses on CBP Documents After Migrants Flown to Martha's Vineyard

The requested records will shed light on CBP's practices with respect to granting and extending humanitarian parole and the agency's determinations regarding which addresses to include on immigration paperwork.
  • Litigation

Challenging USCIS To End Naturalization Application Delays

This lawsuit challenges USCIS' unreasonable delay in processing naturalization applications that were filed in 2020 and has prevented applicants from becoming U.S. citizens.
  • Declaration

Council Submits Declaration in Deportation Moratorium Case, Explaining the Complex System of Enforcement and Removal

Publication Date: 
February 12, 2021
The Council submitted this declaration in support of the ACLU's defense of the Biden Administration's moratorium on deportations. This declaration explains how the removal and detention system works.
  • Advocacy

Comment on DHS Proposed Rule to Drastically Expand the Definition and Collection of Biometrics

October 13, 2020
The American Immigration Council, the Immigration Defense Clinic at Colorado Law, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, submitted a comment in opposition to the Department of Homeland Security proposed rule on the "Collection and Use of Biometrics by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services."
  • Advocacy

Summary of Proposed Changes to Student and Exchange Visitor Admissions Process by DHS

October 6, 2020

This document provides a summary of the Department of Homeland Security's September 25, 2020, Proposed Rule, "...

  • Advocacy

Comments on U.S. Customs and Border Protection Records Destruction Schedule

September 30, 2020

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is attempting to permanently destroy records related to civil rights complaints against the agency, administrative and criminal investigations into...

  • Advocacy

Comment on Executive Office for Immigration Review Proposed Rule Regarding Appeal Procedures and Administrative Closure

September 25, 2020

The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, through their joint initiative, the Immigration Justice Campaign, submitted this comment in opposition to...

  • Advocacy

Letter Requesting 60-Day Comment Period on Proposed Rule Expanding Collection of Biometrics

September 15, 2020
This new rule will increase the total number of people who are required to submit biometric data from 3.9 million currently to 6.07 million—an increase of more than 60%.
  • Practice Advisories

Common Tools of Statutory Construction for Criminal Removal Grounds

Publication Date: 
November 28, 2023
This practice advisory describes some of the common tools of statutory construction to assist practitioners in advocating for narrow definitions of generic criminal removal grounds...
  • Practice Advisories

Practice Alert: Overview of the Supreme Court's Decision in Pugin v. Garland

Publication Date: 
August 22, 2023
This practice advisory looks into the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court issued in Pugin v. Garland, 143 S. Ct. 1833 (2023). This immigration decision addressed the generic definition of the obstruction of justice aggravated felony ground at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(S).
  • Practice Advisories

Nightingale v. USCIS and FOIA Requests for Immigration Case Files (A-Files)

Publication Date: 
April 17, 2023
This practice advisory explains 1) the ways to submit a FOIA request for a client’s immigration records, or A-File, 2) provides suggestions for avoiding agency rejections of the requests, and 3) identifies issues related to the Nightingale injunction that class counsel are monitoring.
  • Practice Advisories

The Basics of Motions to Reopen EOIR-Issued Removal Orders

Publication Date: 
April 25, 2022

This practice advisory provides a basic overview of motions to reopen removal orders that are filed with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which consists of immigration courts...

  • Practice Advisories

Agency Delay Litigation: Opposing a Motion to Dismiss

Publication Date: 
October 4, 2019
This practice advisory summarizes the most common grounds raised by the government in motions to dismiss federal court agency adjudication delay lawsuits and outlines arguments that can be made in response.
  • Practice Advisories

Motions for a Continuance

Publication Date: 
September 10, 2018
This Practice Advisory provides a practitioner-focused overview of motions to continue a case in removal proceedings, from the basics of making the motion to advanced issues of jurisdictional bars to appellate review of continuances.
  • Practice Advisories

Inspection and Entry at a Port of Entry: When is there an Admission?

Publication Date: 
October 22, 2015
This Practice Advisory focuses on the meaning of “admission” in four very specific, but frequently encountered situations: a “wave-through” at a port of entry; and entry based on misrepresentation; an entry based on a false claim to U.S. citizenship; and the grant of TPS as an admission for purposes of adjustment of status.
  • Practice Advisories

Employment Authorization and Asylum: Strategies to Avoid Stopping the Asylum Clock

Publication Date: 
February 5, 2014
The American Immigration Council’s Practice Advisory, Employment Authorization and Asylum: Strategies to Avoid Stopping the Asylum Clock, has been updated to reflect extensive changes to the manner in which the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) determine an asylum applicant’s eligibility for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
  • Blog

Recovery and Reform: An Ex-Gang Member’s Story

March 26, 2025

Congress approved a full-year continuing resolution on March 14 that will fund mass deportation while gutting domestic spending. The economic and humanitarian costs will plunge the most vulnerable...

  • Blog

In Victory for Transparency, Court Finds DOGE Must Make Records Available to the Public

March 19, 2025

Last week, a federal court in the District of Columbia found that the Department of Government Efficiency, known as “DOGE,” is subject to public oversight through the Freedom of Information Act (...

  • Blog

Trump’s New Registration Requirement Could Forcibly Separate Millions of Immigrant Families

March 18, 2025

Sara Hamdi was 12 years old when her parents were forced to “register” with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because they were non-citizens from a Muslim country. She still remembers...

  • Blog

While Federal Firings Focus on Immigration Processing, Funding for Immigration Enforcement Expands

March 6, 2025

In recent weeks, significant personnel reductions throughout the federal government made in the name of eliminating “waste” have caused concerns about the government’s ability to continue...

  • Blog

Texas Dream Act: Protecting Undocumented Students’ Access to Higher Education Is Economic, Educational Imperative

March 4, 2025

In 2001, Texas set a precedent by enacting House Bill 1403, commonly known as the Texas Dream Act, which grants eligible undocumented students access to in-state tuition rates at public colleges...

  • Blog

The Number of Immigrants in the US Increases Yearly – And That’s a Good Thing

February 28, 2025

By Karen Aho, Robin Lundh, and Anna Shepperson This year, as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to deport millions of immigrants, it’s important to understand the contributions that...

  • Blog

H.R. 32 Would Empower President to Cut Essential Services in States and Cities

February 25, 2025

Efforts to penalize so-called “sanctuary cities” are back. On his first day back in office, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and...

  • Blog

GOP Budget Reconciliation Plan —Cutting Essential Programs To Supercharge Deportations 

February 21, 2025

Early Friday morning, the Senate is expected to begin the process for passing a budget reconciliation bill, a somewhat obscure Congressional procedure which allows a funding bill to pass both...

  • Blog

Breaking Down Trump’s Attempt to End Birthright Citizenship

February 7, 2025

By Laila Khan and Raul Pinto On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship for babies of undocumented immigrants and for...

  • Blog

A Young U.S. Citizen’s Long Legal Road Back Home

January 31, 2025

Across the country, deportation is often discussed as an absolute end. Many politicians run on a platform of stoking fear on immigration, with deportation being the punishment and means to remove...

  • Press Release

Cifras Muestran Cómo los Inmigrantes Ayudan a la Economía de los EE. UU., Mientras el Congreso Considera Desperdiciar Miles de Millones de Dólares en Deportaciones Masivas

April 22, 2025
Disponible por la primera vez en español, el análisis del Consejo muestra cómo los inmigrantes contribuyen a la prosperidad en los Estados Unidos de varias maneras.
  • Press Release

Trump’s Registration Requirement Means Fear, Uncertainty for Millions of Americans

February 26, 2025
The Trump administration announced a policy that will require many Americans to always carry identification documents with them to prove they are not deportable.
  • Press Release

New Data: Immigrants Keep Economy Strong, As Congress Considers Wasting Billions on Mass Deportation

February 25, 2025
New data shows how immigrants are contributing billions of dollars to the U.S. economy, even as the Trump administration and Congress are pushing for unprecedented funding for mass deportation.
  • Press Release

Misguided Laken Riley Act Does Nothing to Fix the Problems That Plague Our Immigration System

January 22, 2025

WASHINGTON, JAN. 22, 2025 — Today, the House voted in the final step for passing S.

  • Press Release

NEW REPORT: Immigrants are Fueling Economic Growth, Revitalizing Communities in Great Lakes States

October 15, 2024
A new report describes how immigrants are key to the economic success and future viability of communities across the Great Lakes region.
  • Press Release

New Data Analysis: Immigrants Driving Opportunity, Prosperity in the U.S., Including in Swing States

June 5, 2024
A new analysis of 2022 U.S. census data highlights how, amidst the Biden administration's recent actions to limit asylum access along the U.S.-Mexico border, and in the context of ramped-up anti-immigrant rhetoric during this year’s presidential campaign, immigrants are helping make the United States a more prosperous and economically booming country.
  • Press Release

New Report Shows Immigrants Play Critical Role to Michigan’s Population Growth, Economy

May 29, 2024
Immigrants accounted for 57.7 percent of Michigan’s population growth over last decade and contributed $67.8 billion, or 9.9 percent, of the state’s total GDP in 2022
  • Press Release

New Report Shows Immigrants in Androscoggin County, Maine Paid Over $24 Million in Taxes and Held Over $74 Million in Spending Power in 2019

April 4, 2024
Immigrants play a crucial role in the labor force in southern Maine, according to data in a new report.
  • Press Release

New Report Shows Immigrants in Houston Paid Over $16 Billion in Taxes and Exceeded $50 Billion in Spending Power in 2021

February 26, 2024
A new research report by the American Immigration Council underscores the crucial role immigrants play in the Houston area’s economy, finding that immigrants paid $16 billion in taxes and exceeded $50 billion in spending power in 2021.
  • Press Release

Court Allows Turnbacks of Asylum Seekers Without CBP One Appointments to Continue

October 13, 2023
A federal court in California denied a preliminary injunction in a legal challenge to the Biden administration’s policy of turning back asylum seekers who request protection without first obtaining an appointment via the government’s CBP One smartphone app.
  • Press Release

Cifras Muestran Cómo los Inmigrantes Ayudan a la Economía de los EE. UU., Mientras el Congreso Considera Desperdiciar Miles de Millones de Dólares en Deportaciones Masivas

April 22, 2025
Disponible por la primera vez en español, el análisis del Consejo muestra cómo los inmigrantes contribuyen a la prosperidad en los Estados Unidos de varias maneras.
  • Blog

Recovery and Reform: An Ex-Gang Member’s Story

March 26, 2025

Congress approved a full-year continuing resolution on March 14 that will fund mass deportation while gutting domestic spending. The economic and humanitarian costs will plunge the most vulnerable...

  • Blog

In Victory for Transparency, Court Finds DOGE Must Make Records Available to the Public

March 19, 2025

Last week, a federal court in the District of Columbia found that the Department of Government Efficiency, known as “DOGE,” is subject to public oversight through the Freedom of Information Act (...

  • Blog

Trump’s New Registration Requirement Could Forcibly Separate Millions of Immigrant Families

March 18, 2025

Sara Hamdi was 12 years old when her parents were forced to “register” with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because they were non-citizens from a Muslim country. She still remembers...

  • Fact Sheet

Birthright Citizenship in the United States

Publication Date: 
March 14, 2025
This fact sheet explains birthright citizenship, the Fourteenth Amendment, and its interpretations. Who is eligible for birthright citizenship? Can birthright citizenship be taken away?
  • Blog

While Federal Firings Focus on Immigration Processing, Funding for Immigration Enforcement Expands

March 6, 2025

In recent weeks, significant personnel reductions throughout the federal government made in the name of eliminating “waste” have caused concerns about the government’s ability to continue...

  • Blog

Texas Dream Act: Protecting Undocumented Students’ Access to Higher Education Is Economic, Educational Imperative

March 4, 2025

In 2001, Texas set a precedent by enacting House Bill 1403, commonly known as the Texas Dream Act, which grants eligible undocumented students access to in-state tuition rates at public colleges...

  • Blog

The Number of Immigrants in the US Increases Yearly – And That’s a Good Thing

February 28, 2025

By Karen Aho, Robin Lundh, and Anna Shepperson This year, as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to deport millions of immigrants, it’s important to understand the contributions that...

  • Press Release

Trump’s Registration Requirement Means Fear, Uncertainty for Millions of Americans

February 26, 2025
The Trump administration announced a policy that will require many Americans to always carry identification documents with them to prove they are not deportable.
  • Fact Sheet

The Trump Administration’s Registration Requirement for Immigrants

Publication Date: 
February 26, 2025
In this factsheet, the American Immigration Council analyzes the Trump Administration’s Registration Requirement for Immigrants.

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