Immigration 101

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

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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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

  • Special Report

The Myth of Immigrant Criminality and the Paradox of Assimilation

Publication Date: 
February 21, 2007

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  • Research and Analysis

Undocumented Immigration by Congressional Districts

Publication Date: 
October 1, 2006
In this IPC Policy Brief, author Rob Paral uses new census data to update his earlier IPC report (Playing Politics on Immigration: Congress Favors Image over Substance in Passing H.R. 4437) on the...
  • Research and Analysis

The Growth and Reach of Immigration: New Census Bureau Data Underscore Importance of Immigrants

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2006
New data from the 2005 American Community Survey (ACS), released by the Census Bureau on August 15, 2006, underscore the extent to which immigration continues to fuel the expansion of the U.S. labor...
  • Special Report

Unequal Access: Immigrants and U.S. Health Care

Publication Date: 
July 1, 2006
By Sarita A. Mohanty, M.D., M.P.H.Despite the important role that immigrants play in the U.S. economy, they disproportionately...
  • Research and Analysis

Learning from IRCA: Lessons for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Publication Date: 
May 1, 2006
If the current political stalemate over immigration reform is any indication, many U.S. policymakers have yet to heed the lessons of recent history when it comes to formulating a realistic strategy...
  • Research and Analysis

More Than a Temporary Fix: The Role of Permanent Immigration in Comprehensive Reform

Publication Date: 
January 1, 2006
The immigration debate once again is dominated by narrow thinking and the search for simplistic solutions to complex problems. Most lawmakers and the press have come to equate “immigration reform”...
  • Research and Analysis

A Lifeline to Renewal: The Demographic Impact of Immigration at State and Local Levels

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2005
Immigrant numbers should be taken in the context of native population growth or decline to better understand the impact of immigration.
  • Fact Sheet

From Refugees to Americans: Thirty Years of Vietnamese Immigration to the United States

Publication Date: 
June 1, 2005
Thirty years after the fall of the Saigon government, Vietnamese Americans celebrate the fact that they have moved far beyond their refugee origins and become successful economic and political...
  • Fact Sheet

Ties that Bind: Immigration Reform Should be Tailored to Families, Not Just Individuals

Publication Date: 
May 1, 2005
Given the extent to which undocumented immigrants already living in the United States are part of U.S.-based families, comprehensive immigration reform must include more than just a new temporary...
  • Special Report

Diversity and Transformation: African Americans and African Immigration to the United States

Publication Date: 
March 1, 2005
Successive generations of African immigration have continuously transformed the African American community and the sociopolitical climate of the United States.

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