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.
In 1996, Congress passed a law giving the federal government the power to declare an emergency relating to a “mass influx” of migrants. When this emergency provision is enacted, the government can both disburse funding to states and localities dealing with the “influx” and delegate authority to local law enforcement agents in those areas to enforce some aspects of federal immigration law.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI, JAN. 25, 2025 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit today upheld a temporary block on SF 2340, Iowa's worst-ever immigration law.
The Iowa law was passed during the 2024 Iowa legislative session and was temporarily blocked by the courts just weeks after. It conflicts with federal law and would have a number of dramatic consequences for Iowans. It creates new crimes for anyone in Iowa, including a child, who has reentered the country after being deported — even if that person is now authorized to be in the U.S.
WASHINGTON, JAN. 22, 2025 — Today, the House voted in the final step for passing S. 5, legislation that will have devastating implications for many immigrants in the United States and our system of legal immigration alike.