Immigration Reform

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

  • Fact Sheet

The Cost of Immigration Enforcement and Border Security

Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, the federal government has spent an estimated $324 billion on the agencies that carry out immigration enforcement. 

  • Special Report

Back to the Future: The Impact of Legalization Then and Now

While there are many facets to an intelligent immigration reform package, one thing is clear: legalization for undocumented immigrants helps all of us. 

All Immigration Reform Content

  • Fact Sheets & Reports

An Unlikely Fit: Will the Undocumented Apply for a Temporary Status?

February 1, 2004
A guest worker program that lacks a clearly defined path to a permanent status is an unlikely fit for many of the 9.3 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States, most of...
  • Fact Sheet

Out of Sync: New Temporary Worker Proposals Unlikely to Meet U.S. Labor Needs

The temporary worker program now taking shape in Congress is unlikely to provide the U.S. economy with the numbers or kinds of workers that U.S. industries need.
  • Blog

House Committee Funds Administration’s Super-Sized Immigration Enforcement

July 19, 2017

In the first week of his presidency, through executive orders, the president laid out harsh proposals for immigration enforcement and border security. However, much of what the president proposes...

  • Blog

Leaks Reveal Administration’s Plans to Expand Expedited Removal

July 18, 2017

The Trump administration has threatened to expand its use of a fast-track removal process, which could lead to the deportation of thousands of immigrants with valid claims for humanitarian relief...

  • Blog

Hawaii Judge Rules That Grandparents and Other Close Relatives Are Excluded from the Travel Ban

July 17, 2017

This story was updated on July 19, 2017. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson ruled last week that “grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and...

  • Blog

Two Anti-Immigrant Bills Attacking Sanctuary Cities and Criminalizing Immigrants Passed by the House

June 30, 2017

The House of Representatives passed two harsh immigration enforcement bills this week, both of which had the adamant backing of President Trump. The anti-immigrant bills, which passed largely...

  • Blog

Travel Ban Bars Grandparents, Grandchildren from Entering US – The Lawsuits Practically File Themselves

June 29, 2017

The Trump administration is set to begin implementing part of its long-touted travel ban on Thursday, which seeks to ban the entry of nationals of six Muslim-majority countries for at least 90...

  • Blog

How to Get the Immigration System in Line With Our Nation’s Values and Interests

June 27, 2017

Over the past two decades, much of the immigration policy debate has focused on issues related to immigration enforcement. In fact, many argue that “enforcement first”—the notion that we must...

  • Blog

Who Will and Won’t Be Impacted by the Travel Ban After the Supreme Court’s Decision

June 26, 2017

The Supreme Court has decided to hear the Travel Ban case when its fall session begins in October 2017. In the meantime, the Court will allow the administration to implement parts of President...

  • Blog

“Immigration, Even for the President, Is Not a One-Person Show”: The Ninth Circuit Rejects Trump’s Travel Ban

June 13, 2017

Barely three weeks after the Fourth Circuit ruled that President Trump’s travel ban “drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination” and thus violated the First Amendment by...

  • Blog

President’s Tweets Dim His Prospects for Supreme Court Review of The Travel Ban Case

June 7, 2017

President Trump reignited discussion around his controversial travel ban through a series of early morning tweets on Monday, in a move legal experts say could ultimately cripple his administration...

  • Blog

Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan Is Passed by the House Judiciary Committee

May 26, 2017

For the third time in five years the House Judiciary Committee has passed a draconian interior enforcement immigration bill out of committee on a party line vote. Immigration advocates and...

  • Blog

Trump Bows to Threats by Attorneys General and Ends DACA Initiative

September 5, 2017

The Trump administration brought the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative (DACA) to an end on Tuesday, striking one of the largest blows to America’s immigrant community since taking...

  • Blog

Trump Administration Ends DACA: Places 800K Young Immigrants at Risk for Deportation

September 5, 2017

The Trump administration announced the end of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) today. This means no new applications will be accepted and only those individuals with current DACA that...

  • Blog

As Texans Struggle for Survival, Judge Puts SB4 Largely On Hold

August 31, 2017

Texas’ Senate Bill 4 (SB4), the state’s punitive, anti-immigrant law slated to go into effect on September 1, was largely blocked by a Texas Judge late Wednesday evening. SB4 was passed into law...

  • Blog

Why DACA Works and Should Continue Until a Permanent Solution Is Put in Place

August 15, 2017

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative celebrates its fifth anniversary on Tuesday. By providing hundreds of thousands of young people temporary relief from deportation, DACA...

  • Blog

Who Is in and out Under the RAISE Act

August 11, 2017

The Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act (RAISE Act) seeks to dramatically reshape American immigration by favoring youth and a narrow set of skills over family values and...

  • Fact Sheet

The RAISE Act

August 11, 2017
The Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act (RAISE Act) or S. 354 would mark a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. immigration system. It would significantly reduce levels of legal...
  • Blog

Administration Unveils Legislation That Cuts Legal Immigration in Half and Abandons Family Values

August 3, 2017

The administration revealed legislation this week that seeks to drastically reshape American immigration, moving away from the family based immigration tradition that has both shaped our...

  • Blog

House Commits 1.6 Billion Taxpayer Dollars to Elusive Border Wall

July 31, 2017

The House of Representatives passed a spending bill last week which included $1.6 billion for expansion of a southern border wall. The bill, which passed largely along party lines, will now move...

  • Blog

How Many Dreamers May See a Promising New Reality?

July 25, 2017

With the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program now at risk of being terminated by the courts or the administration, pressure is building on Congress to pass legislation which...

  • Blog

Dream Act of 2017 Introduced With Bipartisanship in the Senate

July 20, 2017

The bipartisan Dream Act of 2017 was just introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) in the U.S. Senate. The bill provides legal status, as well as a path to...

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