Legislation

How does immigration help the economy? Immigrants make a significant impact on state and local economies. Learn more about the contributions immigrants make as workers, taxpayers and consumers.

Recent Features

  • Special Report
A Guide to S.744: Understanding the 2013 Senate Immigration Bill

This guide to provide policymakers, the media, and the public with an easy-to-understand guide to the main components of S. 744 and the purpose behind them.

READ MORE

  • Fact Sheet
A Comparison of the DREAM Act and Other Proposals for Undocumented Youth

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act's main provision provides permanent resident status to young undocumented immigrants. It however, has not yet been passed by Congress and become law.

READ MORE

All Legislation Content

  • Special Report

Wasted Talent and Broken Dreams: The Lost Potential of Undocumented Students

Publication Date: 
October 1, 2007
The current political debate over undocumented immigrants in the United States has largely ignored the plight of undocumented children. Yet children account for 1.8 million, or 15 percent, of the...
  • Fact Sheet

Divided Families: New Legislative Proposals Would Needlessly Restrict Family-Based Immigration

Publication Date: 
May 1, 2007
New legislative proposals to drastically restrict family-based immigration practically ignore the social and economic benefits of the family-based admissions system for both immigrants and the native...
  • Research and Analysis

Sometimes Imperfect Reform is Better than Perfect Deportation

Publication Date: 
December 1, 2006
I do a daily radio talk show on Radio Campesina in Phoenix and, clearly, since the November elections callers are once more allowing themselves to dream of the day their hard, hidden existence comes...
  • Special Report

The Rush to Limit Judicial Review

Publication Date: 
September 1, 2006
Access to an independent judiciary with the power to hold the government accountable in its dealings with individuals is a founding principle of the United States. In contrast, imagine a system...
  • 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

Immigration Scare-Tactics: Exaggerated Estimates of New Immigration Under S.2611

Publication Date: 
April 1, 2006
The debate over S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, has been clouded by grossly exaggerated estimates of the likely scale of future immigration under the bill.
  • Research and Analysis

Playing Politics on Immigration: Congress Favors Image over Substance in Passing H.R. 4437

Publication Date: 
February 1, 2006
Congressional representatives who supported H.R. 4437—the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005—are most likely to represent districts with relatively few...
  • Research and Analysis

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

Publication Date: 
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

In the Face of a Shutdown, Trump and Congress Delay Border Wall Fight Until December

September 27, 2018

President Trump announced on Wednesday that he plans to sign a spending bill that will fund some federal agencies for the entire fiscal year, as well as provide a short-term fix for six others...

  • Blog

John McCain’s Legacy on Immigration

August 28, 2018

The United States Senate and Republican Party lost one of their biggest champions for bipartisan immigration reform and most vocal critics of President Trump’s immigration policies when Senator...

  • Blog

Despite Bipartisan Amendments, House Committee Passes Enforcement-Focused Bill

July 26, 2018

The House Appropriations Committee passed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that provides the agency with its budget for Fiscal Year 2019, which begins October 1, 2018. The...

  • Blog

Confused About the Current Status of DACA? Here Is What You Need to Know

May 16, 2018

The Trump administration’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative set off a slew of lawsuits attempting to stop the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from...

  • Blog

Congress Reaches A Deal to Fund Government for the Year Without Solution for Dreamers

March 23, 2018

This week Congress passed a $1.3 trillion bill to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year, running through September 30, 2018. Though the legislation includes record levels of...

  • Blog

The Department of Justice Sues California Over Its ‘Sanctuary’ Policies

March 7, 2018

A lawsuit challenging several California laws filed Tuesday is the U.S. Justice Department’s latest salvo in the ongoing policy and legal battle regarding “sanctuary” policies. The complaint,...

  • Blog

The Senate Fails to Find a Way Forward for Dreamers

February 16, 2018

The United States Senate had a golden opportunity this week to legislate a permanent solution for Dreamers—however a week that began full of hope ended as a dud, with no bill passing and the...

  • Blog

The Senate Misses a Key Opportunity to Pass a Permanent Solution for Dreamers

February 15, 2018

The U.S. Senate failed again to provide a permanent solution for Dreamers on Thursday when it rejected multiple bipartisan bills. The Senate voted on three different proposals that would have...

  • Blog

Trump’s Budget Proposal Would Increase Harsh Immigration Enforcement

February 13, 2018

President Trump released his formal budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, which doubles down on his aggressive immigration enforcement agenda. The proposed budget seeks to fund the...

  • Blog

Bills Introduced in Both Chambers Provide Common Sense Solution for Dreamers

February 6, 2018

Senators McCain (R-AZ) and Coons (D-DE) introduced the United and Securing America (U.S.A) Act in the Senate this week, which includes a permanent solution for Dreamers as well as border security...

  • Blog

The House Has Passed Two Major Immigration Bills. Here’s What They Would Do.

April 27, 2021

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed two major bills to protect the rights of certain noncitizens entering the United States. The bills—the NO BAN Act and the Access to Counsel Act—passed...

  • Blog

Republicans Introduced 11 New Anti-Immigration Bills. Here’s What’s at Stake If They Pass.

April 1, 2021

A group of Republican lawmakers recently introduced a slew of anti-immigration bills in the House of Representatives and Senate. The bills primarily target people’s rights to seek asylum in the...

  • Blog

The House Passes Historic Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act

March 18, 2021

The U.S. House of Representatives passed two immigration bills on March 18, signaling that Congress might finally enact major immigration reform for the first time in over three decades. These...

  • Fact Sheet

The Dream Act: An Overview

Publication Date: 
March 16, 2021
This fact sheet provides an overview of the most recent version of the Dream Act and similar legislative proposals.
  • Letters

Coalition Letter Urging USCIS to Implement Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act

Publication Date: 
March 9, 2021
The American Immigration Council joined other organizations in urging U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to fully implement the provisions of the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act,...
  • Letters

Coalition Letter to Congress Urges Amending of Criminal Bars to Legalization in H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act of 2019

Publication Date: 
February 8, 2021
The American Immigration Council urged Members of Congress to amend the criminal bars to legalization in H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act of 2019, to ensure a more inclusive bill.
  • Press Release

A New Vision for Immigration Creates a Welcoming and Inclusive Immigration System

January 20, 2021
President Joseph R. Biden announced a welcoming and inclusive vision for immigration in a legislative proposal that provides a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants who call the United States home.
  • Policy Briefs

The Biden Administration and Congress Must Guarantee Legal Representation for People Facing Removal

Publication Date: 
January 15, 2021
The Biden administration should take steps immediately upon entering office to expand federally funded legal representation programs for people facing removal. Here's why.
  • Blog

Congressional Democrats Announce One of the Most Progressive Immigration Reform Plans in History

December 15, 2020

Progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives are gearing up to demand a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. immigration system when the Biden administration and a new Congress are in place...

  • Special Report

The Impact of COVID-19 on Noncitizens and Across the U.S. Immigration System

Publication Date: 
September 30, 2020
This report identifies disruptions throughout the immigration system because of the COVID-19 pandemic and makes recommendations for improvements to the federal government’s response.

Most Read

  • Publications
  • Blog Posts
  • Past:
  • Trending