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U.S. Foreign-Born Population: Trends and Selected Characteristics [January 18, 2011]

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"This report offers context for consideration of immigration policy options by presenting data on key geographic, demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the foreign-born population residing in the United States. Interest in the U.S. foreign-born population stems in part from the changing demographic profile of the United States as well as the rapidity of such change, and how both of these trends correspond to U.S. immigration policy. Although the foreign born are relatively small in absolute terms--38 million people representing 12.5% of the total U.S. population of 304.1 million in 2008--they are growing far more rapidly than the native-born population. Between 2000 and 2008, the foreign born contributed 30% of the total U.S. population increase and almost all of the prime 25-54 working age group increase. Close to 30% of the foreign born arrived in the United States since 2000, and roughly 29% were residing illegally in the United States in 2009. Geographic origins of the foreign born have shifted from Europe (74% in 1960) to Latin America and Asia (80% in 2008). In recent years, many foreign born have settled in new urban and rural destinations, often in response to employment opportunities in construction, manufacturing, and low-skilled services. Yet, as in previous decades, at least two-thirds of the foreign born remain concentrated in just six states: California, New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2011-01-18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Immigration Fees and Adjudication Costs: Proposed Adjustments and Historical Context [July 16, 2010]

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"The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a fee schedule for immigration services that increases fees by a weighted average of 10%. Under the proposed schedule issued June 11, 2010, most fees would increase, several would decrease, and the naturalization fee would remain unchanged. USCIS has also proposed three new fees for services the agency currently performs. The proposed fee schedule results from an FY2009 USCIS fee review. It represents the agency's attempt to (1) more accurately align processing revenues with costs, (2) redistribute costs of some processing activities for which no fees can be charged, (3) impose new fees to capture costs for currently unreimbursed activities, and (4) resolve anticipated budget shortfalls. Charging fees for federal government services has long been practiced. Such fees have usually been charged for service cost recovery only to individuals who use the service or benefit--socalled user fees. As immigration services grow in complexity, questions arise over what service users should pay. The user fees debate has produced two positions: (1) an agency should recover all of its costs through user fees, and (2) an agency should only recover costs directly associated with providing services. USCIS last increased its fees for immigration and naturalization services in July 2007 by an average of 88%. At that time, cost estimates by USCIS and the Government Accountability Office found that the agency's pre-2007 fee structure was insufficient to maintain proper service levels and avoid backlogs."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Haddal, Chad C.; Kandel, William

2010-07-16
Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [May 15, 2012]

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"The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 and its subsequent reauthorizations in 2000 and 2005 authorized funding related to domestic violence for enforcement efforts, research and data collection, prevention programs, and services for victims. VAWA also increased penalties for certain domestic violence-related crimes and expanded the Federal Criminal Code to include new categories of crimes. With respect to noncitizens, VAWA gave abused noncitizen spouses the opportunity to 'self-petition' for themselves and/or their abused children for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status independently of their sponsoring spouses. In addition, the VAWA reauthorization in 2000 created the U visa, which protects and assists victims who assist law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting an array of crimes that includes domestic violence. It is available to any foreign national who suffered physical or mental abuse as a victim of a qualifying crime that violated U.S. laws; has information about the crime; and was, is, or is likely to be helpful in the investigation or prosecution of the crime. (For more information on U visas, see Appendix C. For a detailed legislative history of the immigration provisions in VAWA, see Appendix B.)"

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2012-05-15
Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [August 28, 2012]

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"The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) includes provisions to assist foreign nationals who have been victims of domestic abuse. These provisions, initially enacted by Congress with the Immigration Act of 1990 and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, afford benefits to abused foreign nationals and allow them to self-petition for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status independently of the U.S. citizen or LPR relatives who originally sponsored them. Congress reauthorized VAWA with the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000, which also created the U visa for foreign national victims of a range of crimes--including domestic abuse--who assisted law enforcement. A second reauthorization in 2005 added protections and expanded eligibility for abused foreign nationals. VAWA expired in 2011. On November 30, 2011, Senator Leahy introduced S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011. It was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and reported favorably on February 7, 2012. On April 26, 2012, the Senate passed it by a vote of 68 to 31. In the House, Representative Adams introduced H.R. [House Resolution] 4970 (To reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994) on April 27, 2012. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee where it was reported favorably on May 8, 2012. The House passed the bill in the nature of a substitute on May 16, 2012, by a vote of 222 to 205."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2012-08-28
Fiscal Impacts of the Foreign-Born Population [October 19, 2011]

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"This report reviews estimates of fiscal impacts to the federal, state, and local governments of the foreign born who reside in the United States. It examines the academic and policy literature on fiscal impacts of two populations: all U.S. foreign born and unauthorized aliens. Computing such fiscal impacts involves numerous methodological and conceptual challenges, and resulting estimates vary considerably according to the assumptions used, including those about the time frame considered, the treatment of U.S.-born children, the unit of analysis used, and which costs and revenues are included. […] Three national estimates evaluated in a 1995 General Accounting Office (GAO) report varied considerably and left the agency unable to definitively quantify such fiscal impacts. Subsequent state-level studies emphasized fiscal impacts of costly public services: public education, health care, and law enforcement. Many estimated tax and other fiscal contributions. Studies estimating fiscal impacts for unauthorized aliens are more likely to yield estimated net fiscal deficits than those estimating fiscal impacts for all foreign born, because unauthorized aliens, on average, tend to be younger and less educated. Consequently, they are more likely to use public education for their children and contribute relatively less in tax revenues compared to all foreign born. Given their unauthorized status, they are also less likely themselves to receive public benefits, although their U.S.-born children may be more likely to qualify for such benefits. However, deriving more specific conclusions or estimates from studies of unauthorized aliens reviewed in this report remains elusive due to variation in study design and methodology."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2011-10-19
Interior Immigration Enforcement: Programs Targeting Criminal Aliens [December 20, 2012]

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"Congress has a long-standing interest in seeing that immigration enforcement agencies identify and deport criminal aliens. The expeditious removal of such aliens has been a statutory priority since 1986, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its predecessor agency have operated programs targeting criminal aliens for removal since 1988. These programs have grown substantially since FY2005. Despite the interest in criminal aliens, inconsistencies in data quality, data collection, and definitions make it impossible to precisely enumerate the criminal alien population, defined in this report as all noncitizens ever convicted of a crime. CRS [Congressional Research Service] estimates the number of noncitizens incarcerated in federal and state prisons and local jails--a subset of all criminal aliens--at 173,000 in 2009 (the most recent year for which complete data are available), with state prisons and local jails each accounting for somewhat more incarcerations than federal prisons. The overall proportion of noncitizens in federal and state prisons and local jails corresponds closely to the proportion of noncitizens in the total U.S. population. DHS operates four programs designed in whole or in part to target criminal aliens: the Criminal Alien Program (CAP), Secure Communities, the §287(g) program, and the National Fugitive Operations Program (NFOP). The CAP, Secure Communities, and certain §287(g) programs are jail enforcement programs that screen individuals for immigration-related violations as they are being booked into jail and while they are incarcerated; the NFOP and some §287(g) programs are task force programs that target at-large criminal aliens. This report describes how these programs work and identifies their common features and key differences among them."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William; Rosenblum, Marc R.

2012-12-20
Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [February 15, 2013]

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"The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) includes provisions to assist foreign nationals who have been victims of domestic abuse. These provisions, initially enacted by Congress with the Immigration Act of 1990 and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, afford benefits to abused foreign nationals and allow them to self-petition for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status independently of the U.S. citizen or LPR relatives who originally sponsored them. Congress reauthorized VAWA with the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000, which also created the U visa for foreign national victims of a range of crimes--including domestic abuse--who assisted law enforcement. A second reauthorization in 2005 added protections and expanded eligibility for abused foreign nationals. Authorization for appropriations for the programs under VAWA expired in 2011. The 112th Congress passed two bills, S. 1925 and H.R. [House Resolution] 4970, reauthorizing most VAWA programs, among other provisions. Despite containing some related immigration provisions, H.R. 4970 differed in substantive ways from S. 1925. It did not extend protections to new groups to the same extent as S. 1925 and included more restrictions with the purpose of curtailing immigration fraud. Most notably, it maintained the annual number of U visas at its current limit of 10,000, in contrast with S. 1925 which would have increased the number to 15,000. To fund the increase in U visas, S. 1925 included a revenue provision that created a 'blue slip' procedural complication. Negotiations stalled between the chambers, and neither bill was enacted into law."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2013-02-15
Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [April 10, 2012]

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"The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) includes provisions to assist foreign nationals who have been victims of domestic abuse. These provisions, initially enacted by Congress with the Immigration Act of 1990 and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, afford benefits to abused foreign nationals and allow them to self-petition for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status independently of the U.S. citizen or LPR relatives who originally sponsored them. Congress reauthorized VAWA with the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000, which also created the U visa for foreign national victims of a range of crimes--including domestic abuse--who assisted law enforcement. A second reauthorization in 2005 added protections and expanded eligibility for abused foreign nationals. VAWA expired in 2011. On November 30, 2011, Senator Leahy introduced S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011. It was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and reported favorably on February 7, 2012. On March 27, 2012, Representative Gwen Moore introduced a similar bill in the House, H.R. 4271. […] Two potential concerns for Congress have been emphasized regarding the immigration provisions of VAWA. The first is whether the proposed VAWA reauthorization provides sufficient relief to foreign nationals abused by their U.S. citizen or LPR sponsoring relatives. Advocates for battered immigrants suggest that additional provisions are needed to assist this population in obtaining legal and economic footing independently of their original sponsors for legal immigrant status. Critics of expanding immigration, however, question the extent to which these provisions may increase the number of legal immigrants and cost the U.S. taxpayers. The second related concern is the degree to which VAWA provisions might unintentionally facilitate marriage fraud. This may occur through what some perceive as relatively lenient standards of evidence to demonstrate abuse; as the unintended result of processing procedures between the District Offices of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which adjudicate most immigration applications, and the USCIS Vermont Service Center, which adjudicates VAWA petitions; or as an unintended consequence of the structure of current law. While some suggest that VAWA provides opportunities for dishonest and enterprising immigrants to circumvent U.S. immigration laws, reliable empirical support for these assertions is limited."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2012-04-10
Interior Immigration Enforcement: Programs Targeting Criminal Aliens [October 21, 2011]

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"Congress has a long-standing interest in seeing that immigration enforcement agencies identify and deport serious criminal aliens. The expeditious removal of such aliens has been a statutory priority since 1986, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its predecessor agency have operated programs targeting criminal aliens for removal since 1988. These programs have grown substantially since FY2005. Despite the interest in criminal aliens, inconsistencies in data quality, data collection, and definitions make it impossible to precisely enumerate the criminal alien population, defined in this report as all noncitizens ever convicted of a crime. CRS [Congressional Research Service] estimates the number of noncitizens incarcerated in federal and state prisons and local jails--a subset of all criminal aliens--at 173,000 in 2009, with state prisons and local jails accounting for somewhat more incarcerations than federal prisons. The overall proportion of noncitizens in federal and state prisons and local jails corresponds closely to the proportion of noncitizens in the total U.S. population. DHS operates four programs designed in whole or in part to target criminal aliens: the Criminal Alien Program (CAP), Secure Communities, the § 287(g) program, and the National Fugitive Operations Program (NFOP). The CAP, Secure Communities, and certain § 287(g) programs are jail enforcement programs that screen individuals for immigration-related violations as they are being booked into jail and while they are incarcerated; the NFOP and some other § 287(g) programs are task force programs that target at-large criminal aliens. This report describes how these programs work and identifies their common features and key differences among them."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William; Rosenblum, Marc R.

2011-10-21
Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [June 7, 2012]

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"This report describes how the VAWA [Violence Against Women Act] provisions work in practice. It discusses improvements suggested by immigration attorneys and law enforcement observers to increase the utilization of VAWA provisions by abused foreign nationals as well as ways to reduce immigration fraud. The report closes with possible immigration-related issues that Congress may choose to consider should it reauthorize VAWA."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2012-06-07
Mexican Migration to the United States: Policy and Trends [June 7, 2012]

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"History and geography have given Mexico a unique status in the U.S. immigration system, and have made the Mexico-U.S. migration flow the largest in the world. Mexicans are the largest group of U.S. migrants across most types of immigration statuses--a fact that may have important implications for how Congress makes U.S. immigration policy. This report reviews the history of immigration policy and migration flows between the countries and the demographics of Mexicans within the United States. It also analyzes contemporary issues in U.S. immigration policy and the impact Mexico may have on U.S. immigration outcomes. […] This report explores possibilities for additional bilateralism in these areas, including strategies to reduce recidivism among illegal migrants and to better manage U.S.-Mexican ports of entry."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Rosenblum, Marc R.; Kandel, William; Seelke, Clare Ribando . . .

2012-06-07
U.S. Family-Based Immigration Policy [July 11, 2013]

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"Family reunification is a key principle underlying U.S. immigration policy. It is embodied in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which specifies numerical limits for five family-based admission categories, as well as a per-country limit on total family-based admissions. The five categories include immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and four other family-based categories that vary according to individual characteristics such as the legal status of the petitioning U.S.-based relative, and the age, family relationship, and marital status of the prospective immigrant. Of the 1.03 million foreign nationals admitted to the United States in FY2012 as lawful permanent residents (LPRs), 680,799, or 66%, were admitted on the basis of family ties. Of these family-based immigrants admitted in FY2012, 70% were admitted as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. Many of the 1.03 million immigrants were initially admitted on a legal temporary basis and became immigrants by converting or 'adjusting' their status to a lawful permanent resident. The proportion of family-based immigrants who adjusted their immigration status while residing in the United States (53%) exceeded that of family-based immigrants who had their immigration petitions processed while living abroad (47%), although such percentages varied considerably among the five family-based admission categories. Since FY2000, increasing numbers of immediate relatives of U.S. citizens have accounted for all of the growth in family-based admissions. Between FY2000 and FY2009, immigrants who accompanied or later followed principal (qualifying) immigrants averaged 12% of all family-based admissions annually. During that period, Mexico, the Philippines, China, India, and the Dominican Republic sent the most family-based immigrants to the United States."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2013-07-11
Unaccompanied Alien Children: Potential Factors Contributing to Recent Immigration [July 3, 2014]

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"Since FY2008, the growth in the number of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras seeking to enter the United States has increased substantially. Total unaccompanied child apprehensions increased from about 8,000 in FY2008 to 52,000 in the first 8 ½ months of FY2014. Since 2012, children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (Central America's 'northern triangle') account for almost all of this increase. Apprehension trends for these three countries are similar and diverge sharply from those for Mexican children. Unaccompanied child migrants' motives for migrating to the United States are often multifaceted and difficult to measure analytically. Four recent out-migration-related factors distinguishing northern triangle Central American countries are high violent crime rates, poor economic conditions fueled by relatively low economic growth rates, high rates of poverty, and the presence of transnational gangs. In 2012, the homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants stood at 90.4 in Honduras (the highest in the world), 41.2 in El Salvador, and 39.9 in Guatemala. International Monetary Fund reports show economic growth rates in the northern triangle countries in 2013 ranging from 1.6% to 3.5%, relatively low compared with other Central American countries. About 45% of Salvadorans, 55% of Guatemalans, and 67% of Hondurans live in poverty. Surveys in 2013 indicate that almost half of all unaccompanied children experienced serious harm or threats by organized criminal groups or state actors, and one-fifth experienced domestic abuse."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William; Bruno, Andorra; Meyer, Peter J. . . .

2014-07-03
Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 113th Congress [November 4, 2014]

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"Immigration reform was an active legislative issue in the first session of the 113th Congress. The Senate passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744), a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes provisions on border security, interior enforcement, employment eligibility verification and worksite enforcement, legalization of unauthorized aliens, immigrant visas, nonimmigrant visas, and humanitarian admissions. For its part, the House took a different approach to immigration reform. Rather than considering a single comprehensive bill, the House acted on a set of immigration bills that address border security, interior enforcement, employment eligibility verification and worksite enforcement, and nonimmigrant and immigrant visas. House committees reported or ordered to be reported the following immigration bills: Border Security Results Act of 2013 (H.R. 1417); Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement (SAFE) Act (H.R. 2278); Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 1772); Agricultural Guestworker (AG) Act (H.R. 1773); and Supplying Knowledge-based Immigrants and Lifting Levels of STEM Visas (SKILLS Visa) Act (H.R. 2131). […] This report discusses these and other immigration-related issues that received legislative action or have been of significant congressional interest in the 113th Congress. While the report covers S. 744, as passed by the Senate, a more complete treatment of that bill can be found in CRS Report R43097, Comprehensive Immigration Reform in the 113th Congress: Major Provisions in Senate- Passed S. 744. For the most part, DHS appropriations are not covered in this report; FY2014 appropriations are addressed in CRS Report R43147, Department of Homeland Security: FY2014 Appropriations."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Wasem, Ruth Ellen; Siskin, Alison; Lee, Margaret Mikyung . . .

2014-11-04
Permanent Legal Immigration to the United States: Policy Overview [October 29, 2014]

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"In FY2013, just under 1 million aliens became U.S. legal permanent residents (LPRs). Of this total, 65.6% entered the United States on the basis of family ties. Other major categories of LPRs were employment-based (16.3%), refugees and asylees (12.1%), and diversity migrants (4.6%). […] Most agree that revision of the system of permanent legal immigration should be one of the major components of a comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) proposal, along with increased border security and enforcement of immigration laws within the U.S. interior, reform of temporary worker visas, and options to address the millions of unauthorized aliens residing in the country. Congress is considering proposals to alter the legal immigration system--either in the form of CIR or in the form of incremental revisions aimed at strategic changes. Some are advocating for a significant reallocation of the visa categories or a substantial increase in legal immigration to satisfy the desire of U.S. families to reunite with their relatives abroad and to meet the labor force needs of employers hiring foreign workers. Yet, proponents of family-based migration maintain that any proposal to increase immigration should also include the option of additional family-based visas to reduce waiting times--currently up to years or decades--for those already 'in the queue.' Arguing against these competing priorities for increased immigration are those who favor reduced immigration, including proposals to limit family-based LPRs to the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, to confine employment-based LPRs to highly skilled workers, and to eliminate the diversity visas."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2014-10-29
U.S. Family-Based Immigration Policy [November 19,2014]

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"Interest in immigration reform has increased scrutiny of family-based immigration and has revived the discussion over the optimal number of total lawful permanent admissions. This report provides an examination of family-based immigration policy. In doing so, it outlines a brief history of U.S. family-based immigration policies, discusses current law governing admissions, and summarizes recommendations made by previous congressionally mandated committees charged with evaluating immigration policy. It then presents descriptive figures on legal immigrants entering the United States during the past decade and discusses the sizable queue of approved immigrant petitioners waiting for an immigrant visa. It closes by discussing selected policy issues."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2014-11-19
Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [August 9, 2013]

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"The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) includes provisions to assist foreign nationals who have been victims of domestic abuse. These provisions, initially enacted by Congress with the Immigration Act of 1990 and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, afford benefits to abused foreign nationals and allow them to self-petition for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status independently of the U.S. citizen or LPR relatives who originally sponsored them. [...] During the debate of the VAWA reauthorization in 2013, two potential concerns for Congress were emphasized regarding the immigration provisions of VAWA. The first was whether the VAWA reauthorization would provide sufficient relief to foreign nationals abused by their U.S. citizen or LPR sponsoring relatives. Advocates for battered foreign nationals suggested that additional provisions were needed to assist this population in obtaining legal and economic footing independently of their original sponsors for legal immigrant status. [...] The second related concern was the degree to which VAWA provisions unintentionally facilitate immigration fraud. Critics of VAWA argued that such fraud might be occurring through what some perceived as relatively lenient standards of evidence to demonstrate abuse; as the unintended result of processing procedures between the District Offices of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which adjudicate most immigration applications, and the USCIS Vermont Service Center, which adjudicates VAWA petitions; or as an unintended consequence of the structure of current law. [...] While addressed to some extent in the VAWA reauthorization of 2013, these two issues remain ongoing and reflect the tension found in other provisions of U.S. immigration policy. Such policies often involve balancing the granting of immigration benefits with adequate enforcement to reduce fraud and ensure intended eligibility."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2013-08-09
Interior Immigration Enforcement: Programs Targeting Criminal Aliens [August 27, 2013]

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"Congress has a long-standing interest in seeing that immigration enforcement agencies identify and deport criminal aliens. The expeditious removal of such aliens has been a statutory priority since 1986, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its predecessor agency have operated programs targeting criminal aliens since 1988. These programs have grown substantially since FY2005, and deportations of criminal aliens--along with other unauthorized immigrants-- have grown proportionally. Despite the interest in criminal aliens, inconsistencies in data quality, data collection, and definitions make it impossible to precisely enumerate the criminal alien population, defined in this report as all noncitizens ever convicted of a crime. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) estimates the number of noncitizens incarcerated in federal and state prisons and local jails--a subset of all criminal aliens--at 183,830 in 2011 (the most recent year for which complete data are available), with state prisons and local jails each accounting for somewhat more incarcerations than federal prisons. The overall proportion of noncitizens in prisons and jails corresponds closely to the proportion of noncitizens in the total U.S. population. DHS's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operates four programs designed in part to target criminal aliens: the Criminal Alien Program (CAP), Secure Communities, the §287(g) program, and the National Fugitive Operations Program (NFOP). CAP, Secure Communities, and the §287(g) programs are jail enforcement programs that screen individuals for immigration-related violations as they are being booked into jail and while they are incarcerated; the NFOP is a task force program that target at-large criminal aliens. This report describes how these programs work and identifies their common features and key differences among them."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Rosenblum, Marc R.; Kandel, William

2013-08-27
Immigration Legislation and Issues for the 113th Congress [November 20, 2013]

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"Immigration reform is squarely on the legislative agenda of the 113th Congress. The Senate has passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744), a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes provisions on border security, interior enforcement, employment eligibility verification and worksite enforcement, legalization of unauthorized aliens, immigrant visas, nonimmigrant visas, and humanitarian admissions. For its part, the House has taken a different approach to immigration reform. Rather than considering a single comprehensive bill, the House has acted on a set of immigration bills that address border security, interior enforcement, employment eligibility verification and worksite enforcement, and nonimmigrant and immigrant visas. House committees have reported or ordered to be reported the following immigration bills: Border Security Results Act of 2013 (H.R. 1417); Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement (SAFE) Act (H.R. 2278); Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 1772); Agricultural Guestworker (AG) Act (H.R. 1773); and Supplying Knowledge-based Immigrants and Lifting Levels of STEM Visas (SKILLS Visa) Act (H.R. 2131). Other House bills are reportedly under development. In addition to their work on immigration reform legislation, the House and Senate have acted on other immigration-related bills in the 113th Congress. Among these measures, the 113th Congress has passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-4), which includes provisions on noncitizen victims of domestic abuse or certain other crimes and on victims of human trafficking. Another enacted measure (P.L. 113-42) extends a special immigrant visa program for certain Iraqi nationals who have worked for or on behalf of the United States."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Bruno, Andorra; Garcia, Michael John; Kandel, William . . .

2013-11-20
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Functions and Funding [May 15, 2015]

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"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), performs multiple functions including the adjudication of immigration and naturalization petitions, consideration of refugee and asylum claims and related humanitarian and international concerns, and a range of immigration-related services, such as issuing employment authorizations and processing nonimmigrant change-of-status petitions. Processing immigrant petitions remains USCIS's leading function. In FY2014, it handled roughly 6 million petitions for immigration-related services and benefits. USCIS's budget relies largely on user fees. The agency and its predecessor, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), have had the legal authority to charge fees for immigration services since before the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA). In 1988, Congress created the Immigration Examinations Fee Account, which made the portion of USCIS's budget collected from user fees no longer subject to annual congressional approval. Since the President announced the Immigration Accountability Executive Action on November 20, 2014, USCIS's budgetary structure has received increased attention. Among other provisions, the executive action included an expansion of the existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that was initiated in 2012, as well as a new Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program that grants certain unauthorized aliens protection from removal, and work authorization, for three years. If implemented, these programs would require applicants to submit petitions and pay a user fee to USCIS. The user fees would purportedly pay for the cost of administering the program."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2015-05-15
Unaccompanied Alien Children: An Overview [August 18, 2015]

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"In FY2014, the number of unaccompanied alien children (UAC, unaccompanied children) that were apprehended at the Southwest border while attempting to enter the United States without authorization increased sharply, straining the system put in place over the past decade to handle such cases. Prior to FY2014, UAC apprehensions were steadily increasing. For example, in FY2011, the Border Patrol apprehended 16,067 unaccompanied children at the Southwest border whereas in FY2014 more than 68,500 unaccompanied children were apprehended. In the first 8 months of FY2015, UAC apprehensions numbered 22,869, down 49% from the same period in FY2014. UAC are defined in statute as children who lack lawful immigration status in the United States, who are under the age of 18, and who either are without a parent or legal guardian in the United States or without a parent or legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody. Two statutes and a legal settlement directly affect U.S. policy for the treatment and administrative processing of UAC: the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-457); the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296); and the 'Flores Settlement Agreement' of 1997."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William; Seghetti, Lisa M.

2015-08-18
Sanctuary Jurisdictions and Criminal Aliens: In Brief [July 24, 2015]

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"The July 2, 2015, slaying of a woman on a San Francisco pier by a reported unauthorized alien with a criminal and deportation history has reignited the debate over immigration enforcement in the interior of the country. This case is particularly noteworthy because the law enforcement agency in question reportedly did not honor an immigration detainer issued by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). At the end of 2013, noncitizens accounted for 25.2% of the 214,575 individuals incarcerated in federal prisons, 3.8% of the 1,270,807 individuals incarcerated in state prisons, and 6.9% of the entire incarcerated population. In that year, noncitizens represented 7.0% of the U.S. population. Sentencing data indicate that drug offenders accounted for almost 51% of all federal offenders in federal prison at the end of the year in 2012. Forty-five percent of noncitizen federal prisoners were incarcerated for drug offenses at the end of 2012. Although immigration offenders represented almost 12% of all federal offenders incarcerated at the end of 2012, they represented 44% of all federal noncitizen offenders. […] While immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, efforts have continually been made to use the potential 'force multipliers' offered by local law enforcement. However, in recent years, some jurisdictions have expressly defined or limited their roles and the activities of their employees regarding immigration enforcement. Critics argue that these policies can create 'sanctuary' jurisdictions that ultimately encourage illegal immigration. Supporters maintain that they are necessary because of resource and legal constraints, the need to avoid the disruption of critical municipal services, and human rights considerations."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William; Seghetti, Lisa M.

2015-07-24
Sanctuary Jurisdictions and Criminal Aliens: In Brief [October 20, 2015]

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From the Introduction: "The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) is chiefly responsible for locating removable aliens and ensuring that aliens directed to depart from the United States do so, among other things. In carrying out its mission, ICE relies, in part, on state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the country to assist it with identifying removable aliens. The July 2, 2015, slaying of a woman on a San Francisco pier by a reported unauthorized alien with a criminal and deportation history has reignited debate among lawmakers and critics over immigration enforcement in the interior of the country. More specifically, concerns have intensified over the level of cooperation shown by some state and local law enforcement agencies in notifying ICE when they have an alien in their custody. This case is particularly noteworthy because the law enforcement agency in question reportedly did not honor an immigration detainer issued by ICE. […]This report examines the interplay between the federal government (i.e., ICE) and state and local jurisdictions in enforcing immigration law, with a specific focus on noncitizens who have been convicted of a crime. It explores major programs and federal resources available to state and local law enforcement agencies that cooperate with ICE to enforce immigration law. The report begins by briefly discussing the evolution of the cooperation between the federal government and local law enforcement in carrying out federal immigration policy. It then discusses current administrative efforts to involve state and local law enforcement in enforcing immigration law. A brief discussion of resources dedicated to these programs follows. The report concludes with a discussion of select issues and an analysis of possible policy approaches for Congress."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William; Seghetti, Lisa M.

2015-10-20
U.S. Family-Based Immigration Policy [February 17, 2016]

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"Family reunification is a key principle underlying U.S. immigration policy. It is embodied in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which specifies numerical limits for five family-based admission categories, as well as a per-country limit on total family-based admissions. The five categories include immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and four other family-based categories that vary according to individual characteristics such as the legal status of the petitioning U.S.-based relative, and the age, family relationship, and marital status of the prospective immigrant. Of the 990,553 foreign nationals admitted to the United States in FY2013 as lawful permanent residents (LPRs), 649,763, or 66%, were admitted on the basis of family ties. Of these family-based immigrants admitted in FY2013, 68% were admitted as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. Many of the 990,553 immigrants were initially admitted on a temporary basis and became immigrants by converting or 'adjusting' their status to a lawful permanent resident. The proportion of family-based immigrants who adjusted their immigration status while residing in the United States (54%) exceeded that of family-based immigrants who had their immigration petitions processed while living abroad (46%), although such percentages varied considerably among the five family-based admission categories."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2016-02-17
Resurgence of Unaccompanied Alien Children? [May 27, 2016]

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From the CRS (Congressional Research Service) Insight: "In the first seven months of FY2016 [Fiscal Year], apprehensions of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) at the U.S.-Mexico border have approached levels close to what they were in FY2014 when such migration flows reached what were characterized as 'crisis' proportions. Unaccompanied alien children are statutorily defined as children who lack lawful immigration status in the United States, are under age 18, and lack a parent or legal guardian in the United States or a parent or legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody. They most often arrive at U.S. ports of entry or are apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border. Less frequently, they are apprehended in the U.S. interior and determined to be juveniles and unaccompanied. UAC treatment and processing in the United States are governed by several statutes and a legal settlement."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2016-05-27
Resurgence of Unaccompanied Alien Children? [May 20, 2016]

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"In the first six months of FY2016 [Fiscal Year], apprehensions of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) at the U.S.-Mexico border have approached levels close to what they were in FY2014 when such migration flows reached what were characterized as 'crisis' proportions. Unaccompanied alien children are statutorily defined as children who lack lawful immigration status in the United States, are under age 18, and lack a parent or legal guardian in the United States or a parent or legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody. They most often arrive at U.S. ports of entry or are apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border. Less frequently, they are apprehended in the U.S. interior and determined to be juveniles and unaccompanied. UAC treatment and processing in the United States are governed by several statutes and a legal settlement. Between FY2011 and FY2014, apprehensions of unaccompanied alien children at the U.S.-Mexico border increased each year: from 16,067 in FY2011 to 24,481 in FY2012, 38,759 in FY2013, and 68,541 in FY2014. […] At the close of FY2014, the Border Patrol had apprehended more UAC than in any of the previous six years and close to four times as many as in FY2011. After reaching a peak in FY2014, total UAC apprehensions dropped to 39,970 (a 42% decline) in FY2015. Yet, in the first six months of FY2016 they numbered 27,754, a figure close to the amount (28,579) for the same period of FY2014. In comparison, UAC apprehensions numbered 15,616 during the first six months of FY2015."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2016-05-20
Unaccompanied Alien Children: An Overview [May 11, 2016]

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This report offers a comprehensive overview on the issue of unaccompanied alien children. "This report opens with an analysis of recent UAC [Unaccompanied Alien Children] apprehension data. It then discusses current policy on the treatment, care, and custody of the population and describes the responsibilities of each federal agency involved with the population. The report then discusses both administrative and congressional actions to deal with the UAC surge in FY2014 [Fiscal Year] and action since then to address possible future surges."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2016-05-11
Interior Immigration Enforcement: Criminal Alien Programs [September 8, 2016]

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"Congress has long supported efforts to identify, detain, and remove criminal aliens, defined as noncitizens who have been convicted of crimes in the United States. The apprehension and expeditious removal of criminal aliens has been a statutory priority since 1986, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and one of its predecessor agencies have operated programs targeting criminal aliens since 1988. Investments in DHS's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) interior enforcement programs since 2004 have increased the number of potentially removable aliens identified within the United States. [...] PEP [Priority Enforcement Program], its predecessor Secure Communities, and the §287(g) program have all contributed to DHS removing large numbers of aliens in the past decade. Yet, these programs also have been controversial. Because interoperability screens all people passing through law enforcement jurisdictions, critics often charged ICE with removing many people who either committed minor crimes or who had no criminal record apart from unauthorized presence in the United States. Other critics charge that revisions to the set of enforcement priorities through PEP have since contributed to declining numbers of enforcement actions. The §287(g) program has raised concerns over inconsistent policies and practices among jurisdictions and allegations of racial profiling, among other issues. Such concerns caused ICE to revise the program in FY2012 and allow certain §287(g) agreements with law enforcement agencies to expire. Since then, immigration enforcement advocates have questioned why ICE has curtailed the program's use. ICE has recently expressed interest in expanding it. For these and other reasons, Congress may be interested in measures of enforcement levels by program, the level of appropriations for different criminal alien programs, and the role of state and local law enforcement agencies in immigration enforcement."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Kandel, William

2016-09-08
Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 114th Congress [September 9, 2016]

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"The House and the Senate have considered immigration measures on a variety of issues in the 114th Congress. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113) extends four immigration programs through September 30, 2016: the EB-5 immigrant investor Regional Center Pilot Program, the E-Verify employment eligibility verification system, the Conrad State program for foreign medical graduates, and the special immigrant religious worker program. P.L. 114-113 also contains provisions on the Visa Waiver Program and certain nonimmigrant visa categories. [...] In addition, various bills on border security, interior enforcement, visa security, and asylum, among other issues, have been considered by a House or Senate committee. Border security-related measures have been reported by the House Homeland Security Committee (H.R. 399) or the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (S. 461, S. 750, S. 1808, S. 1864, S. 1873, S. 2976). Interior enforcement provisions are included in bills ordered to be reported by the House Judiciary Committee (H.R. 1147, H.R. 1148, H.R. 1153) or reported by the House Appropriations Committee (H.R. 3128). Several of these interior enforcement bills contain key provisions on other immigration issues, such as employment eligibility verification (H.R. 1147); visa security and naturalization (H.R. 1148); and expedited removal, asylum, parole, and unaccompanied alien children (H.R. 1153). [...] H.R. 1149, as ordered to be reported by the House Judiciary Committee, also addresses unaccompanied alien children. This report discusses these and other immigration-related issues that have received legislative action or are of significant congressional interest in the 114th Congress."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Bruno, Andorra; Argueta, Carla N.; Bjelopera, Jerome P. . . .

2016-09-09
DHS Appropriations FY2017: Research and Development, Training, and Services [October 20, 2016]

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"This report is part of a suite of reports that discuss appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY2017. It specifically discusses appropriations for the components of DHS included in the fourth title of the homeland security appropriations bill--in past years, this has comprised U.S. Citizenship and Naturalization Services, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the Science and Technology Directorate, and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO). In FY2017, the Administration proposed moving the Domestic Nuclear Detection office into a new Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives Office, along with several other parts of DHS. Congress has labeled this title of the bill in recent years as 'Research and Development, Training, and Services.' The report provides an overview of the Administration's FY2017 request for these components, and the appropriations proposed by the Senate and House appropriations committees in response. Rather than limiting the scope of its review to the fourth title of the bills, the report includes information on provisions throughout the bills and report that directly affect these components. [...] On September 29, 2016, the President signed into law P.L. 114-223, which contained a continuing resolution that funds the government at the same rate of operations as FY2016, minus 0.496% through December 9, 2017. For details on the continuing resolution and its impact on DHS, see CRS [Congressional Research Service] Report R44621, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2017, which also includes additional information on the broader subject of FY2017 funding for DHS as well as links to analytical overviews and details regarding components in other titles."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Painter, William L.; Kandel, William; Morgan, Daniel (Daniel L.) . . .

2016-10-20

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