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• Unaccompanied Alien Children: An Overview [Updated October 9, 2019]

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  From the Summary: "The number of unaccompanied alien children (UAC, unaccompanied children) apprehended at the Southwest border between U.S. ports of entry while attempting to enter the United States without authorization has increased substantially in recent years: from 16,067 in FY2011 to 24,481 in FY2012 to 38,759 in FY2013. In FY2014, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended 68,541 UAC, a record at that time. Since FY2014, UAC apprehensions have fluctuated considerably, declining to 39,970 in FY2015, increasing to 59,692 in FY2016, declining to 41,435 in FY2017, and increasing to 50,036 in FY2018. In the first 11 months of FY2019, they reached 72,873, a level that now exceeds the FY2014 peak."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William

  2019-10-09
• U.S. Naturalization Policy [January 16, 2014]

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  "Naturalization is the process that grants U.S. citizenship to lawful permanent residents (LPRs) who fulfill requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In general, U.S. immigration policy gives all LPRs the opportunity to naturalize, and doing so is a voluntary act. LPRs in most cases must have resided continuously in the United States for five years, show they possess good moral character, demonstrate English competency, and pass a U.S. government and history examination as part of their naturalization interview. The INA waives some of these requirements for applicants over age 50 with 20 years of U.S. residency, those with mental or physical disabilities, and those who have served in the U.S. military. […] Several issues for Congress center on facilitating naturalization. Immigrant advocacy organizations contend that the current level of naturalization fees discourages immigrants from seeking U.S. citizenship. Other immigration policy observers argue that current fees recover the full cost of a process that is intended to be self-financing. Some in Congress have repeatedly expressed interest in facilitating language and civics instruction as a means to promote naturalization. Others argue that English language proficiency as well as civics education is the responsibility of immigrants and not the federal government. Recent efforts have focused on further streamlining and expediting naturalizations for military personnel and in providing immigration benefits for their relatives. Proposals have also been introduced that would revise the naturalization oath to place greater emphasis on allegiance to the United States."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William

  2014-01-16
• 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
• 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
• Department of Homeland Security: FY2013 Appropriations [Updated June 21, 2013]

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  From the Document: "This report presents an analysis of the discretionary appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for fiscal year 2013 (FY2013). It compares the President's request for FY2013 funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the enacted FY2012 appropriations for DHS, the House-passed and Senate-reported DHS appropriations legislation for FY2013, and the final DHS appropriations legislation included in Division D of P.L. 113-6. It tracks legislative action and congressional issues related to these bills with particular attention paid to discretionary funding amounts. The report does not provide indepth analysis of specific issues related to mandatory funding--such as retirement pay--nor does the report systematically follow any other legislation related to the authorization or amendment of DHS programs, activities, or fee revenues."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Painter, William L.; Schwemle, Barbara L.; Bjelopera, Jerome P. . . .

  2013-06-21
• Department of Homeland Security: FY2015 Appropriations [Updated June 2, 2015]

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  From the Document: "This report describes and analyzes the discretionary appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for fiscal year 2015 (FY2015). It compares the President's request for FY2015 funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the enacted FY2014 appropriations for DHS, the House- and Senate-reported homeland security appropriations measures for FY2015, and the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 114-4)."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Painter, William L.; Schwemle, Barbara L.; Bjelopera, Jerome P. . . .

  2015-06-02
• 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. Family-Based Immigration Policy [February 9, 2018]

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  "Family reunification has historically been 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 immigration categories, as well as a per-country limit on total family-based immigration. The five categories include immediate relatives (spouses, minor unmarried children, and parents) 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."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William A.

  2018-02-09
• Immigration: Recent Apprehension Trends at the U.S. Southwest Border [November 19, 2019]

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  From the Introduction: "Understanding changing migration patterns over the past decade may help inform Congress as it considers immigration-related legislation. This report discusses recent migrant apprehension trends at the Southwest border. It describes how unauthorized migration to the United States has changed in terms of the absolute numbers of migrants as well as their origin countries, demographic composition, and primary migratory motivations. The report concludes with a brief discussion of related policy implications."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Singer, Audrey; Kandel, William

  2019-11-09
• Permanent Employment-Based Immigration and the Per-Country Ceiling [Updated December 21, 2018]

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  "Four major principles currently underlie U.S. policy for admitting lawful permanent residents (LPRs): reunifying families, admitting individuals with needed skills, providing humanitarian assistance, and diversifying immigrant flows by country of origin. These principles are expressed in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which contains a pathway for acquiring LPR status for each principle. Family reunification occurs primarily through family-sponsored immigration. Admitting individuals with needed skills occurs through employment-based immigration. Humanitarian assistance occurs primarily through the U.S. refugee and asylum programs. Origin-country diversity occurs primarily through the Diversity Immigrant Visa. This report focuses on the second LPR pathway noted above, employment-based immigration. Employment-based immigrants enter the United States through one of five preference categories, each with its own eligibility requirements and numerical limitations and, in some cases, different application processes."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William A.

  2018-12-21
• U.S. Immigration Policy: Chart Book of Key Trends [December 17, 2014]

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  "This report is a chart book of selected immigration trends that touch on the main elements of comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). Most policymakers agree that the main issues in CIR include increased border security and immigration enforcement, improved employment eligibility verification, revision of legal immigration, and options to address the millions of unauthorized aliens residing in the country. The report offers snapshots of time series data, using the most complete and consistent time series currently available for each statistic. The key findings and elements germane to the data depicted are summarized with the figures. The summary offers the highlights of key immigration trends."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William

  2014-12-17
• Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 114th Congress [February 3, 2016]

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  From the Summary: "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. Other enacted immigration-related measures include the Border Jobs for Veterans Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-68) on border security personnel, the Adoptive Family Relief Act (P.L. 114-70) on intercountry adoption, and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (P.L. 114-92) on the Afghan special immigrant visa program. The House has passed several other immigration-related bills. Among them are the Northern Border Security Review Act (H.R. 455), the Preclearance Authorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 998), the Border Security Technology Accountability Act of 2015 (H.R. 1634), the Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act (H.R. 3009), and the American SAFE Act of 2015 (H.R. 4038). H.R. 998 has also been reported by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. […] 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; Bjelopera, Jerome P.; Garcia, Michael John . . .

  2016-02-03
• President's Immigration Accountability Executive Action of November 20, 2014: Overview and Issues [February 24, 2015]

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  "On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced his Immigration Accountability Executive Action which would revise some U.S. immigration policies and initiate several programs, including a revised border security policy for the Southwest border; deferred action programs for some unauthorized aliens; revised interior enforcement priorities; changes to aid the entry of skilled workers; promoting immigrant integration and naturalization; and several other initiatives the President indicated would improve the U.S. immigration system. The most controversial among these provisions would grant deferred action to as many as 5 million unauthorized aliens. The President announced the executive action through 10 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memoranda, 2 White House memoranda, and 3 Department of Labor (DOL) fact sheets. […] According to the President, the action was taken in response to the absence of legislation addressing major problems within the immigration system. The President has stated that his executive action is temporary, and that his successor can rescind some or all of its provisions. Those opposed to the executive action argue that it was taken largely for political purposes. They contend that once granted, the temporary measures it encompasses would be difficult to revoke. Separately, a debate has arisen as to whether the President has the legal authority to take such action, with the Administration and others arguing the President's action falls within his authority, and many in Congress arguing the President has overstepped it. That debate and its attendant legal questions are beyond the scope of this report."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William; Bjelopera, Jerome P.; Bruno, Andorra . . .

  2015-02-24
• 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
• 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
• 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
• U.S. Immigration Policy: Chart Book of Key Trends [March 14, 2016]

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  "This report is a chart book of selected immigration trends. Key immigration issues that Congress has considered in recent years include increased border security and immigration enforcement, expanded employment eligibility verification, reforms to the system for legal temporary and permanent immigration, and options to address the millions of unauthorized aliens residing in the country. The report offers snapshots of time series data, 'using the most complete and consistent time series currently available for each statistic.' The key findings and elements germane to the data depicted are summarized with the figures. The summary offers the highlights of key immigration trends. The United States has a history of receiving immigrants, and these foreign-born residents of the United States have come from all over the world."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William; Wasem, Ruth Ellen

  2016-03-14
• 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
• 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
• Primer on U.S. Immigration Policy [June 22, 2018]

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  "This report provides a broad overview of U.S. immigration policy. The first section addresses policies governing how foreign nationals enter the United States either to reside permanently or to stay temporarily. Related topics within this section include visa issuance and security, forms of quasi-legal status, and naturalization. The second section discusses enforcement policies both for excluding foreign nationals from admission into the United States, as well as for detaining and removing those who enter the country unlawfully or who enter lawfully but subsequently commit crimes that make them deportable. The section also covers worksite enforcement and immigration fraud. The third section addresses policies for unauthorized aliens residing in the United States. While intended to be comprehensive, this primer may omit some immigration-related topics. It does not discuss policy issues or congressional concerns about specific immigration-related policies and programs."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William A.

  2018-06-22
• Permanent Legal Immigration to the United States: Policy Overview [May 11, 2018]

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  "Four major principles currently underlie U.S. policy on legal permanent immigration: the reunification of families, the admission of immigrants with needed skills, the protection of refugees and asylees, and the diversity of immigrants by country of origin. These principles are embodied in federal law, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 replaced the national origins quota system (enacted after World War I) with per-country ceilings, and the statutory provisions regulating legal permanent immigration to the United States were last revised significantly by the Immigration Act of 1990. Despite extensive critiques of the permanent legal immigration system, no consensus exists on the specific direction reforms to the system should take. Some maintain that revising provisions governing legal permanent immigration should be a key component of any major immigration reform proposal, while others support the existing provisions and their underlying rationales. This report on legal permanent immigration may help inform the debate and discussions of policy options that may emerge as Congress considers current immigration proposals."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William A.

  2018-05-11
• Expedited Citizenship Through Military Service [May 11, 2018]

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  "Current law allows certain noncitizens who serve in the U.S. military to acquire expedited U.S. citizenship. Recent media reports have described situations in which noncitizen U.S. veterans who served in and were honorably discharged from the U.S. military, failed to petition for their citizenship for a variety of reasons, subsequently committed crimes that made them removable, and were then deported to their countries of origin. Although advocacy groups claim that there may be thousands of deported U.S. veterans outside of the United States, no reliable estimates have been produced for this population. In the 115th Congress, several legislative proposals have been introduced to address this issue."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William A.; Kapp, Lawrence

  2018-05-11
• Trump Administration's 'Zero Tolerance' Immigration Enforcement Policy [July 20, 2018]

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  "In recent years, Central American migrant families have been arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in relatively large numbers, many seeking asylum. While some request asylum at U.S. ports of entry, others do so after attempting to enter the United States illegally between U.S. ports of entry. On May 7, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) implemented a 'zero tolerance' policy toward illegal border crossing, both to discourage illegal migration into the United States and to reduce the burden of processing asylum claims that Administration officials contend are often fraudulent."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William A.

  2018-07-20
• U.S. Immigration Laws for Aliens Arriving at the Border [January 16, 2019]

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  "In recent years, the migrant population arriving at the U.S.- Mexico (Southern) border without legal immigration status has shifted from being comprised predominantly of Mexican adult economic migrants to being comprised primarily of Central American adults, family units (adults with at least one child under age 18), and unaccompanied children, many of whom seek asylum in the United States. How they are processed and what options they have for legal admission and residing lawfully in the United States depend on how they attempt to enter the United States, whether they are children and/or arrive in families, what country they originate from, and if they request asylum."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William A.

  2019-01-16
• 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
• Sanctuary Jurisdictions and Criminal Aliens: In Brief [July 1, 2016]

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  From the introduction: "This report examines the interplay between the federal government (i.e., ICE) [U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement] and state and local jurisdictions in enforcing immigration law, with a specific focus on noncitizens who have been convicted of a crime. It explores 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 efforts 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.

  2016-07-01
• Sanctuary Jurisdictions: Congressional Action and President Trump's Interior Enforcement Executive Order [February 15, 2017]

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  "President Trump's executive order (EO) 'Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States' issued on January 25, 2017, seeks, among other things, to penalize 'sanctuary jurisdictions.' The latter is an informal term referring to states and localities that limit their cooperation with federal agencies on immigration law enforcement. In the immigration context, the EO may raise legal questions about the extent to which states and localities must comply with federal immigration law enforcement efforts and the potential consequences for not cooperating with these efforts."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William

  2017-02-15
• Sanctuary Jurisdictions and Criminal Aliens: In Brief [January 10, 2017]

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  "The prominence of immigration enforcement issues during the 2016 presidential election as well as publicity surrounding crimes committed by some unauthorized aliens have reignited debates over immigration enforcement in the interior of the country. [...] ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has made the removal of certain criminal aliens its top priority. [...] Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, but efforts have been made continually to use the potential 'force multipliers' offered by local law enforcement. [...] ICE operates the Criminal Alien Program (CAP), which is guided by the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP), a set of immigration enforcement priorities that describe which foreign nationals should be removed and in what priority order. PEP also employs 'interoperability,' a data sharing infrastructure between DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) that screens individuals for immigration-related violations when they are booked by law enforcement jurisdictions. [...] In recent years, some jurisdictions have expressly defined or limited their roles and the activities of their employees regarding immigration enforcement. These have been referred to as 'sanctuary' jurisdictions. [...] Congress may choose to consider several issues, including whether the potentially positive impacts on public safety of state and local involvement in immigration enforcement outweigh the potentially negative impacts on both law enforcement resource utilization and community relations within such jurisdictions; and whether increasing law enforcement funding or tying the provision of certain federal grants to greater cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies--or a mix of both approaches--would yield the greater cooperation proponents seek."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kandel, William

  2017-01-10