Congressional Research Service Reports - 25 Matching Results

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Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 110th Congress

Description: This report discusses immigration-related issues that have seen legislative action or are of significant congressional interest.
Date: December 10, 2008
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration Consequences of Criminal Activity

Description: This report discusses the potential immigration consequences of criminal activity. "Criminal activity" generally refers to conduct for which an alien has been found or plead guilty before a court of law, though in limited circumstances consequences may attach to the commission of a crime or admission of acts constituting the essential elements of a crime.
Date: June 2, 2008
Creator: Kim, Yule & Garcia, Michael John
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Temporary Protected Status: Current Immigration Policy and Issues

Description: When civil unrest, violence, or natural disasters erupt in spots around the world, concerns arise over the safety of nationals from these troubled places who are in the United States. This report discusses provisions that exist in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to offer temporary protected status (TPS) or relief from removal under specified circumstances. The United States currently provides TPS to nationals from seven countries: Burundi, El Salvador, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, So… more
Date: September 18, 2008
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen & Ester, Karma
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation

Description: This report opens with an overview of visa issuances, with sections on procedures for aliens coming to live in the United States permanently and on procedures for aliens admitted for temporary stays. It includes a discussion of visa screening policies, including inadmissibility, databases, an analysis of visa refusals, biometric visas and other major visa policy procedures. The final section analyzes selected issues in the 110th Congress, notably new technologies, impact on travel and commerce,… more
Date: January 24, 2008
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration: Policy Considerations Related to Guest Worker Programs

Description: This report discusses guest worker programs. The United States has two main programs for temporarily importing low-skilled workers, or guest workers. Agricultural guest workers enter through the H-2A visa program, and other guest workers enter through the H-2B visa program.
Date: May 28, 2008
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Immigration Policy on Permanent Admissions

Description: This report discusses the four major principles underlie current U.S. policy on permanent immigration: the reunification of families, the admission of immigrants with needed skills, the protection of refugees, and the diversity of admissions by country of origin.
Date: February 29, 2008
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration: Terrorist Grounds for Exclusion and Removal of Aliens

Description: This report focuses on the terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and deportation/removal. It opens with an overview of the terror-related grounds as they evolved through key legislation enacted in recent years. The section on current law explains the legal definitions of "terrorist activity," "engage in terrorist activity," and "terrorist organization," and describes the terror-related grounds for inadmissibility and removal. The report then discusses the alien screening process to dete… more
Date: May 20, 2008
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unauthorized Alien Students: Issues and "DREAM Act" Legislation

Description: Multiple bills have been introduced in recent Congresses to address the unauthorized student population. While there are other options for dealing with this population, this report deals exclusively with the DREAM Act approach of proposing relief for unauthorized students in light of the widespread congressional interest in it.
Date: January 8, 2008
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration: Terrorist Grounds for Exclusion and Removal of Aliens

Description: This report focuses on the terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and deportation/removal. It opens with an overview of the terror-related grounds as they evolved through key legislation enacted in recent years. The section on current law explains the legal definitions of "terrorist activity," "engage in terrorist activity," and "terrorist organization," and describes the terror-related grounds for inadmissibility and removal. The report then discusses the alien screening process to dete… more
Date: July 2, 2008
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Female Genital Mutilation as Persecution: When Can It Constitute a Basis for Asylum and Withholding of Removal?

Description: This report explores the basic statutory and regulatory framework that governs asylum law. This entails an outline of the requirements an applicant must meet in order to obtain relief under asylum law and a discussion about the differences between the two main forms of relief for aliens facing removal from the United States: asylum and withholding of removal. It will then examine several important issues and controversies concerning female genital mutilation (FGM) and its effect on asylum law.
Date: October 10, 2008
Creator: Kim, Yule
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration-Related Detention: Current Legislative Issues

Description: This report examines policy issues surrounding detention of aliens, including concerns about the number of aliens subject to mandatory detention and the justness of mandatory detention, especially as it is applied to asylum seekers arriving without proper documentation. Some have raised concerns about the length of time in detention for aliens who have been ordered removed. Additionally, issues have been raised about the amount of detention space available to house DHS detainees. Another area o… more
Date: January 30, 2008
Creator: Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Foreign Investor Visas: Policies and Issues

Description: This report provides a brief legislative background, discussions of immigrant and nonimmigrant investors visas, a comparison of U.S. and Canadian immigrant investor programs, an analysis of the relationship between investment and migration, and finally a review of current issues.
Date: May 1, 2008
Creator: Haddal, Chad C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Visa Waiver Program

Description: This report discusses the visa waiver program (VWP), which allows for a bypass of the first step by which foreign visitors are screened for admissibility to enter the United States. Some policymakers are concerned that this waiver allows terrorists to more easily enter the country. The report provides waiver-related statistics and related legislation.
Date: September 23, 2008
Creator: Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Alien Smuggling: Recent Legislative Developments

Description: This report discusses issues surrounding aliens within the United States including an overview of currently-proscribed activities, exemptions, sentencing provisions, and proposed legislative changes.
Date: May 22, 2008
Creator: Kim, Yule
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State and Local Restrictions on Employing, Renting Property to, or Providing Services for Unauthorized Aliens: Legal Issues and Recent Judicial Developments

Description: This report discusses the constitutional issues raised in relation to state and local laws intended to deter the presence of unauthorized aliens, along with the implications that federal civil rights statutes might have on the implementation and enforcement of measures restricting such persons' ability to obtain employment, housing, or other state and local benefits or services.
Date: January 28, 2008
Creator: Garcia, Michael John; Feder, Jody & Smith, Alison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration-Related Worksite Enforcement: Performance Measures

Description: Over the past few years, the media have been filled with reports about worksite enforcement operations, commonly referred to as immigration raids. These operations represent the public face of efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to curtail the employment of unauthorized immigrants. According to 2006 estimates, there are some 7.8 million unauthorized workers in the U.S. civilian workforce. Enforcement activity by the Department of Labor (DOL) is also relevant to a discussion of federa… more
Date: December 2, 2008
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Foreign Students in the United States: Policies and Legislation

Description: This report examines various issues pertaining to foreign students in the United States. Since the Immigration Act of 1924, the United States has expressly permitted foreign students to study in U.S. institutions. Most foreign students are at least 18 years old and are enrolled in higher education programs. Foreign students are generally considered to enrich cultural diversity of the educational experience for U.S. residents as well as enhance the reputation of U.S. universities as world-class … more
Date: April 28, 2008
Creator: Haddal, Chad C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border Security: The Role of the U.S. Border Patrol

Description: This report includes some issues for Congress to consider which include the slow rate of integration between the United States Border Patrol's (USBP) biometric database of illegal aliens and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) biometric database of criminals and terrorists; the number of unauthorized aliens who die attempting to enter the country each year; the organized human smuggling rings that have proliferated as entering the country has become more difficult; and the threat posed … more
Date: November 20, 2008
Creator: Nuñez-Neto, Blas
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm Labor Shortages and Immigration Policy

Description: This report first explains the connection made over the past several years between farm labor and immigration policies. It next examines the composition of the seasonal agricultural labor force and presents the arguments of grower and farm worker advocates concerning its adequacy relative to employer demand. The report then analyzes trends in employment, unemployment time worked and wages of authorized and unauthorized farm workers to determine whether they are consistent with the existence of … more
Date: January 17, 2008
Creator: Levine, Linda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Foreign Students in the United States: Policies and Legislation

Description: This report examines various issues pertaining to foreign students in the United States. Since the Immigration Act of 1924, the United States has expressly permitted foreign students to study in U.S. institutions. Most foreign students are at least 18 years old and are enrolled in higher education programs. Foreign students are generally considered to enrich cultural diversity of the educational experience for U.S. residents as well as enhance the reputation of U.S. universities as world-class … more
Date: January 31, 2008
Creator: Haddal, Chad C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Protecting the U.S. Perimeter: "Border Searches" Under the Fourth Amendment

Description: This report addresses the scope of the government's authority to search and seize individuals at the border pursuant to the constitutional framework that encompasses the border search exception to the warrant and probable cause requirements of the Fourth Amendment. This report also describes the varying levels of suspicion generally associated with each type of border search as interpreted by the courts. In addition, this report highlights some of the border security recommendations made by the… more
Date: June 27, 2008
Creator: Kim, Yule
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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