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Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 114th Congress

Description: This report discusses border security, interior enforcement, visa security, asylum, and other immigration-related issues that have received legislative action or are of significant congressional interest in the 114th Congress.
Date: September 9, 2016
Creator: Bruno, Andorra; Argueta, Carla N.; Bjelopera, Jerome P.; Garcia, Michael John; Kandel, William A. & Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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What Does the Supreme Court's 4-4 Split in Texas Mean for Future Executive Action as to Immigration?

Description: This legal sidebar discusses the Supreme Court's recent 4-4 split in Texas v. United States and how it might affect the Executive's ability to "go it alone" on immigration in the future. The nominee or presumptive nominee for President of both major political parties has expressed a willingness to take certain actions as to immigration on his or her own, without waiting for Congress to enact further legislation (although the specific actions they would take vary, depending upon their policies o… more
Date: July 25, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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A Resurgence of Unaccompanied Alien Children?

Description: This report briefly examines the recently-high number of unaccompanied alien children (UAC). In the first seven months of FY2016, apprehensions 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.
Date: May 27, 2016
Creator: Kandel, William A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unaccompanied Alien Children: An Overview

Description: This report opens with an analysis of recent unaccompanied alien children (UAC) apprehension data. It then discusses current policy on the treatment, care, and custody of the population, with a description of 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 and ongoing action to address possible future surges.
Date: May 11, 2016
Creator: Kandel, William A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Remittances: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report focuses on remittances, transfers of money and capital, sent by migrants and foreign immigrant communities from the United States to their home country. At over $432 billion in 2015, remittances sent home by international migrants to developing countries is larger than official development assistance (ODA) and more stable than private capital flows to these countries.
Date: May 9, 2016
Creator: Weiss, Martin A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Supreme Court's 4-4 Split on Immigration

Description: This report addresses commonly asked questions regarding the Supreme Court's evenly-divided June 23, 2016 decision about immigration. Consistent with recent practice, the decision affirms without any opinion or indication of the Justices' voting alignment an earlier decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit barring the Obama Administration from implementing two initiatives that would potentially have granted relief from removal to millions of aliens who entered or remained in… more
Date: June 24, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Court Declines to Bar the Resettlement of Syrian Refugees in Texas

Description: This legal sidebar discusses a federal district court's decision to deny the State of Texas's request that the federal government and a private refugee relief organization be temporarily barred from resettling Syrian refugees within the state pending resolution of Texas's challenge to such resettlement.
Date: February 26, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Immigration Policy: Chart Book of Key Trends

Description: 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.
Date: March 14, 2016
Creator: Kandel, William A. & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa

Description: This report includes a discussion of the EB-5 visa's requirements and an overview of the Regional Center Program, information on the EB-5 application (petition) process, admissions, and the economic impacts of the visa, a review of policy issues surrounding the visa and the Regional Center Program, and a summary of current legislation on the EB-5 visa and the Regional Center Program in the 114th Congress.
Date: April 22, 2016
Creator: Argueta, Carla N. & Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry

Description: This report reviews efforts to combat unauthorized migration across the Southwest border in the nearly three decades since the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) initiated the modern era in migration control. In reviewing such efforts, the report takes stock of the current state of border security and considers lessons that may be learned about enhanced enforcement at U.S. borders.
Date: April 19, 2016
Creator: Argueta, Carla N.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Family-Based Immigration Policy

Description: This report provides an examination of family-based immigration policy. It outlines a brief history of U.S. 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 cl… more
Date: February 17, 2016
Creator: Kandel, William A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Temporary Protected Status: Current Immigration Policy and Issues

Description: This report is a brief overview of current policies regarding temporary protected status (TPS), which is relief from removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It includes information about humanitarian migrants, temporary protected status, other blanket forms of relief, nationalities receiving protections, and issues with TPS, as well as recent legislation.
Date: February 18, 2016
Creator: Argueta, Carla N. & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unauthorized Aliens, Higher Education, In-State Tuition, and Financial Aid: Legal Analysis

Description: This report surveys key legal issues pertaining to unauthorized alien students' access to higher education, in-state tuition, and financial aid. The existence of a sizable population of "DREAMers" in the United States has prompted questions about these topics. The term DREAMer is widely used to describe aliens who were brought to the United States as children and raised in the U.S., but lack legal immigration status.
Date: January 11, 2016
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Programs

Description: This report analyzes the special immigrant visas (SIVs) classifications for Iraqis and Afghans within the context of both the larger INA special immigrant category and selected other permanent admissions categories. It discusses the legislative changes to the individual Iraqi and Afghan special immigrant programs since their initial authorization, provides statistics on visa issuances, and considers challenges that have faced the programs.
Date: February 26, 2016
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Temporary Professional, Managerial, and Skilled Foreign Workers: Policy and Trends

Description: This report opens with an overview of the policy issues that pertain to foreign workers. It follows with a summary of each of the various visa categories available for temporary professional, managerial, and skilled foreign workers, as well as an analysis of the trends seen with the use of these various visas over the past two decades. This workforce is seen by many as a catalyst of U.S. global economic competitiveness. The challenge central to the policy debate is facilitating the migration of… more
Date: January 13, 2016
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unaccompanied Alien Children--Legal Issues: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report addresses the questions regarding the number of children arriving at the United States southern border, their reasons for coming to the United States, and current and potential responses of the federal government and other entities to their arrival.
Date: January 27, 2016
Creator: Manuel, Kate M. & Garcia, Michael J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Numerical Limits on Employment-Based Immigration: Analysis of the Per-Country Ceilings

Description: The report opens with brief explanations of the employment-based preference categories and the per-country ceilings governing annual admissions of LPRs. The focus is on the major employment-based preference categories. The report continues with a statistical analysis of the pending caseload of approved employment-based LPR petitions.
Date: October 11, 2011
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration of Foreign Workers: Labor Market Tests and Protections

Description: This report discusses §1611, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which requires companies receiving Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funding to comply with the more rigorous labor market rules of H-1B dependent companies if they hire foreign workers on H-1B visas.
Date: August 27, 2010
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Islamic State’s Acolytes and the Challenges They Pose to U.S. Law Enforcement: In Brief

Description: This report outlines the broad challenges for federal law enforcement agencies in identifying and confronting the challenges posed by the Islamic State in the United States. This report also highlights the interagency efforts taken in preempting terrorists in the screening processes, visa fraud, and stopping the radicalization of individuals.
Date: July 16, 2015
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Enforcement: Legal Issues

Description: This report begins by discussing the sources of federal power to regulate immigration and, particularly, the allocation of power between Congress and the President in this area. It next addresses the constitutional and other foundations for the doctrine of prosecutorial discretion, as well as the potential ways in which prosecutorial discretion may be exercised in the immigration context. It concludes by addressing potential constitutional, statutory, and administrative constraints upon the exe… more
Date: January 17, 2013
Creator: Manuel, Kate M. & Garvey, Todd
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unauthorized Aliens’ Access to Federal Benefits: Policy and Issues

Description: The degree to which unauthorized resident aliens should be accorded certain rights and privileges as a result of their residence in the United States, along with the duties owed by such aliens given their presence, remains the subject of debate in Congress. Included among the specific policy areas that spark controversy are due process rights, tax liabilities, military service, eligibility for federal assistance, educational opportunities, and pathways to citizenship. This report focuses on the… more
Date: September 16, 2011
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Comprehensive Immigration Reform in the 113th Congress: Major Legislative Proposals

Description: For several years, some Members of Congress have favored "comprehensive immigration reform", a label that commonly refers to omnibus legislation that includes increased border security and immigration enforcement, expanded employment eligibility verification, revision of nonimmigrant visas and legal permanent immigration, and legalization for some unauthorized immigrants residing in the country. This report provides a detailed discussion of major legislation related to these issues.
Date: June 6, 2013
Creator: Rosenblum, Marc R. & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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