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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 deteā€¦ more
Date: July 2, 2008
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unauthorized Aliens' Access to Federal Benefits: Policy and Issues

Description: This report focuses on the policy and legislative debate surrounding unauthorized aliens' access to federal benefits. The number of foreign-born people residing in the United States (40.7 million) is at the highest level in our history and, as a portion of the U.S. population, has reached a percentage (13%) not seen since the early 20th century.1 Of the foreign-born residents in the United States, approximately one-third are speculated to be unauthorized residents (often characterized as illegaā€¦ more
Date: September 22, 2014
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
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, takes stock of the current state of border security, and considers lessons that may be learned about enhanced enforcement at U.S. borders. The report begins by reviewing the history of border control and the development of a national border control strategy beginning in the 1990s. Tā€¦ more
Date: May 3, 2013
Creator: Rosenblum, Marc R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration Policies and Issues on Health-Related Grounds for Exclusion

Description: This report discusses the criteria that foreign nationals must meet before admission to the United States, specifically examining the health-related grounds for exclusion. It provides this information in the context of recent outbreaks of communicable diseases abroad such as Ebola in West Africa, avian influenza in China, polio in the middle east, and dengue fever in the Caribbean.
Date: August 13, 2014
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification

Description: This report discusses the employment verification program that started out as a pilot program in November 1997 and it is currently authorized until September 30, 2015, in accordance with P.L. 112-176.
Date: January 9, 2014
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
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: January 16, 2014
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Naturalization Policy

Description: This report reviews the rights and obligations that come with naturalization. It examines the naturalization process, discusses recent trends regarding who, among the roughly 1 million immigrants entering the United States each year, ultimately becomes a U.S. citizen, and discusses recent naturalization-related policy issues.
Date: January 16, 2014
Creator: Kandel, William A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Programs

Description: This report analyzes the special immigrant visa (SIV) classifications for Iraqis and Afghans within the context of both the larger Immigration and Nationality Act (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 issuance, and considers challenges facing the programs today.
Date: September 12, 2014
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Brief History of Comprehensive Immigration Reform Efforts in the 109th and 110th Congresses to Inform Policy Discussions in the 113th Congress

Description: This report opens with brief legislative histories of "comprehensive immigration reform" (CIR) in the 109th and 110th Congresses. A comparative overview of key CIR provisions in the three bills that received floor action in the 109th and 110th Congresses follows. In addition to a narrative discussion of how the bills addressed the main provisions of CIR, the report provides a table that presents a comparative summary of the key features of the bills. The report concludes with observations contrā€¦ more
Date: February 27, 2013
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
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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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: July 18, 2014
Creator: Manuel, Kate M. & Garcia, Michael John
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,ā€¦ more
Date: January 24, 2008
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Visa Waiver Program

Description: This report discusses the visa waiver program (VWP), which allows foreign visitors to bypass the first, screening step 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: January 15, 2013
Creator: Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unaccompanied Alien Children: An Overview

Description: This report opens with an analysis of the data of the recent surge in UAC crossing the border. It then discusses current policy on the treatment, care, and custody of the population. The processing and treatment of UAC is detailed, with a discussion of each agency that is involved with the population. The report then discusses both Administrative and Congressional action to deal with the current crisis. As this issue is still emerging, the report concludes with a series of questions related to ā€¦ more
Date: July 28, 2014
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa; Siskin, Alison & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration Detainers: Legal Issues

Description: "This report surveys the various authorities governing immigration detainers, including the standard detainer form (Form I-247) sent by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to other law enforcement agencies. The report also discusses key legal issues raised by immigration detainers, including whether Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) detainer regulations and practices are beyond its statutory authority; whether states and localities are required to comply with immigration detaā€¦ more
Date: October 6, 2014
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
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 ā€¦ more
Date: November 20, 2008
Creator: NuƱez-Neto, Blas
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Public Assistance: Policy Overview and Trends

Description: This report discusses the extent to which residents of the United States who are not U.S. citizens should be eligible for federally-funded public aid. This issue meets at the intersection of two major policy areas: immigration policy and welfare policy. This report deals with the four major federal means-tested benefit programs: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANā€¦ more
Date: September 24, 2014
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
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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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
open access

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 deteā€¦ more
Date: May 20, 2008
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Issues in Homeland Security Policy for the 113th Congress

Description: This report outlines an array of homeland security issues that may come before the 113th Congress. After a brief discussion of the overall homeland security budget, the report divides the specific issues into five broad categories: counterterrorism and security management, border security and trade, immigration, disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, and departmental management.
Date: February 27, 2013
Creator: Painter, William L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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