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Unauthorized Aliens in the United States
This report discusses the unauthorized immigrant (illegal alien) population in the United States, which is a key and controversial immigration issue.
Immigration: The Effects on Low-Skilled and High-Skilled Native-Born Workers
The report opens with a discussion of how to analyze the impact of immigrants on the pay and job opportunities of native-born workers. It then uses this framework to examine and interpret the empirical literature on the subject. The report concludes with a discussion of policy implications.
U.S. Immigration Policy on Permanent Admissions
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.
U.S. Immigration Policy on Haitian Migrants
This report discusses whether the balance should tip more toward humanitarian immigration policies as a consequence of the humanitarian crises that resulted from the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Immigration of Foreign Workers: Labor Market Tests and Protections
This report examines the current state of employment-based immigration, and discusses its perceived effects on the labor market.
Foreign Science and Engineering Presence in U.S. Institutions and the Labor Force
The increased presence of foreign students in graduate science and engineering programs and in the scientific workforce has been and continues to be of concern to some in the scientific community. Enrollment of U.S. citizens in graduate science and engineering programs has not kept pace with that of foreign students in those programs. In addition to the number of foreign students in graduate science and engineering programs, a significant number of university faculty in the scientific disciplines are foreign, and foreign doctorates are employed in large numbers by industry. This report explains this issue in detail, as well as probable causes of said incongruity.
Immigration: Policy Considerations Related to Guest Worker Programs
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.
Immigration Visa Issuances and Grounds for Exclusion: Policy and Trends
This report's review of the legislative developments in visa policy over the past 20 years and analysis of the statistical trends in visa issuances and denials provide a nuanced study of U.S. visa policy and the grounds for exclusion.
Visa Security Policy: Roles of the Departments of State and Homeland Security
This report discusses the visa security and visa policy questions debated in Congress. The policy questions center on whether immigration law needs to be strengthened, whether funding should be increased, and which agency should take the lead.
Border Security: The Role of the U.S. Border Patrol
This report discusses the United States Border Patrol's history as our nation's first line of defense against unauthorized migration. Today, the USBP's primary mission is to detect and prevent the entry of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, and illegal aliens into the country, and to interdict drug smugglers and other criminals along the border.
Chemical Facility Security: Reauthorization, Policy Issues, and Options for Congress
This report provides a brief overview of the existing statutory authority and the regulation implementing this authority. It describes several policy issues raised in previous debates regarding chemical facility security. The report identifies policy options that might resolve components of these issues. Finally, legislation introduced in the 111th Congress is discussed.
Sudan: The Crisis in Darfur and Status of the North-South Peace Agreement
This report discusses the history of Sudan's civil unrest and the subsequent crisis in Darfur, as well as United Nations and United States aid and peacekeeping efforts, and current related policy under the Obama Administration.
Alien Legalization and Adjustment of Status: A Primer
This report summarizes the main avenues for foreign nationals currently in the United States--legally or illegally--to become LPRs. Alien legalization or "amnesty," as well as adjustment of status and cancellation of removal options, are briefly discussed. Designed as a primer on the issues, the report provides references to other CRS products that track pertinent legislation and analyze these issues more fully.
Immigration Reform Issues in the 111th Congress
This report synthesizes the multi-tiered debate over immigration reform into key elements: legal; immigration; legalization; immigration control; refugees, asylees, and humanitarian migrants; and, alien rights, benefits and responsibilities.
U.S. Immigration Policy on Haitian Migrants
This report discusses whether the balance should tip more toward humanitarian immigration policies as a consequence of the humanitarian crises that resulted from the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Immigration Policies and Issues on Health-Related Grounds for Exclusion
This report discusses the criteria that foreign nationals must meet before admission to the United States, including the reasons why a foreign national might be denied admission, most particularly on health-related grounds.
Immigration-Related Detention: Current Legislative Issues
This report discusses issues for Congress in regards to the potential reform of the nation's immigration system. The detention of noncitizens in the United States will likely be an issue. Under the law, there is broad authority to detain aliens while awaiting a determination of whether the noncitizen should be removed from the United States.
Border Security: Key Agencies and Their Missions
This report briefly describes the role of various agencies in securing the borders of the United States. These agencies are the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the United States Coast Guard, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Foreign Science and Engineering Presence in U.S. Institutions and the Labor Force
The increased presence of foreign students in graduate science and engineering programs and in the scientific workforce has been and continues to be of concern to some in the scientific community. Enrollment of U.S. citizens in graduate science and engineering programs has not kept pace with that of foreign students in those programs. In addition to the number of foreign students in graduate science and engineering programs, a significant number of university faculty in the scientific disciplines are foreign, and foreign doctorates are employed in large numbers by industry. This report explains this issue in detail, as well as probable causes of said incongruity.
Constitutionality of Excluding Aliens from the Census for Apportionment and Redistricting Purposes
This report provides an overview of the 2010 decennial census, and the Census Bureau that will attempt to count the total population of the United States. It discusses the possibility by some that have suggested excluding aliens, particularly those who are in the country unlawfully, from the census count, in part so that they would not be included in the data used to apportion House seats among the states and determine voting districts within them.
Temporary Protected Status: Current Immigration Policy and Issues
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.
Nonimmigrant Overstays: Brief Synthesis of the Issue
This report discusses a fundamental problem of immigration control in which foreign nationals enter legally on a temporary basis and continue to stay after their visas expire.
U.S. Immigration Policy on Haitian Migrants
This report discusses whether the balance should tip more toward humanitarian immigration policies as a consequence of the humanitarian crises that resulted from the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Unauthorized Alien Students, Higher Education, and In-State Tuition Rates: A Legal Analysis
This report provides a legal overview of cases involving immigrant access to higher education, as well as an analysis of the legality of state laws that make in-state tuition rates available to illegal aliens.
Immigration: Terrorist Grounds for Exclusion and Removal of Aliens
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 recent years. The section on current law explains several legal definitions, and describes the terror-related grounds for inadmissibility and removal. The report then discusses the screening process to determine admissibility and to identify possible terrorists.
Farm Labor Shortages and Immigration Policy
This report mainly provides information about the Farm Labor Shortages and Immigration Policy.
Immigration: The Effects on Low-Skilled and High-Skilled Native-Born Workers
The report opens with a discussion of how to analyze the impact of immigrants on the pay and job opportunities of native-born workers. It then uses this framework to examine and interpret the empirical literature on the subject. The report concludes with a discussion of policy implications.
Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 111th Congress
This report discusses Congressional debate of comprehensive immigration reform and other immigration-related issues that have seen legislative action or are of significant congressional interest.
Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 111th Congress
This report discusses Congressional debate of comprehensive immigration reform and other immigration-related issues that have seen legislative action or are of significant congressional interest.
Immigration: Frequently Asked Questions on the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP)
This report addresses frequently asked questions regarding the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), a formula grant program that provides financial assistance to states and localities for correctional officer salary costs incurred for incarcerating "undocumented criminal aliens."
Removing Aliens from the United States: Judicial Review of Removal Orders
This report analyzes the jurisdictional issues in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by focusing on the procedural mechanisms used to initiate judicial review and the reach of an Article III court's jurisdiction to review a removal order.
Legal Ethics in Immigration Matters: Legal Representation and Unauthorized Practice of Law
Report regarding recent issues in which the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and various state attorneys general have taken action to address the problems posed by unethical conduct by immigration attorneys and by persons posing as immigration attorneys, such as so-called "notarios" and other immigration consultants.
Treatment of Noncitizens in H.R. 3200
This report outlines the treatment of noncitizens under H.R. 3200, America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. The report analyzes specific provisions in H.R. 3200, and whether there are eligibility requirements for noncitizens in the selected provisions.
Treatment of Noncitizens in H.R. 3200
This report outlines the treatment of noncitizens under H.R. 3200, America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. The report analyzes specific provisions in H.R. 3200, and whether there are eligibility requirements for noncitizens in the selected provisions.
Unauthorized Aliens Residing in the United States: Estimates Since 1986
This report discusses a rise in the unauthorized resident ("illegal") alien population from 1986 to 2010. It looks at reasons that illegal aliens stay resort to breaking the law and how illegal aliens affect the workforce in certain industries.
The Federal Protective Service and Contract Security Guards: A Statutory History and Current Status
This report discusses the Federal Protective Service (FPS) - within U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - is responsible for protecting federal government property, personnel, visitors, and customers, including property leased by the General Services Administration (GSA). This report describes the FPS in brief as well as legislative actions currently being discussed in the 111th Congress that could affect FPS in the future.
Unauthorized Aliens' Access to Federal Benefits: Policy and Issues
This report focuses on the policy and legislative debate surrounding unauthorized aliens' access to federal benefits.
Policy Challenges in International Migration
This report serves as a broad overview of the standard theory of international migration and offers a brief synopsis of the major immigration-related policy challenges relative to the legislative debates in Congress.
Passports: Current Regulations
This report discusses current U.S. passport requirements and costs, as well as related policy concerns.
Immigration: Policy Considerations Related to Guest Worker Programs
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.
The Federal Protective Service and Contract Security Guards: A Statutory History and Current Status
No Description Available.
U.S. Immigration Policy on Permanent Admissions
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.
The Democratic Republic of Congo: Background and Current Developments
This report discusses in brief the current political state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the crisis situation in eastern Congo that has displaced more than 250,000 civilians. It also describes U.S., U.N., and other international efforts to aid in resolving the crisis.
Sudan: The Crisis in Darfur and Status of the North-South Peace Agreement
Sudan, geographically the largest country in Africa, has been ravaged by civil war intermittently for four decades. More than 2 million people have died in Southern Sudan over the past two decades due to war-related causes and famine, and millions have been displaced from their homes. The crisis in Darfur began in February 2003, when two rebel groups emerged to challenge the National Congress Party (NCP) government in Darfur. The crisis in Darfur in western Sudan has led to a major humanitarian disaster, with an estimated 2.45 million people displaced, more than 240,000 people forced into neighboring Chad, and an estimated 450,000 people killed. This report discusses this situation in detail and also discusses U.S. and international efforts to aid in resolving the crisis.
Immigration Reform Issues in the 111th Congress
Report on the immigration reform issues faced by the 111th Congress, with a focus on the multi-tiered immigration debate.
Protecting the U.S. Perimeter: Border Searches Under the Fourth Amendment
This report first outlines the statutes authorizing certain federal officers to conduct warrantless searches. It then addresses the scope of the government's constitutional authority to search and seize persons and property at the border. It also describes the varying levels of suspicion generally required for each type of border search as interpreted by the courts. Finally, this report lists several bills before the 111th Congress that address border searches. This report does not address interior searches and seizures performed by immigration personnel since they are not traditional "border searches."
Instability in Chad
The political and security situation in Chad remains volatile. Ethnic clashes, banditry, and fighting between government forces and rebel groups, both Chadian and Sudanese, have contributed to a fragile security situation in the east. The instability has forced many into exile from their homes due to ongoing violence. The presence of the displaced in refugee camps contributes to the escalated tension in the area. This report discusses these issues, as well as joint efforts between the United Nations and the European Union to deploy aid and improve regional security.
The Federal Protective Service and Contract Security Guards: A Statutory History and Current Status
The Federal Protective Service (FPS) - within U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - is responsible for protecting federal government property, personnel, visitors, and customers, including property leased by the General Services Administration (GSA). This report describes the FPS in brief as well as legislative actions currently being discussed in the 111th Congress that could affect FPS in the future.
Cuban Migration to the United States: Policy and Trends
This report opens with a historical analysis of the unique immigration policy that evolved with Cuba and an explanation of its nexus with other federal policies. It follows with time series analysis of Cuban migration trends. The report concludes by discussing current challenges and issues.
Immigration Policies and Issues on Health-Related Grounds for Exclusion
This report discusses the criteria that foreign nationals must meet before admission to the United States, including the reasons why a foreign national might be denied admission, most particularly on health-related grounds. This report discusses such issues in relation to the recent outbreak of the 2009 H1N1 ("swine flu") virus, and how the outbreak has affected various government agencies, such as the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This report also discusses efforts to confront and address such issues on a legislative front.
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