Congressional Research Service Reports - 27 Matching Results

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Immigration Fundamentals

Description: This report describes the fundamentals of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which was enacted in 1952 and significantly amended since, most recently by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.
Date: July 2, 1998
Creator: Vialet, Joyce
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Alien Eligibility for Public Assistance

Description: This report discusses the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which affected alien eligibility for federal, state, and local government assistance programs, both imposing and broadening restrictions on a number of immigration benefits and programs.
Date: July 22, 1998
Creator: Vialet, Joyce C. & Eig, Larry M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation

Description: This report addresses the current policy on immigration visa issuances and options for reassigning this function to the proposed Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It 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. An analysis of the grounds for excluding aliens follows. The report summarizes the debate on transferring visaissuance policy functions to h… more
Date: July 31, 2002
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Mexican Workers in the United States: A Comparison with Workers from Social Security Totalization Countries

Description: On June 29, 2004, the United States and Mexico signed a Social Security totalization agreement, the effects of which depend on the yet to be disclosed language of the agreement. A totalization agreement coordinates the payment of Social Security taxes and benefits for workers who divide their careers between two countries. The agreement has not been transmitted to Congress for review, which is required under law before the agreement can go into effect. This report does not attempt to estimate t… more
Date: July 29, 2005
Creator: Siskin, Alison & Mayer, Gerald
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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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: July 20, 2009
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: July 28, 2009
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Homeland Security: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Border Surveillance

Description: Congress has expressed a great deal of interest in using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to surveil the United States' international land border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) utilizes advanced technology to augment its USBP agents' ability to patrol the border, including a fleet of six UAVs. This report examines the strengths and limitations of deploying UAVs along the borders and related issues for Congress.
Date: July 8, 2010
Creator: Haddal, Chad C. & Gertler, Jeremiah
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Immigration Fees and Adjudication Costs: Proposed Adjustments and Historical Context

Description: This report discusses the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's (USCIS) newly proposed fee schedule for immigration services. Issues for Congress to consider might include how USCIS fees have been computed and justified; whether anticipated revenue from revised fees will cover agency costs; how fiscal shortfalls might be funded; and what impact higher fees might have on the applicant pool.
Date: July 16, 2010
Creator: Kandel, William A. & 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: July 30, 2010
Creator: Haddal, Chad C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Family-Based Immigration Policy

Description: Report that provides background information and discussion related to immigration issues.
Date: July 11, 2013
Creator: Kandel, William A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Guest Workers: Legislative Activity in the 113th Congress

Description: This report discusses the foreign temporary workers, also known as guest workers, that have long performed legal agricultural labor in the United States through different temporary worker programs.
Date: July 23, 2013
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unaccompanied Alien Children: Potential Factors Contributing to Recent Immigration

Description: This report begins by describing the recent surge in unaccompanied child apprehensions. It discusses several factors widely associated with out-migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The report then discusses three broad factors that may be attracting migrants to the United States: economic and educational opportunity, family reunification, and U.S. immigration policies. It concludes with caveats on the attribution of causes to this situation.
Date: July 3, 2014
Creator: Kandel, William A.; Bruno, Andorra; Meyer, Peter J.; Seelke, Clare Ribando; Taft-Morales, Maureen & 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: July 18, 2014
Creator: Manuel, Kate M. & Garcia, Michael John
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 … more
Date: July 28, 2014
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa; Siskin, Alison & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Asylum Policies for Unaccompanied Children Compared with Expedited Removal Policies for Unauthorized Adults: In Brief

Description: This report focuses on unaccompanied alien children as asylum seekers. To bring clarity to the unique policies toward unaccompanied children, this report compares their treatment to that of unauthorized adults and families with children in the specific contexts of asylum and expedited removal.
Date: July 30, 2014
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
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: July 1, 2015
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa; Ester, Karma & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State and Local "Sanctuary" Policies Limiting Participation in Immigration Enforcement

Description: This report discusses legal issues related to state and local measures that limit law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The report begins by providing a brief overview of the constitutional principles informing the relationship between federal immigration authorities and state and local jurisdictions, including the federal government's power to preempt state and local activities under the Supremacy Clause, and the Tenth Amendment's proscription against Congress direc… more
Date: July 10, 2015
Creator: Garcia, Michael J. & Manuel, Kate M.
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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Sanctuary Jurisdictions and Criminal Aliens: In Brief

Description: This report examines the interplay between the federal government -- i.e., Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) -- and state and local jurisdictions in enforcing immigration law, with a specific focus on noncitizens who have been convicted of a crime. It briefly outlines the evolution of the cooperation among law enforcement agencies, then discusses current administrative efforts to involve state and local law enforcement, and explores major programs and federal resources available to thos… more
Date: July 24, 2015
Creator: Kandel, William A. & Seghetti, Lisa
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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Numerical Limits on Permanent 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 lawful permanent residents (LPRs). It continues with a statistical analysis of the pending caseload of approved employment-based LPR petitions and concludes with a set of legislative options to revise per-country ceilings that are meant to serve as springboards for further discussions.
Date: July 28, 2016
Creator: Argueta, Carla N.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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