Congressional Research Service Reports - 47 Matching Results

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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: December 31, 2014
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State Challenges to Federal Enforcement of Immigration Law: Historical Precedents and Pending Litigation

Description: This report provides an overview of prior and pending challenges by states to federal officials' alleged failure to enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) or other provisions of immigration law. It begins by discussing the lawsuits filed by six states in the mid-1990s; Arizona's counterclaims to the federal government's suit to enjoin enforcement of S.B. 1070; and Mississippi's challenge to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. It then describes the challenge … more
Date: December 31, 2014
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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 that touch on the main elements of comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). Most policymakers agree that the main issues in CIR include increased border security and immigration enforcement, improved employment eligibility verification, revision of legal immigration, and options to address the millions of unauthorized aliens residing in the country. The report offers snapshots of time series data, using the most complete and consistent t… more
Date: December 17, 2014
Creator: Kandel, William A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Obama Administration's November 2014 Immigration Initiatives: Questions and Answers

Description: On November 20, 2014, President Obama delivered a televised address wherein he broadly described the steps that his administration is taking to "fix" what he has repeatedly described as a "broken immigration system."1 Following the President's address, executive agencies made available intra-agency memoranda and fact sheets detailing specific actions that have already been taken, or will be taken in the future.2 These actions generally involve either border security, the current unlawfully pres… more
Date: November 24, 2014
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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. In doing so, it outlines a brief history of U.S. family-based immigration 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 petitioner… more
Date: November 19, 2014
Creator: Kandel, William A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Executive Discretion as to Immigration: Legal Overview

Description: This report provides an overview of the three broad types of discretion that the Executive can be seen to have as to immigration: (1) express delegations of discretionary authority; (2) discretion in enforcement (commonly known as prosecutorial or enforcement discretion); and (3) discretion in interpreting and applying statutes.
Date: November 10, 2014
Creator: Manuel, Kate M. & Garcia, Michael John
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 113th Congress

Description: Immigration reform was an active legislative issue in the first session of the 113th Congress. The Senate passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744), a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes provisions on border security, interior enforcement, employment eligibility verification and worksite enforcement, legalization of unauthorized aliens, immigrant visas, nonimmigrant visas, and humanitarian admissions. For its part, the House too… more
Date: November 4, 2014
Creator: Bruno, Andorra; Bjelopera, Jerome P.; Garcia, Michael John; Kandel, William A.; Lee, Margaret Mikyung; Siskin, Alison et al.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border Security: Immigration Inspections at Ports of Entry

Description: This report reviews the legislative history of immigration inspections requirements and the entry-exit system. The report then describes the implementation of these provisions, including pre-travel screening, primary and secondary inspections, trusted traveler programs, outbound enforcement, and the entry-exit system. The final section of the report identifies a number of issues for Congress related to immigration admissions and enforcement at POEs.
Date: October 31, 2014
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Home Is Where They Have To Take You In: Right to Entry For U.S. Citizens

Description: This legal sidebar discusses the Congressional interest to revoke passports of U.S. citizens who have gone abroad to fight for foreign terrorist groups. This issue derived from the concern about preventing such persons from returning to conduct terrorist activities in the U.S.
Date: October 16, 2014
Creator: Lee, Margaret Mikyung
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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 deta… more
Date: October 6, 2014
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report discusses the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) June 15, 2012 announcement that certain individuals who were brought to the United States as children and meet other criteria would be considered for relief from removal for two years, subject to renewal, under an initiative known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
Date: September 30, 2014
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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 (TAN… more
Date: September 24, 2014
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unaccompanied Alien Children: Demographics in Brief

Description: This report discusses children coming to the United States who are not accompanied by parents or legal guardians and who lack proper immigration documents has raised complex and competing sets of humanitarian concerns and immigration control issues. This report focuses on the demographics of unaccompanied alien children while they are in removal proceedings.
Date: September 24, 2014
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen & Morris, Austin
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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 illega… more
Date: September 22, 2014
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Asylum and Gang Violence: Legal Overview

Description: This report discusses the basis for asylum in International and U.S. Law. The recent increase in the number of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) apprehended at the border between Mexico and the United States has raised questions about the role that gang-related violence in Central America may play in determining whether such children are eligible for refugee status and asylum.
Date: September 5, 2014
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Special Immigrant Juveniles: In Brief

Description: This report provides a brief explanation of the statutory basis of special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) status and how it has evolved. It also presents statistics on the number of children who have applied for and received SIJ status since FY2005. The report concludes with a discussion of the applicability of SIJ status for unaccompanied alien children.
Date: August 29, 2014
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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