Congressional Research Service Reports - 37 Matching Results
Search Results
- Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 111th Congress
- The 111th Congress has considered various immigration issues and has enacted a number of targeted immigration provisions. It has passed legislation to extend the life of several immigration programs--the E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification system, the Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, the Conrad State J-1 Waiver Program, and the special immigrant visa for religious workers--all of which are currently authorized until September 30, 2012. Among the other subjects of legislation enacted by this Congress are refugees and border security. This report discusses these and other immigration-related issues that have seen legislative action or are of significant congressional interest.
- Immigration Legislation Issues in the 109th Congress
- While immigration reform proposals remain pending, Congress has enacted limited provisions on temporary and permanent employment-based immigration as part of P.L. 109-13. It also has enacted legislation concerning alien victims of domestic violence, trafficking in persons, and refugees. This report discusses these and other immigration-related issues that have seen legislative action or are of significant congressional interest. DHS appropriations and immigration legislation related to Hurricane Katrina are covered in other products and are not discussed here. The final section of the report lists enacted legislation and selected bills receiving action.
- Immigration Detainers: Legal Issues
- Report that provides background information regarding the Immigration and Naturalization Service rules and regulations and discusses the "immigration detainer", a document by which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) advises other law enforcement agencies that it seeks custody of individual aliens whom these agencies are detaining.
- State Efforts to Deter Unauthorized Aliens: Legal Analysis of Arizona's S.B. 1070
- This report discusses the major provisions of S.B.1070, as modified by H.B. 2162, and the legal and constitutional considerations possibly implicated by their implementation. The report focuses primarily on those provisions that require state enforcement of federal immigration law and impose criminal penalties for immigration-related conduct, and discusses preemption issues that might be raised by these measures.
- Immigration Detainers: Legal Issues
- An "immigration detainer" is a document by which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) advises other law enforcement agencies of its interest in individual aliens whom these agencies are detaining. This report surveys the various authorities governing immigration detainers, including the standard detainer form (Form I-247) sent by ICE to other law enforcement agencies. The report also discusses key legal issues raised by immigration detainers.
- U.S. Immigration Policy: Development and Major Issues
- This report outlines the development of United States immigration law and policy, and discusses issues of interest to Congress as shown in legislation that was pending at the time of this document's creation.
- Immigration Policy on Expedited Removal of Aliens
- This report discusses immigration policy and expedited removal, an immigration enforcement strategy originally conceived to operate at the borders and ports of entry, recently has been expanded in certain border regions.
- Treatment of Noncitizens Under the Affordable Care Act
- This report provides information regarding the treatment of noncitizens under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) including definitions of "lawfully present," the health insurance mandate, exchanges, and ACA changes to Medicaid. It also discusses the verification of alien status under the ACA and related legislation in the 113th Congress.
- 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.
- A Resurgence of Unaccompanied Alien Children?
- 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.
- Unaccompanied Alien Children: An Overview
- 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.
- Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry
- 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. The following sections summarize appropriations and resources dedicated to border enforcement, indicators of enforcement outcomes, metrics for estimating unauthorized migration flows, and possible secondary and unintended consequences of border enforcement. The report concludes by reviewing the overall costs and benefits of the current approach to migration control and raising additional questions that may help guide the discussion of these issues in the future.,5/
- Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation
- This report addresses policies on immigration visa issuances, options to reassign this function to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that were considered prior to passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296), and other policies options that may arise in the 108th Congress. 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 visa issuance policy functions to homeland security and concludes with a discussion of the legislative proposals to reassign the visa issuance activities and to revise visa issuance policies.
- 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 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 determine admissibility and to identify possible terrorists, both during the visa issuance process abroad and the inspections process at U.S. ports of entry.
- State and Local Restrictions on Employing, Renting Property to, or Providing Services for Unauthorized Aliens: Legal Issues and Recent Judicial Developments
- This report discusses the constitutional issues raised in relation to state and local laws intended to deter the presence of unauthorized aliens, along with the implications that federal civil rights statutes might have on the implementation and enforcement of measures restricting such persons' ability to obtain employment, housing, or other state and local benefits or services.
- People Crossing Borders: An Analysis of U.S. Border Protection Policies
- This report provides an overview of the current border protection framework and its operationally oriented strategic elements and measures their effectiveness. The report draws on documents from Congress and the Administration, as well as other publications, to pull together an overarching picture of protection at the border. This overview includes a historical background and a definition of what "border protection" means in a contemporary context. Building on this definition, the report provides two theoretical models for border protection approaches based on unilateral and cooperative approaches, followed by an extended analysis of the major elements within the current border protection framework. This analysis also includes discussions of how and why, certain strategic elements notwithstanding, many of the current border-related security policies focus on the physical border rather than conceptualizing the border in broader terms. Lastly, this report offers some policy options--both short-term and long-term--for addressing the effectiveness of current border protection policies.
- Immigration: A Guide to Internet Sources
- This report identifies selected World Wide Web (WWW) sites from the Internet on immigration topics in the United States. Selected government, legal, and organizational Web site addresses are provided.
- Unauthorized Aliens in the United States: Policy Discussion
- This report discusses the unauthorized immigrant (illegal alien) population in the United States, which is a key and controversial immigration issue.
- Unauthorized Aliens in the United States: Policy Discussion
- This report discusses the unauthorized immigrant (illegal alien) population in the United States, which is a key and controversial immigration issue.
- Immigration Related Border Security Legislation in the 109th Congress
- This report is organized to reflect the main border security issues relating to the movement of people into the country, as indicated by the legislation currently pending in the 109th Congress.
- Immigration: S Visas for Criminal and Terrorist Informants
- This report discusses the legislation making permanent a provision that allows aliens with critical information on criminal or terrorist organizations to come into the United States to provide information to law enforcement officials.
- 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.
- Foreign Investor Visas: Policies and Issues
- 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.
- H-2A and H-2B Temporary Worker Visas: Policy and Related Issues
- This report covers the H-2A agricultural guest worker program and the H-2B nonagricultural guest worker program. It explores the statutory and regulatory provisions that govern each program, focusing in particular on the much-debated labor certification process. It discusses past and present legislative efforts to reform the H-2A and H-2B programs and to create new guest worker visas, and identifies and analyzes key policy considerations to help inform future congressional action.
- Immigration: Legislative Issues on Nonimmigrant Professional Specialty (H-1B) Workers
- This report discusses the latest legislative developments regarding immigration policy for professional workers. It provides analysis for H-1B admissions and legislative issues in the 110th Congress.
- Visa Security Policy: Roles of the Departments of State and Homeland Security
- This report discusses the visa security and visa policy questions, debated in the 112th 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.
- Apprehensions of Unauthorized Migrants along the Southwest Border: Fact Sheet
- This report discusses the number of illegal alien apprehensions between southern ports of entry (POE) in the United States, which has generally declined.
- Remittances: Background and Issues for Congress
- 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.
- Alien Smuggling: Recent Legislative Developments
- This report discusses issues surrounding aliens within the United States including an overview of currently-proscribed activities, exemptions, sentencing provisions, and proposed legislative changes.
- Expedited Citizenship through Military Service
- This report discusses current law and policy regarding naturalization based on military service, controversy over deportation of veterans, and current legislative proposals.
- Immigration-Related Worksite Enforcement: Performance Measures
- The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is responsible for immigration-related worksite enforcement, or enforcement of the prohibitions on unauthorized employment in Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA §274A provisions, sometimes referred to as employer sanctions, make it unlawful for an employer to knowingly hire, recruit or refer for a fee, or continue to employ an alien who is not authorized to be so employed. This report looks at enforcement measures of this act.
- The Federal Protective Service and Contract Security Guards: A Statutory History and Current Status
- This report describes the Federal Protective Service (FPS) in brief as well as legislative actions currently being discussed in the 111th Congress that could affect FPS in the future.
- State and Local Restrictions on Employing Unauthorized Aliens
- This report discusses state and local restrictions upon employing unauthorized aliens in light of the May 26, 2011, decision by the Supreme Court in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. Whiting.
- Immigration of Foreign Nationals with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Degrees
- Congress is renewing its interest in facilitating the immigration of foreign professional workers in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields. The STEM workforce is seen by many as a catalyst of U.S. global economic competitiveness and is likewise considered a key element of the legislative options aimed at stimulating economic growth. "STEM visa" is a shorthand for an expedited immigration avenue that enables foreign nationals with graduate degrees in STEM fields to adjust their immigration status to legal permanent residence (LPR) without waiting in the queue of numerically-limited LPR visas.
- Foreign Students in the United States: Policies and Legislation
- This report examines various issues pertaining to foreign students in the United States. Since the Immigration Act of 1924, the United States has expressly permitted foreign students to study in U.S. institutions. Most foreign students are at least 18 years old and are enrolled in higher education programs. Foreign students are generally considered to enrich cultural diversity of the educational experience for U.S. residents as well as enhance the reputation of U.S. universities as world-class institutions. Concerns have arisen in recent years that have caused Congress to take a new look at the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provisions that govern their admission.
- Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
- This report discusses the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA, P.L. 103-322) that congress passed in 1994. This legislation created new programs within the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services that aimed to both reduce domestic violence and improve response to and recovery from domestic violence incidents.
- Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers: Protective Statutes
- This report is a summary and a survey, spelling out the considerations that Congress found were necessary to face. It begins in the 1960s with the advent of FLCRA, and proceeds through the enactment of MSPA and to the end of the century. But, it is also a summary of developments in the history of the two statutes, written from the perspective of a labor economist. It may, from time to time, be revised as new developments occur.