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The H-2B Visa and the Statutory Cap: In Brief

Description: This report discusses H-2B visas for temporary non-agricultural workers and the statutory cap on the number issued each year along with recent extensions of the cap number due to high-demand from U.S. employers.
Date: April 17, 2018
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Temporary Protected Status: Overview and Current Issues

Description: This report discusses Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and the current countries with the status. The ongoing debate regarding whether TPS recipients should receive a pathway to legal permanent residency is also discussed. The report concludes with examples of activity in the 115th Congress related to TPS.
Date: January 17, 2018
Creator: Wilson, Jill H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Would it Violate Equal Protection to Prohibit Naturalized "Dreamers: from Sponsoring Their Parents for Immigrant Visas?

Description: This report discusses the question of whether "Dreamers" who were given a pathway to citizenship and became naturalized citizens could sponsor their parents for immigration visas in the same way any other U.S. citizen could. Case law and various considerations which could affect such a decision are discussed.
Date: February 12, 2018
Creator: Harrington, Ben
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

District Court Enjoins DACA Phase-out: Explanation and Takeaways

Description: This report is an update of a previous report regarding DACA's phase-out and discusses court injunctions preventing the the phase-out of DACA benefits for those already enrolled and a decision by a Maryland federal court which prevents the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using personal information found in DACA applications for law enforcement purposes except by permission of the court in uses needed for national security, public safety, or the public interest.
Date: March 7, 2018
Creator: Smith, Hillel R. & Harrington, Ben
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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District Court Decision May Help Pave the Way for Trump Administration's Border Wall Plans

Description: This report discusses the U.S. District for the Southern District of California's recent decision in a case brought by the State of California against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding DHS's right to waive environmental and other administrative laws for border fence building projects. The court agreed with other court rulings on the issue and affirmed DHS's right to waive the laws.
Date: April 2, 2018
Creator: Vann, Adam
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Can Aliens in Immigration Proceedings Be Detained Indefinitely?: High Court Rules on Statutory, but not Constitutional Authority

Description: This report discusses the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of "Jennings vs. Rodriguez" which dealt with whether immigrant aliens could be detained indefinitely. The court ruled that the aliens could be held indefinitely without a bond hearing under statutory law but left the constitutionality of the action open for future interpretation.
Date: April 3, 2018
Creator: Smith, Hillel R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration Consequences of Criminal Activity

Description: This report identifies the major criminal grounds that may bar an alien from being admitted into the United States or render an alien within the country removable. The report also discusses additional immigration consequences of criminal activity, including those that make an alien ineligible for certain relief from removal, including cancellation of removal, voluntary departure, withholding of removal, and asylum. The report also addresses the criminal grounds that render an alien ineligible t… more
Date: April 5, 2018
Creator: Peck, Sarah Herman & Smith, Hillel R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Overview of "Travel Ban" Litigation and Recent Developments

Description: This report provides an overview of the series of executive actions (the first two taking the form of executive orders, and the third issued as a presidential proclamation) commonly referred to as the "Travel Ban," which restrict the entry of specified categories of non-U.S. nationals (aliens) into the United States, and the litigation related to those executive actions. It also addresses a fourth and more recent executive action--an executive order issued on October 24, 2017--which announced t… more
Date: January 18, 2018
Creator: Smith, Hillel R. & Harrington, Ben
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Application of the "One Central Reason: Standard in Asylum and Withholding of Removal Cases

Description: This report discusses asylum and withholding of removal immigration cases, and the application of the "one central reason" rule which dictates that asylum claimants demonstrate that an approved persecution grounds is one of the central reason they are claiming asylum. The same standard has been used in withholding of removal claim cases but a recent ruling by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court stated that the "one central reason" rule does not apply to withholding of removal cases creating a split in… more
Date: December 18, 2017
Creator: Smith, Hillel R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Government's Plenary Immigration Power Collides with the Constitutional Right to an Abortion (Part 1)

Description: This report is the first in a two-part series discussing "Garza v. Hargan", a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit involving a detained unaccompanied alien minor and the right to terminate a pregnancy. The facts of the case and a discussion of the court's decision and whether the Health and Human Services Department policy regarding abortions unduly burdens a woman's right to an abortion is discussed.
Date: November 27, 2017
Creator: Smith, Hillel R. & Shimabukuro, Jon O.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Refugee Admissions and Resettlement Policy

Description: This report discusses the refugee admissions process and refugee number caps for the 2018 fiscal year. For FY2018, the worldwide refugee ceiling is 45,000. The FY2018 regional allocations are, as follows: Africa (19,000), East Asia (5,000), Europe and Central Asia (2,000), Latin America/Caribbean (1,500), and Near East/South Asia (17,500). Refugee admissions in FY2017 totaled 53,716.
Date: November 7, 2017
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Temporary Protected Status: Overview and Current Issues

Description: This report discusses Temporary Protected Status (TPS) which is offered to nationals of designated countries who due to civil unrest, natural disasters, and armed conflicts cannot safely return home. This report begins by situating TPS in the context of humanitarian responses to migration. Another form of blanket relief from removal--Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)--is also described, as is the historical use of these relief mechanisms. The report then provides data on the countries currently… more
Date: November 2, 2017
Creator: Wilson, Jill H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Update: What Constitutes "Sexual Abuse of a Minor" For Immigration Purposes

Description: This report provides an update of an earlier report from April 6, 2017, providing the final decision by the Supreme Court in the case of "Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions". The case concerned the question of whether an immigrant alien who was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor where the minor was under 18 but at least 16 (in this case statutory rape in California between a 21 year old male and a 17 year female) was removable for an aggravated felony under immigration law. The Supreme Court ruled… more
Date: June 7, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

Description: This report discuses the Diversity Immigrant Visa program (DV) which is a lottery system that makes 50,000 visas available annually to immigrants from countries who had sent less than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the last five years. Eligibility, the application and admission process, statistics on places of origin, and legislative proposals are discussed.
Date: November 9, 2017
Creator: Wilson, Jill H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

A Primer on U.S. Immigration Policy

Description: This report provides a broad overview of U.S. immigration policy. The first section addresses policies governing how foreign nationals enter the United States either to reside permanently or to stay temporarily. Related topics within this section include visa issuance and security, forms of quasi-legal status, and naturalization. The second section discusses enforcement policies both for excluding foreign nationals from admission into the United States, as well as for detaining and removing tho… more
Date: November 14, 2017
Creator: Kandel, William A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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H-2A and H-2B Temporary Worker Visas: Policy and Related Issues

Description: 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.
Date: May 10, 2017
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Federal Government's Plenary Immigration Power Collides with the Constitutional Right to an Abortion (Part 2)

Description: This report is the secondt in a two-part series discussing "Garza v. Hargan", a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit involving a detained unaccompanied alien minor and the right to terminate a pregnancy. Debate among judges regarding the right of an unaccompanied alien minor to have an abortion when the minor was detained at the border and technically never formally entered the United States are discussed.
Date: November 27, 2017
Creator: Smith, Hillel R. & Shimabukuro, Jon O.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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