Congressional Research Service Reports - 45 Matching Results
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- Central American Asylum Seekers: Impact of 1996 Immigration Law
- This report discuses issues related to the significant portion of the Central Americans affected by the IIRIRA revisions still have asylum cases pending and may obtain legal permanent residence by that avenue if they demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution. The Attorney General also has the discretionary authority to grant blanket relief from deportation, but the discretionary forms of relief do not entail legal permanent residence. There is considerable interest in this issue in the 105th Congress, and the Senate passed by a vote of 99 to 1 an amendment to provide relief for certain Central Americans to the D.C. appropriations bill (S.1156).
- Refugee Assistance in the Foreign Aid Bill: Problems and Prospects
- The United States is the largest national contributor to international humanitarian assistance programs for refugees. Traditionally, we contribute to refugee appeals both because of our wish to alleviate the suffering of innocent victims and out of concern that refugee flows can lead to instability in countries or regions important to U.S. foreign policy interests.
- Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation
- 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 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: A Guide to Internet Sources
- This report provides a guide to Internet Sources the Immigration. This report identifies selected WWW sites from the internet about immigration topics in the United States.
- Immigration: Visa Entry/Exit Control System
- Section 110 of the IllegalImmigrationReformand ImmigrantResponsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA; Division C of P.L. 104-208) mandates the development of an automated entry/exit control system to create a record for every alien departing from the United States and match it with the record for the alien arriving at the United States. Section 110 also requires that this system identify nonimmigrants who overstay the terms of their admission through online computer searching. The FY1999 Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 105-277) amends Section 110 to extend the original implementation deadline of September 30, 1998, to March 31, 2001, for land border and seaports of entry, but leaves the end of FY1998 deadline in place for airports of entry. Further, P.L. 105- 277 includes a clause directing that the entry/exit control system must “not significantly disrupt trade, tourism, or other legitimate cross-border traffic at land border ports of entry.”
- Mexico-United States Dialogue on Migration and Border Issues, 2001-2005
- This report focuses on the interactions between Mexico and the United States on migration and border issues during the administrations of President George W. Bush and President Vicente Fox of Mexico. The discussions and agreements fall into four areas: (1) the bilateral migration talks, (2) the Partnership for Prosperity, (3) the Border Partnership Agreement, and (4) the trilateral “Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America
- Social Security: Alien Beneficiaries
- Mounting concern about the payment of social security Benefits to aliens living abroad resulted in the enactment of legislation this year adding new restrictions on the payment of benefits to certain aliens, P.L. 98-21.
- Refugee Act Reauthorization: Admissions and Resettlement Issues
- The authorization for Federal refugee resettlement assistance provided by the Refugee Act of 1980 expires Sept. 30, 1983. The 97th Congress had extended this assistance authority for one year only pending a more thorough review of the entire Refugee Act including its admissions provisions. Admissions issues that have been of interest to Congress include the role of Congress and the executive branch in establishing annual numerical limits on refugee admissions, and the interpretation of the definition of a refugee. A new block grant refugee assistance program proposed by the Reagan The administration was addressed in hearings on the reauthorization of resettlement assistance; other continuing concerns are refugee dependency on cash assistance and the geographic distribution of refugees in the United states.
- 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 of Foreign Nationals with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Degrees
- Report regarding renewed Congressional interest in facilitating the immigration of foreign professional workers in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields.
- Border Security: The Role of the U.S. Border Patrol
- 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 by terrorists along the sparsely defended Northern border as well as the more porous Southwest border.
- Executive Discretion as to Immigration: Legal Overview
- 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.
- U.S. Family-Based Immigration Policy
- 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 petitioners waiting for an immigrant visa. It closes by discussing selected policy issues.
- Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 113th Congress
- 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 took a different approach to immigration reform. Rather than considering a single comprehensive bill, the House acted on a set of immigration bills that address border security, interior enforcement, employment eligibility verification and worksite enforcement, and nonimmigrant and immigrant visas. House committees reported or ordered to be reported the following immigration bills: Border Security Results Act of 2013 (H.R. 1417); Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement (SAFE) Act (H.R. 2278); Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 1772); Agricultural Guestworker (AG) Act (H.R. 1773); and Supplying Knowledge-based Immigrants and Lifting Levels of STEM Visas (SKILLS Visa) Act (H.R. 2131). This report discusses these and other immigration-related issues that received legislative action or have been of significant congressional interest in the 113th Congress.
- The Obama Administration's November 2014 Immigration Initiatives: Questions and Answers
- 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 present population, or future legal immigration. This report provides the answers to key legal questions related to the various immigration-related actions announced by the Obama Administration.
- Qualifications for President and the "Natural Born" Citizenship Eligibility Requirement
- This report discusses the history of the qualifications clause in the Federal Convention of 1787, the Common Law meaning of the term "Natural Born" citizen or subject, and common understanding in 18th Century of the term "Natural Born" citizen.
- 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: Visa Security Policies
- This report opens with an overview of visa issuance policy. It then explains the key provisions that guide the documentary requirements and approval/disapproval process. Visa revocation, a reoccurring issue of concern to Congress, and the visa security program are discussed as well.
- Syrian Refugee Admissions and Resettlement in the United States: In Brief
- To assist Congress in addressing issues related to Syrian refugees and U.S. refugee policy generally, this report details the U.S. refugee admissions process and the placement and resettlement of arriving refugees in the United States.
- President Obama's $1 Billion Foreign Aid Request for Central America
- This report discusses the Obama Administration's recent request for over $1 billion in foreign assistance in FY2016 to support a whole-of-government "U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America."
- Fifth Circuit Declines to Lift Injunction Barring Implementation of the Obama Administration's 2014 Deferred Action Programs
- This legal sidebar discusses a decision by the Fifth Circuit in which they declined to lift an injunction barring the implementation of the Obama administration's 2014 deferred action programs. Additionally, the decision argued that the expansions are impermissible because they conflict with certain provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
- Can States and Localities Bar the Resettlement of Syrian Refugees Within Their Jurisdictions?
- This legal sidebar discusses an intention to restrict the resettlement of Syrian refugees within individual states and states' authority in the refugee resettlement process, which may take action to forestall or prevent such resettlement.
- The Obama Administration's Announced Immigration Initiative: A Primer
- This report discusses the immigration initiative announced by Obama administration that could enable a substantial portion of the unlawfully-present alien population to obtain temporary relief from removal and work authorization.
- The Obama Administration's November 20, 2014, Actions as to Immigration: Pending Legal Challenges One Year Later
- This legal sidebar discusses the Obama Administration announcement regarding a number of actions to "fix" what the President has repeatedly described as a "broken" immigration system.
- Farm Labor Shortages and Immigration Policy
- This report mainly provides information about the Farm Labor Shortages and Immigration Policy.
- Detention of Noncitizens in the United States
- No Description Available.
- Alien Eligibility for Public Assistance
- This report discusses how The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 has affected alien (illegal immigrants and nonimmigrants in the country) eligibility for federal, state, and local government assistance.
- Generalized System of Preferences: Agricultural Imports
- This is a report on the generalized system of preferences in agricultural imports.
- Central American Asylum Seekers: Impact of 1996 Immigration Law
- This report has five sections which include an overview of the asylum and cancellation of removal procedures, three sections describing the situations of the Nicaraguans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans, and finally a section discussing legislative issues.
- Immigration: Visa Entry/Exit Control System
- This report provides background and analysis on Section 110 and issues related to increasing arrival/departure management at air, land border, and sea ports of entry.
- Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 109th Congress
- Report detailing issues and legislative concerns regarding immigration during the 109th Congress, with a focus on security concerns.
- Immigration-Related Provisions of the ”International Religious Freedom Act” (p. l. 105-292)
- Report on the International Religious Freedom Act and how it affects asylum-based immigration, including training, guidelines, studies of expedited removal, and the exclusion of religious persecutors.
- Immigration-Related Welfare Provisions in 105th Congress Legislation
- Report on immigration-related welfare issues, including statistics, restrictions, past acts, and more.
- Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 113th Congress
- Report detailing issues and legislative concerns regarding immigration during the 113th Congress, with a focus on comprehensive reform.
- Temporary Protected Status: Current Immigration Policy and Issues
- This report discusses Temporary Protected Status and other forms of blanket relief offered by the United States to aliens who are fleeing and unable to return to dangerous situations abroad.
- Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 110th Congress
- Report detailing issues and legislative concerns regarding immigration during the 110th Congress, with a focus on comprehensive reform.
- The Federal Government's Plenary Immigration Power Collides with the Constitutional Right to an Abortion (Part 1)
- 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.
- Refugee Admissions and Resettlement Policy
- 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.
- Temporary Protected Status: Overview and Current Issues
- 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 designated for TPS, including the conditions that have contributed to their designation. Past legislation to provide lawful permanent resident status to certain TPS-designated foreign nationals is also described, and the report concludes with examples of activity in the 115th Congress related to TPS.
- Diversity Immigrant Visa Program
- 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.
- A Primer on U.S. Immigration Policy
- 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 those who enter the country unlawfully or who enter lawfully but subsequently commit crimes that make them deportable. The section also covers worksite enforcement and immigration fraud. The third section addresses policies for unauthorized aliens residing in the United States.
- The Federal Government's Plenary Immigration Power Collides with the Constitutional Right to an Abortion (Part 2)
- 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.
- District Court Temporarily Blocks Implementation of Asylum Restrictions on Unlawful Entrants at the Southern Border
- This report discusses the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) barring the Trump Administration from implementing new asylum restrictions. The asylum restrictions were prompted by reports of a "migrant caravan" traveling through Mexico to the southern border of the United States.
- The Venezuela Regional Migration Crisis
- This report discusses the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Venezuela, which has elevated congressional concerns about the country. Venezuela remains in a deep political and economic crisis under the authoritarian rule of President Nicolás Maduro.
- Immigration: "Recalcitrant" Countries and the Use of Visa Sanctions to Encourage Cooperation with Alien Removals
- This report discusses the use of visa sanctions by the Trump Administration, past uses of visa sanctions, and alternatives to visa sanctions to encourage countries to comply with repatriation of their citizens.