Congressional Research Service Reports - 64 Matching Results

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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. Updated January 14, 2005.
Border Security: Inspections Practices, Policies, and Issues: This report provides information about the Border Security Inspections Practices, Policies, and Issues.
Immigration: S Visas for Criminal and Terrorist Informants: In response to the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, Congress passed legislation making permanent a provision that allows aliens with critical information on criminal or terrorist organizations to come into the United States in order to provide information to law enforcement officials. This legislation (S. 1424) became P.L. 107-45 on October 1, 2001. The law amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide permanent authority for the administration of the “S” visa, which was scheduled to expire on September 13, 2001. On November 29, 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the “Responsible Cooperators Program” to reach out to persons who may be eligible for the S visa. Up to 200 criminal informants and 50 terrorist informants may be admitted annually. Since FY1995, almost 900 informants and their accompanying family members have entered on S visas. This report will not be regularly updated.
Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation: This report 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. It includes a discussion of visa screening policies, including inadmissibility, databases, an analysis of visa refusals, biometric visas and other major visa policy procedures. Summaries of key laws revising visa policy enacted in the 107th Congress follows. The final section analyzes selected issues in the 108th Congress, notably the 9/11 Commission recommendations, visa revocation and removal, new technologies, potential impact on business, and other security concerns.
The Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR): This report introduces the adverse effect wage rate (AEWR) and the concerns out of which it grew, from the perspective of labor policy (not of immigration policy). American agricultural employers have long utilized foreign workers on a temporary basis, regarding them as an important manpower resource. Often employed at low wages and under adverse conditions, such alien workers, some argue, may compete unfairly with U.S. workers. To mitigate any "adverse effect" for the domestic workforce, a system of wage floors was developed that applies, variously, both to alien and citizen workers.
Fruits, Vegetables, and Other Specialty Crops: A Primer on Government Programs: U.S. farmers grow more than 250 types of fruit, vegetable, tree nut, flower, ornamental nursery, and turfgrass crops in addition to the major bulk commodity crops. Although specialty crops are ineligible for the federal commodity price and income support programs, they are eligible for other types of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) support, such as crop insurance, disaster assistance, and, under certain conditions, ad hoc market loss assistance payments. This report describes the federal programs of importance to the specialty crop sector, and provides the most recent funding information available for them.
Immigration: Analysis of the Major Provisions of H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act of 2005: This report describes relevant current law relating to immigration and document-security matters, how H.R. 418 would alter current law if enacted, and the degree to which the bill duplicates existing law.
Homeland Security: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Border Surveillance: This report examines the strengths and limitations of deploying UAVs along the borders and related issues for Congress
Immigration: Analysis of the Major Provisions of H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act of 2005: The 109th Congress is considering several issues carried over from the 108th Congress related to immigration enforcement and identification-document security. This report analyzes the major provisions of House-passed H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act of 2005. It describes relevant current law relating to immigration and document-security matters, how House-passed H.R. 418 would alter current law if enacted, and the degree to which the bill duplicates existing law.
Mexico-United States Dialogue on Migration and Border Issues, 2001-2005: No Description Available.
U.S. Immigration Policy on Asylum Seekers: This report analyzes the processes that aliens must go through to apply for asylum in the United States. It offers a historical overview of legislation concerning immigration as well as an overview of current asylum policy. The report also provides trends on immigration, such as the amount of asylum requests and source countries. Finally, it addresses issues that many have with U.S. asylum law, such as terrorist infiltration, coordination with border and transportation security and numerical limits.
Farm Labor Shortages and Immigration Policy: This report mainly provides information about the Farm Labor Shortages and Immigration Policy.
Mexico-United States Dialogue on Migration and Border Issues, 2001-2005: No Description Available.
Border Security: Immigration Issues in the 108th Congress: This report provides background information on the main immigration-related border security issues that have been raised as a result of the terrorist attacks and resulting concern for homeland security. It describes enacted legislation in the 107th Congress as well as in previous Congresses that focus on immigration-related border security issues. The report also poses possible immigration-related border security issues the 108th Congress may consider.
Border Security: Fences Along the U.S. International Border: This report is on Border Security: Fences Along the U.S. International Border.
Immigration: Terrorist Grounds for Exclusion of Aliens: "This report opens with an overview of the grounds for inadmissibility and summarizes key legislation enacted in recent years" (p. i).
Consular Identification Cards: Domestic and Foreign Policy Implications, the Mexican Case, and Related Legislation: The debate about consular identification cards in the United States has centered around the matrícula consular, the consular identification card issued by Mexican consulates to Mexican citizens in the United States. In May 2003, the Treasury Department issued regulations allowing acceptance of the cards as proof of identity for the purpose of opening a bank account, and the cards are accepted for other purposes as well, including issuance of drivers’ licenses.
Border and Transportation Security: Overview of Congressional Issues: This report provides overview on Border and Transportation Security.
Alien Legalization and Adjustment of Status: A Primer: This report is a primer that briefly describes the main avenues for foreign nationals living in the United State (legally or illegally) to become LPRs (Legal Permanent Residents).
Farm Labor: The Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR): American agricultural employers have long utilized foreign workers on a temporary basis, regarding them as an important labor resource. At the same time, the relatively low wages and adverse working conditions of such workers have caused them to be viewed as a threat to domestic American workers. Some have argued that foreign guest workers compete unfairly with U.S. workers — both in terms of compensation that they are willing to accept and by making it somewhat more difficult for domestic workers to organize and to bargain with management. To mitigate any “adverse effect”for the domestic workforce, a system of wage floors was developed that applies, variously, both to alien and citizen workers: i.e., the adverse effect wage rate (AEWR). This report deals with one element of immigration (i.e., namely the H-2A workers). It introduces the adverse effect wage rate, it examines the concerns out of which it grew, and it explains at least some of the problems that have been encountered in giving it effect.
Homeland Security Department: FY2006 Appropriations: The annual consideration of appropriations bills by Congress is a part of a complex set of budget processes that also encompasses the consideration of budget resolutions, revenue and debt-limit legislation, other spending measures, and reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Homeland Security.
Immigration: Policy Considerations Related to Guest Worker Programs: No Description Available.
Immigration: Legislative Issues on Nonimmigrant Professional Specialty (H-1B) Workers: This report provides an overview of the legislative issues on nonimmigrant professional specialty workers on immigration.
Immigration: Terrorist Grounds for Exclusion and Removal of Aliens: "This report opens with an overview of the grounds for inadmissibility and summarizes key legislation enacted in recent years" (p. i).
Immigration: Terrorist Grounds for Exclusion of Aliens: This report opens with an overview of the grounds for inadmissibility and summarizes key legislation enacted in recent years. The section on current law explains the legal definitions of "terrorist activity," "terrorist organization," and other security-related grounds for inadmissibility and analyzes the legal implications of these provisions. The report then discusses the alien screening process to identify possible terrorists during the visa issuance process abroad and the inspections process at U.S. ports of entry. Where relevant, the report also discusses how recently enacted legislation affects these matters.
U.S. Immigration Policy on Asylum Seekers: The United States has long held to the principle that it will not return a foreign national to a country where his life or freedom would be threatened. This principle is embodied in several provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), most notably in provisions defining refugees and asylees. Aliens seeking asylum must demonstrate a well-founded fear that if returned home, they will be persecuted based upon one of five characteristics: race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Border Security: Fences Along the U.S. International Border: This report is on Border Security: Fences Along the U.S. International Border.
Immigration: Analysis of the Major Provisions of H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act of 2005: No Description Available.
Border Security: The Role of the U.S. Border Patrol: This report includes some issues for Congress to consider which could include the slow rate of integration between the USBP’s 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.
Social Security Benefits for Noncitizens: Current Policy and Legislation: No Description Available.
Protecting Our Perimeter: “Border Searches” under the Fourth Amendment: This report is on Protecting Our Perimeter: “Border Searches” under the Fourth Amendment.
Immigration: Analysis of the Major Provisions of the REAL ID Act of 2005: During the 108th Congress, a number of proposals related to immigration and identification-document security were introduced, some of which were considered in the context of implementing recommendations made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission) and enacted pursuant to the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458). At the time that the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act was adopted, some congressional leaders reportedly agreed to revisit certain immigration and document-security issues in the 109th Congress that had been dropped from the final version of the act.
Consular Identification Cards: Domestic and Foreign Policy Implications, the Mexican Case, and Related Legislation: The debate about consular identification cards in the United States has centered around the matrícula consular, the consular identification card issued by Mexican consulates to Mexican citizens in the United States. In May 2003, the Treasury Department issued regulations allowing acceptance of the cards as proof of identity for the purpose of opening a bank account, and the cards are accepted for other purposes as well, including issuance of drivers’ licenses.
PROVIDED BY The leading immigration Immigration: Terrorist Grounds for Exclusion of Aliens: This report provides overview for terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and summarizes key legislation that has been enacted. The report also provides legal definitions of "terrorist activity", "engage in terrorist activity" and "terrorist organization."
Immigration: Policy Considerations Related to Guest Worker Programs: This report provides an overview of the policy considerations related to guest worker programs on immigration.
Mexico-United States Dialogue on Migration and Border Issues, 2001-2005: This report, which will be updated periodically, 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.”
Homeland Security Department: FY2006 Appropriations: The annual consideration of appropriations bills by Congress is a part of a complex set of budget processes that also encompasses the consideration of budget resolutions, revenue and debt-limit legislation, other spending measures, and reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Homeland Security.
Unauthorized Employment of Aliens: Basics of Employer Sanctions: No Description Available.
Immigration Consequences of Criminal Activity: Congress has broad plenary authority to determine classes of aliens who maybe admitted into the United States and the grounds for which they may be removed. Pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended, certain conduct may either disqualify an alien from entering the United States (“inadmissibility”) or provide grounds for his or her removal/deportation. Prominently included among this conduct is criminal activity. “Criminal activity” comprises acts violative of federal, state, or, in many cases, foreign criminal law. It does not cover violations of the INA that are not crimes, most notably, being in the U.S. without legal permission. Thus, the term “illegal alien” — an alien without legal status — is not synonymous with “criminal alien.”
Immigration Issues in Trade Agreements: No Description Available.
Immigration Issues in Trade Agreements: The connections between trade and migration areas longstanding as the historic movements of goods and people. The desire for commerce may often be the principal motivation, but they need to send people to facilitate the transactions soon follows. Recognition of this phenomenon is incorporated into the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which includes provisions for aliens who are entering the The United States solely as “treaty traders” and “treaty investors.” Although the United States has not created a common market for the movement of labor with our trading partners, there are immigration provisions in existing free trade agreements (FTAs) that spell out reciprocal terms regulating the “temporary entry of business persons.”
Mexican Workers in the United States: A Comparison with Workers from Social Security Totalization Countries: 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 the potential cost of a totalization agreement with Mexico or reach a conclusion on the effects of such an agreement on U.S. workers and employers. Instead, this report explores one of the issues concerning such an agreement.
Border Security: Fences Along the U.S. International Border: This report outlines the issues involved with the Department of Homeland Security's(DHS) completion of a three-tiered, 14-mile fence, along the border near San Diego, California.
Private Immigration Legislation: No Description Available.
Federal Civil Rights Statutes: A Primer: This report provides information about a primer on Federal Civil Rights Statutes. it also provides a brief summary of selected civil rights statutes, including the civil rights acts, the equal pay act, etc.
Immigration: International Child Adoption: This report examines the process by which American citizens adopt children from other countries, including the procedure for securing a visa so that the newly adopted child can immigrate to the United States.
Summary of State Laws on the Issuance of Driver's Licenses: No Description Available.
Summary of State Laws on the Issuance of Driver's Licenses: Report on undocumented aliens' ability to acquire a driver's license and the relevant state laws.
U.S. Citizenship of Persons Born in the United States to Alien Parents: No Description Available.
Hurricane Katrina-Related Immigration Issues and Legislation: The devastation and displacement caused by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast region of the United States has very specific implications for foreign nationals who lived in the region. Whether the foreign national is a legal permanent resident (LPR), a nonimmigrant (e.g., temporary resident such a foreign student, intracompany transferee, or guest worker) or an unauthorized alien (i.e., illegal immigrant) is a significant additional factor in how federal laws and policies are applied. In this context, the key question is whether Congress should relax any of these laws pertaining to foreign nationals who are victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Congressional Research Service Reports - 64 Matching Results

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