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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.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Numerical Limits on Employment-Based Immigration: Analysis of the Per-Country Ceilings

Description: The report opens with brief explanations of the employment-based preference categories and the per-country ceilings governing annual admissions of LPRs. The focus is on the major employment-based preference categories. The report continues with a statistical analysis of the pending caseload of approved employment-based LPR petitions.
Date: December 6, 2011
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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9/11 Commission: Current Legislative Proposals for U.S. Immigration Law and Policy

Description: This report briefly discusses some of the major immigration areas under consideration in comprehensive reform proposals suggested by the 9/11 Commission, including asylum, biometric tracking systems, border security, document security, exclusion, immigration enforcement, and visa issuances. It refers to other CRS reports that discuss these issues in depth and will be updated as needed.
Date: December 6, 2004
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration: S Visas for Criminal and Terrorist Informants

Description: 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 … more
Date: December 3, 2001
Creator: Ester, Karma
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unauthorized Alien Students: Issues and "DREAM Act" Legislation

Description: In recent years, multiple bills have been introduced in Congress to provide relief to unauthorized alien students. In most cases, these bills have proposed to repeal the 1996 provision and enable certain unauthorized alien students to adjust to legal permanent resident (LPR) status in the United States. These bills have often been entitled the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or the DREAM Act. This report discusses the background and debate surrounding "Dream Act" legisl… more
Date: December 14, 2010
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unauthorized Alien Students: Issues and "DREAM Act" Legislation

Description: Supporters of comprehensive immigration reform have urged the President and Congress to pursue reform legislation. While legislative action on comprehensive reform does not appear likely during the remainder of the 111th Congress, there may be an effort to enact a measure, commonly referred to as the "DREAM Act," to enable certain unauthorized alien students to legalize their status. This report discusses the DREAM act and related issues.
Date: December 1, 2010
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration Issues and Legislation in the 98th Congress

Description: This report discusses Immigration reform, which continues to be of concern in the '96th Congress, and legislation has been moving quickly. Specific issues include illegal immigration, temporary workers, legalization, asylum adjudications, and legal immigration. The legislation under consideration is the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1983, popularly referred to as the Simpson-Mazzoli bill, introduced in the House and Senate on Feb, 17, 1983 as H.R. 1510 and S. 529.
Date: December 2, 1983
Creator: Vialet, Joyce
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration Policy on Expedited Removal of Aliens

Description: 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.
Date: December 9, 2005
Creator: Siskin, Alison & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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A Brief History of U.S. Immigration Policy

Description: U.S. immigration policy has been shaped not only by the perceived needs of this country, but by the needs and aspirations of the immigrants themselves. This report reviews the major streams of immigration to the United States in the context of the country's changing views of immigration.
Date: December 22, 1980
Creator: Vialet, Joyce
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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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
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation

Description: 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 issu… more
Date: December 7, 2004
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Public Assistance: Policy Overview

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: December 12, 2016
Creator: Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Public Assistance: Policy Overview and Trends

Description: 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 (TANF) block grant programs, and Medicaid. It is organized into four main parts: an overview of existing eligibility law for the four programs and the policies that preceded the 1996 act; an overview of related immigrant policies affecting eligibility (speci… more
Date: December 14, 2010
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Immigration Policy on Permanent Admissions

Description: This report discusses the four major principles underlie current U.S. policy on permanent immigration: the reunification of families, the admission of immigrants with needed skills, the protection of refugees, and the diversity of admissions by country of origin. Against competing priorities for increased immigration are those who offer options to scale back immigration levels, with options ranging from limiting family-based legal permanent residents to the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens … more
Date: December 20, 2010
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State and Local Restrictions on Employing, Renting Property to, or Providing Services for Unauthorized Aliens: Legal Issues and Recent Judicial Developments

Description: This report discusses the constitutional issues raised by state and local laws intended to deter the presence of unauthorized aliens by limiting their access to housing, employment, and public benefits, as well as the implications that federal civil rights statutes might have for the implementation and enforcement of these laws. It also discusses recent federal court cases addressing the constitutionality of such measures.
Date: December 20, 2010
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.; Feder, Jody & Smith, Alison M.
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.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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