U.S. Immigration Policy Program
Recent Activity
This report provides an overview of United States border enforcement throughout the 20th century, highlights how it has changed since the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act nearly two decades ago, and further examines its unprecedented expansion in the aftermath of 9/11. The author concludes with a set of policy questions.
This report explores the successes and failures of various attempts to create an employment verification system that reliably establishes an employee’s eligibility to work since the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986. Through this analysis, the author evaluates the effectiveness and potential contributions of the current system and seeks to inform proposals for future initiatives.
This brief provides a historical overview of various attempts at implementing workplace enforcement in the United States before arguing in favor of a process not unlike credit-card verification that allows employers to swipe a card at the point of hire and receive a response in real time from the Social Security Administration informing them whether an employee is authorized to work in the United States.
This report examines the sweeping changes in the way identity documents are issued and used under the REAL ID Act, an effort to enhance the security of identity documents in post-9/11 America. It takes a detailed look at how this legislation will affect document issuing agencies, state budgets, and the employment verification system, in addition to immigrants and citizens.
This report closely examines the rapid growth of government appropriations directly targeted to immigration enforcement activities since the passage of the Immigration Control and Reform Act of 1986 (IRCA). Focusing primarily on data between 1985 and 2002, authors highlight trends in the overall immigration enforcement spending as well as in specific activities.
This fact sheet is an overview of U.S. immigration based on Fiscal Year 2004 data released by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics in 2005.
This policy brief examines and reflects upon lessons learned from the last major attempt to resolve the problem of illegal immigration under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Arguing that stable reform will require three “E”’s— enforcing immigration laws effectively, expanding visas, and earning legal status —it also offers recommendations for immigration policymaking and management.
This report offers a comprehensive analysis of post-September 11 reforms to the United States’ visa system, examines what these policy changes in policy and procedures entail, and discusses how well they advance the stated goals of the U.S. visa program.
The U.S.-Mexico Border Problem Will Not Be “Solved” Until All Parts of the Border Enforcement System Are Properly Resourced
The $13.6 billion border emergency supplemental spending bill the Biden administration is seeking lays out the elements for resourcing immigration functions to full capacity across the entire border enforcement system. Without resourcing the system across all its parts, including adjudications and management, no administration, present or future, will be able to effectively manage spontaneous border arrivals, this commentary argues.
Continue reading