Immigration Enforcement: Beyond the Border and the Workplace
Border policing alone cannot stop unauthorized immigration—effective enforcement requires layered interior strategies covering visa tracking, worksite screening, and removal.
New immigration legislation must include changes to achieve effective and resolute enforcement of U.S. immigration law. Merely beefing up border policing (currently the most popular enforcement strategy) is insufficient. Over the last decade, the influx of unauthorized migrants has reached record levels even though border enforcement has greatly expanded, primarily because migrants know that getting past the border opens wide opportunities in the U.S. job market, owing to the near absence of enforcement there. The most important reform is therefore well-crafted workplace screening.
Because border and workplace enforcement have been addressed elsewhere, this policy brief offers suggestions for other key enforcement improvements that Congress and the executive branch should implement.
About the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America’s Future
This high-level, bipartisan task force developed a comprehensive post-9/11 blueprint to redesign the U.S. immigration system with flexibility, smart enforcement, and a robust integration policy.
About the U.S. Immigration Policy Program
The U.S. Immigration Policy Program provides analysis of U.S. immigration pathways, the impacts of enforcement and other policies, and the characteristics of immigrant populations.
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