North America

Immigrants, Welfare Reform and the Coming Reauthorization Vote

With reauthorization due by September 2002, the U.S. Senate favored restoring noncitizen welfare benefits cut in 1996, while the House and White House proposed no restorations.

Immigration and Security Post-Sept. 11

Post-9/11 U.S. security measures targeting noncitizens—including mass detention, secret hearings, and registration—sparked a major civil liberties debate.

Bush Proposal Lumps INS into Homeland Security Dept.

President George W. Bush proposed merging the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) into a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in June 2002.

Converging Realities of the U.S.-Mexico Relationship

U.S.-Mexico migration talks stalled after September 11; a grand bargain on regularization, a guest worker program, and border security remained the framework for resumption.

Authority of State and Local Officers to Arrest Aliens Suspected of Civil Infractions of Federal Immigration Law

Reconcilable Differences? An Evaluation of Current INS Restructuring Proposals

Fixing the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) requires more than reorganization—it demands a single, independent agency with clear authority and unified policy.

Competing Futures: The Children of America's Newest Immigrants

One in five U.S. children has an immigrant parent; a study of 5,262 teens and their parents finds stronger school retention than among the native born.

Gov't Mulls Revamping INS, Shortening Visas

In spring 2002, the U.S. Congress debated replacing the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), proposed shortening tourist visas to 30 days, and President George W. Bush signed a new border security law.

Immigrant Women in the United States in 2000

In 2000, immigrant women in the United States tended to be older and more likely to be citizens than foreign-born men, but had higher poverty rates and lower labor force participation.

New Estimates of the Undocumented Population in the United States

The 2000 U.S. Census pushed estimates of the unauthorized population in the United States to 8.5 million.