Illegal Immigration & Interior Enforcement
Recent Activity
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.
An estimated 10.3 million unauthorized migrants were living in the U.S. in 2004. Jennifer Van Hook, Frank Bean, and Jeff Passell report on who they are, where they live, the work they do, and their levels of education and poverty.
Spain’s latest regularization program, unlike in the past, is part of a more comprehensive approach to combating illegal immigration and employment. Joaquín Arango of Complutense University of Madrid and Maia Jachimowicz outline the program and provide some preliminary results.
The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act made the knowing hiring or employment of unauthorized immigrants illegal in the U.S.. But as Peter Brownell of the University of California Berkeley details, the government has not devoted many resources to enforcing this provision.
In the most recent session of Congress, four legislative proposals addressing unauthorized immigration and general immigration reform have been introduced. MPI's Eliot Turner and Marc R. Rosenblum compare their provisions for enforcement, employer sanctions, legalization, and guest worker programs.
Virtually no country is untouched by or immune to the effects of unauthorized migration. MPI President Demetrios G. Papademetriou analyzes global estimates, causes of such flows, approaches to control, and the connection to terrorism.
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.