Immigration 101

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

Recent Features

Why Don’t Immigrants Apply for Citizenship?

There is no line available for undocumented immigrants and the “regular channels” do not include them.

READ MORE

Fact Sheet
Temporary Protected Status: An Overview

This fact sheet provides an overview of how Temporary Protected Status designations are made, what benefits TPS confers, and how TPS beneficiaries apply for and regularly renew their status.

READ MORE

How the United States Immigration System Works

U.S. immigration law is very complex. Here's basic information about how the U.S. legal immigration system is designed.

READ MORE

All Immigration 101 Content

  • Blog

Will a Questionnaire Catch a Terrorist? Donald Trump’s “Extreme Vetting” Plan

August 23, 2016

One of Donald Trump’s more recent, outrageous ideas having to do with immigration is to conduct what he calls “extreme vetting” of prospective immigrants to the United States. The basic idea is to...

  • Blog

Donald Trump’s Shortsighted Immigration Plans Won’t Secure the Homeland

August 16, 2016

As any serious national security expert will tell you, trying to find a potential terrorist by treating all immigrants or Muslims as security risks is far too vague to be effective. Accurate...

  • Blog

Lincoln v. Trump on Immigration

August 2, 2016

Although much has been written about how the party of Abraham Lincoln became the party of Donald Trump, one additional area where these two men parted ways is immigration. The world of today is...

  • Blog

Democratic National Convention Highlights the Need for Immigration Reform

July 29, 2016

Hillary Rodham Clinton accepted the nomination to serve as the Democratic Party’s pick for President Thursday night in Philadelphia, making her the first woman to ever top a mayor party ticket....

  • Blog

Texas Ends Attempt to Deny Birth Certificates to Children of Immigrants

July 26, 2016

More than a year ago, Texas county officials began to require that foreign passports presented by parents seeking to obtain their child’s birth certificate include a valid U.S. visa. The state...

  • Blog

How the Democratic Party Platform Addresses Immigration

July 25, 2016

In contrast to the Republican Party Platform on immigration released last week, which was generally negative on immigration and lacked any practical ideas for reforming U.S. immigration, the...

  • Blog

Tim Kaine’s Views on Immigration Policy

July 22, 2016

Democratic Presidential Candidate, Hillary Clinton has named Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia as her Vice-Presidential running mate. A look into Tim Kaine’s past positions on immigration reveal that...

  • Blog

Donald Trump’s Losing View on Immigration Policy

July 22, 2016

Historically, America has done well when everyone works together towards common goals that pool our collective strengths. We have built a great nation, and much of our success continues to derive...

  • Blog

Republican Party Platform Shows Little Understanding of Immigration Policy

July 19, 2016

The immigration component of the 2016 Republican Party Platform is deeply flawed. The document reflects a fundamental lack of understanding not only of how the U.S. immigration system works, but...

  • Blog

Tracking Hillary Clinton’s Promises on Immigration Reform

July 15, 2016

By 2050, minorities will become the majority in the United States. This is the first point Hillary Clinton made while speaking before the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in...

  • Blog

5 Ways to Prevent the Next Migrant Caravan

October 23, 2018

Just two weeks ahead of the midterm elections, much attention is being placed on a migrant caravan of Central Americans making their way north through Mexico. Now reported to include more than 7,...

  • Blog

The Proposed Changes to Public Charge: What You Need to Know

September 24, 2018

Over the weekend, the Trump administration took steps to radically transform a little-known provision of immigration law that could have an outsized impact on legal immigration. In proposed...

  • Blog

This Citizenship Day Marred by Government’s Focus on Stripping People of Their Citizenship

September 17, 2018

Each year on September 17, America marks Citizenship Day, an annual opportunity to reflect on the benefits and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship. In years past, it was used as a day to...

  • Blog

Rural Communities Get Boost From Growing Immigrant Population

September 12, 2018

In rural communities throughout the United States, immigration has been a demographic lifeline that offsets—at least in part—the dwindling number of native-born Americans. In fact, as a report...

  • Practice Advisories

Motions for a Continuance

Publication Date: 
September 10, 2018
This Practice Advisory provides a practitioner-focused overview of motions to continue a case in removal proceedings, from the basics of making the motion to advanced issues of jurisdictional bars to appellate review of continuances.
  • Blog

John McCain’s Legacy on Immigration

August 28, 2018

The United States Senate and Republican Party lost one of their biggest champions for bipartisan immigration reform and most vocal critics of President Trump’s immigration policies when Senator...

  • Blog

USCIS’ Wait Times for Citizenship Have Doubled

August 20, 2018

The average wait time on a U.S. citizenship application was about five months in 2014. Today, the average time a green card holder will wait for their citizenship application to be processed by U....

  • Blog

White House Residents Directly Benefit from America’s Generous Immigration System

August 14, 2018

America’s generosity is reflected in our immigration system. Throughout our nation’s history (with some shameful exceptions), we have allowed individuals to come to the United States to reunite...

  • Blog

How Long Does It Take USCIS to Issue a Green Card?

July 24, 2018

How long does it take to process an application for permanent residence in the United States, or a “green card?” You might be surprised by how difficult it is to find a reliable answer to this...

  • Fact Sheet

How USCIS Estimates Application and Petition Processing Times

Publication Date: 
July 18, 2018
This fact sheet provides an overview of how USCIS calculates processing times and the concerns over the accuracy of these estimates.

Most Read

  • Publications
  • Blog Posts
  • Past:
  • Trending