Immigration 101

The U.S. immigration system is complex and can be difficult to understand. These resources provide key data points, historical information, and background on hot topics in immigration. Learn the basics about immigration.

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.

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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.

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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.

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All Immigration 101 Content

  • Blog

“Sanctuary” Policies Protect Communities, Not Criminals

March 2, 2017

State by state “sanctuary” policies have received significant attention lately. Hundreds of communities across the nation have passed some version of a sanctuary policy and in doing so have made...

  • Blog

Understanding the Dangerous Implications of President Trump’s Immigration Executive Order

January 26, 2017

On January 25, President Trump signed a pair of immigration-related executive orders, one dealing with border security and the other with immigration enforcement in the interior of the country....

  • Blog

USCIS Changes How Processing Times Are Posted

January 6, 2017

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that beginning on January 4, 2017, it has changed how it posts processing times. Rather that listing weeks or months, it now...

  • Blog

DHS Secretary Nominee John Kelly’s Resume is Thin on Immigration

December 16, 2016

Earlier this month, President-elect Donald Trump selected retired General John Kelly to be his nominee for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). There is not much in the record...

  • Blog

Robots, Not Immigrants, Are Replacing U.S. Manufacturing Workers

December 15, 2016

There is significant evidence that immigrants boost the economy, create jobs, and bolster innovation. However, President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly stated he wants to “put American workers...

  • Blog

What Was the U.S. Government’s Last Experience With a Muslim Registry?

December 14, 2016

Along the campaign trail, then-candidate Donald Trump promised a special registry and database tracking system for Muslims in the United States. Although his spokesperson later claimed that he “...

  • Blog

New American Undergraduates Are Key to Growth

December 5, 2016

The U.S. Department of Education recently released new data on university undergraduates that underscores the key role immigrants and their children play in our economy. New American...

  • Blog

What the Immigration Restrictionists’ Agenda Will Look Like for the Next Four Years

December 2, 2016

One does not have to look hard to find what the restrictionists’ immigration agenda will look like for the next four years. The groups and individuals leading the charge are not shy about sharing...

  • Blog

Thanksgiving Dinner Conversations Could Be Tough, But Are More Important Than Ever This Year

November 22, 2016

Let’s be honest. This is not the Thanksgiving blog we thought I’d be writing this year.  But here we are. Most of us are still reeling from the surprise election results just a couple of weeks ago...

  • Blog

The Ideological Roots of Donald Trump’s Immigration Team

November 15, 2016

As President-Elect Donald Trump names his choices for key positions in his administration, it is clear that he intends to include quite a few people who subscribe to fringe, alt-right, racist...

  • Blog

Why the White House’s Measures to Curb Visa Overstays Are Inadequate

April 25, 2019

The White House issued a memo on Monday directing the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to provide recommendations to reduce visa overstays. The recommendations, which are expected within...

  • Blog

Closing USCIS International Offices Will Leave US Citizens, Military Members, and Refugees Abroad Without Help

April 18, 2019

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ international field offices provide critical services to Americans living abroad, as well as refugees and other immigrants. But in a supposed effort to...

  • Blog

How America’s Fluid Racial Identities Are Challenging the Assumption of a Declining White Majority

April 1, 2019

For years, politicians, the media, and social scientists have predicted a declining white-majority population in the United States and a not-too-distant future where minorities assume political...

  • Blog

Immigrants Are Regularly Kept Locked up for Months After Deportation Orders

March 27, 2019

When the U.S. government orders that an immigrant in its custody must be deported, the person isn’t supposed to remain incarcerated for long. Yet the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) often...

  • Blog

Making Sense of the Rising Number of Families Arriving at the Border

March 25, 2019

Over the past few months, a new trend has emerged at the U.S.-Mexico border: more families are crossing and presenting themselves to U.S. officials to ask for asylum. But even though the number of...

  • Blog

Immigration Groups Are Using This Tool to Expose Government Secrets

March 15, 2019

Many of the country’s top immigration agencies operate in secret. This lack of transparency in how immigration laws are implemented, administered, and enforced has the potential to devastate the...

  • Blog

Number of Undocumented Immigrants in US at a 25-Year Low

March 1, 2019

  Contrary to President Trump’s claim that “large-scale unlawful migration” across the southern border constitutes a “national emergency” that requires building a wall, research suggests that...

  • Blog

Immigrants Have More Faith in American Institutions Than the Native-Born

February 7, 2019

Despite the fact that immigrants living in and arriving in the United States today are not exactly receiving a warm welcome by key government institutions, a recent poll by the Cato Institute...

  • Blog

Trump’s State of the Union Speech Reflects a Fundamental Misunderstanding of Immigration

February 6, 2019

Speaking before Congress and the nation Tuesday evening, President Trump once again promised bipartisanship and instead delivered division. When it came to immigration, the president neither...

  • Blog

How Trump Can Use Immigration to Make the State of the Union Stronger

February 5, 2019

Immigration will undoubtedly be a central issue during President Trump’s State of the Union address. However, it’s unlikely that any of the proposals the president advances will move us closer to...

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