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

  • Research and Analysis

More Than a Temporary Fix: The Role of Permanent Immigration in Comprehensive Reform

Publication Date: 
January 1, 2006
The immigration debate once again is dominated by narrow thinking and the search for simplistic solutions to complex problems. Most lawmakers and the press have come to equate “immigration reform”...
  • Research and Analysis

A Lifeline to Renewal: The Demographic Impact of Immigration at State and Local Levels

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2005
Immigrant numbers should be taken in the context of native population growth or decline to better understand the impact of immigration.
  • Fact Sheet

From Refugees to Americans: Thirty Years of Vietnamese Immigration to the United States

Publication Date: 
June 1, 2005
Thirty years after the fall of the Saigon government, Vietnamese Americans celebrate the fact that they have moved far beyond their refugee origins and become successful economic and political...
  • Fact Sheet

Ties that Bind: Immigration Reform Should be Tailored to Families, Not Just Individuals

Publication Date: 
May 1, 2005
Given the extent to which undocumented immigrants already living in the United States are part of U.S.-based families, comprehensive immigration reform must include more than just a new temporary...
  • Special Report

Diversity and Transformation: African Americans and African Immigration to the United States

Publication Date: 
March 1, 2005
Successive generations of African immigration have continuously transformed the African American community and the sociopolitical climate of the United States.
  • Research and Analysis

Remembering December 17: Repeal of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act

Publication Date: 
December 1, 2004
December 17 marks the anniversary of the 1943 repeal by Congress of the Chinese Exclusion Act of May 6, 1882. With only a few exceptions, this law barred any Chinese from immigrating to the United...
  • Fact Sheet

Power and Potential: The Growing Electoral Clout of New Citizens

Publication Date: 
October 1, 2004
Immigrants – and groups in which immigrants are a large percentage of the population, such as Latinos and Asian/Pacific Islanders (APIs) – are a growing portion of the U.S. electorate. In a closely...
  • Special Report

The McCarran-Walter Act: A Contradictory Legacy on Race, Quotas, and Ideology

Publication Date: 
June 1, 2004
The McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 ended the blanket exclusion of immigrants based on race and created the foundation for current immigration law, but imposed a racialized immigration quota system and...
  • Research and Analysis

"Eating Bitterness": The Impact of Asian-Pacific Migration on U.S. Immigration Policy

Publication Date: 
May 1, 2004
Asian-Pacific migration to the United States has had a positive impact on immigration and refugee law by contributing to the demise of exclusion acts against non-whites and of the nationality-based...
  • Research and Analysis

The Lessons of 9/11: A Failure of Intelligence, Not Immigration Law

Publication Date: 
December 1, 2003
In the hours following the deadly terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States government took the extraordinary step of sealing U.S. borders to traffic and trade by grounding all...

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