Legislation

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A Guide to S.744: Understanding the 2013 Senate Immigration Bill

This guide to provide policymakers, the media, and the public with an easy-to-understand guide to the main components of S. 744 and the purpose behind them.

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A Comparison of the DREAM Act and Other Proposals for Undocumented Youth

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act's main provision provides permanent resident status to young undocumented immigrants. It however, has not yet been passed by Congress and become law.

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  • Blog

House Passes Visa Waiver Program Bill that Excludes Nationals of Syria, Iraq, Iran and Sudan

December 9, 2015

While Congress may be backing away from targeting the refugee resettlement program in reaction to recent terrorist attacks, lawmakers appear to have found a new target: the Visa Waiver Program (...

  • Blog

Efforts to Pass Anti-Refugee Legislation Slows

December 7, 2015

In the days after the Paris attacks, fear took hold of many across the United States, and some politicians proposed shutting our doors to refugees, particularly those from Syria and Iraq. This...

  • Blog

Will the Immigration Court Backlog Finally Go Down?

December 3, 2015

Although our nation’s immigration courts currently have record backlogs, there may be some help on the way. That was the message from Juan Osuna, Director of the Executive Office of Immigration...

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Congress Continues its Knee-Jerk Reaction to Paris Attacks

November 19, 2015

Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4038, the “American Safe Act of 2015” by a vote of 289 to 137, with 47 Democrats and all but two Republicans supporting the bill. This comes less...

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Congress Passes a Budget, But a Government Shutdown is Still Possible

November 3, 2015

Last week Congress passed and on Monday the President signed a two year bipartisan budget agreement that also raised the debt ceiling through March 2017. The two year budget sets federal spending...

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Why Congress Should Eliminate the Term “Alien” from Federal Law

October 27, 2015

Last week, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) introduced legislation to remove derogatory language describing noncitizens as “aliens” from federal law. The bill, known as the Correcting Hurtful...

  • Blog

Complexity of Central American Migration Explored at Senate Hearing

October 22, 2015

This week, the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held yet another hearing to examine the causes and implications of the high rate of migration from Central America,...

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Senate to Vote on “Sanctuary Cities” Legislation

October 19, 2015

The Senate will vote Tuesday on whether to begin debate on Senator David Vitter’s (R-LA) “Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act” (S. 2146). The bill is an enforcement-only approach to...

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Fifty Years Later, the Immigration Act That Transformed America

October 5, 2015

Fifty years ago this past Saturday, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) into law. This Act is best known for having dismantled an earlier immigrant...

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Congress Narrowly Avoids Shutdown, Reauthorizes Key Immigration Programs

October 1, 2015

Just hours before the federal government was set to shut down on Wednesday, Congress passed a continuing resolution, a stop-gap measure which continues funding the government at current levels and...

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How Many Dreamers May See a Promising New Reality?

July 25, 2017

With the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program now at risk of being terminated by the courts or the administration, pressure is building on Congress to pass legislation which...

  • Blog

Dream Act of 2017 Introduced With Bipartisanship in the Senate

July 20, 2017

The bipartisan Dream Act of 2017 was just introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) in the U.S. Senate. The bill provides legal status, as well as a path to...

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House Committee Funds Administration’s Super-Sized Immigration Enforcement

July 19, 2017

In the first week of his presidency, through executive orders, the president laid out harsh proposals for immigration enforcement and border security. However, much of what the president proposes...

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Two Anti-Immigrant Bills Attacking Sanctuary Cities and Criminalizing Immigrants Passed by the House

June 30, 2017

The House of Representatives passed two harsh immigration enforcement bills this week, both of which had the adamant backing of President Trump. The anti-immigrant bills, which passed largely...

  • Blog

Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan Is Passed by the House Judiciary Committee

May 26, 2017

For the third time in five years the House Judiciary Committee has passed a draconian interior enforcement immigration bill out of committee on a party line vote. Immigration advocates and...

  • Blog

How California Is Helping Protect Immigrants From Trump’s Aggressive Immigration Enforcement

May 19, 2017

California is once again taking a lead on protecting and integrating its immigrant communities and standing up to the enforcement policies of the Trump administration. The state’s governor and...

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This Notorious Anti-Immigration Policy Architect Will Lead the U.S. Voting Commission

May 15, 2017

President Trump signed an executive order last week calling for an investigation into alleged voter fraud in the American electoral system, in another attempt to give credence to his continuous,...

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Tracking the Trump Immigration Agenda and What Comes Next

May 5, 2017

What can the first 100 days of the Trump administration tell us about how immigration will be handled in the next 100 days and beyond? Since his inauguration, President Trump has prioritized...

  • Blog

Congressional Efforts to Repeal Immigration Executive Orders

February 6, 2017

Since President Donald Trump announced his immigration executive orders last month on border security, interior enforcement, halting all refugee admissions  and banning nationals from seven Muslim...

  • Blog

President Obama’s Change to Cuban Migration Policy, Explained

January 13, 2017

On January 12, the White House announced the end of the “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy towards Cuban migrants. Effective immediately, Cubans who attempt to enter the U.S. unauthorized will be treated...

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