This Week in Immigration - American Immigration Council

The United States faces a critical imperative: keeping some of the brightest minds in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in the country to secure our workforce advantage in these fields and fuel economic growth and global competitiveness.   The American Immigration Council, along with five other prominent organizations, recently sent a letter to the Student […]

The post Strengthening America’s Workforce of Immigrant STEM Workers by Expanding the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Naturalization is viewed by many as the end point of an immigrant’s journey—the finish line—and for good reason. The path to naturalization can take many years and requires immigrants to navigate a complicated, costly process and overcome multiple hurdles. But becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen brings significant benefits to individuals and families by eliminating the […]

The post Houston Celebrates Over 2,200 New Citizens in Historic Naturalization Ceremony appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Written by Andrea Solis Canto, 2024 Legal Intern Allegations of mistreatment of high-skilled Mexican workers have sparked several important class action lawsuits against large automotive and logistics companies located in the United States. These companies are facing legal challenges for labor abuse, fraud, and exploitation through the TN visa program—a program that lacks oversight and […]

The post Lawsuits Reveal Labor Abuses Faced by Some Migrant Workers on TN Visas appeared first on Immigration Impact.

As the country continues to dissect the ramifications from President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race, the attention has quickly shifted toward Vice President Kamala Harris. While she has not been confirmed as the nominee for the Democratic ticket, she has obtained commitments from most of the required delegates, received key […]

The post Kamala Harris Has an Opportunity to Reframe the Immigration Conversation as the Democratic Nominee for President appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Border crossings are at their lowest in four years. Is the Biden administration’s executive action working as intended—or is there another factor at play? Apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border spiked to a record 250,000 in December 2023, but they’ve been falling since then. Beginning in January 2024, a crackdown by Mexico with the goal of […]

The post Why Are Border Crossings at Their Lowest Level in Four Years? appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Some immigrants who have graduated from college in the United States and have a pending job offer will have an easier time receiving a temporary employment-based visa, thanks to recent changes from the Biden administration. This will include Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries and other college-educated noncitizens. The Department of State (DOS) updated […]

The post State Department Streamlines Temporary Visas for College-Educated Noncitizen Workers—But Questions Remain About Its Impact appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Written by Juan Avilez, Policy Associate for State and Local Initiatives and Raul Pinto, Deputy Legal Director  Texas’ SB4 set the tone for the national discourse around immigration enforcement. Since then, certain states have felt emboldened to create their own immigration enforcement regimes, like Iowa and Oklahoma, which enacted equally strict copycat bills. Other states […]

The post Do 287(g) Agreements with ICE Make Communities Safer? appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Supreme Court handed a momentous victory to supporters of deregulation on June 28 in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, discarding the long-standing doctrine known as Chevron deference. The decision will almost certainly lead to a sea-change in how federal agencies are able to do their work, with huge and likely devastating impacts on the […]

The post Immigrants May Benefit While Others Lose Out From the Supreme Court’s Decision Overruling Chevron appeared first on Immigration Impact.

By Robin Lundh, Research Manager and Karen Aho, Consultant A new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper confirms that immigration continues to benefit American workers. The study finds that recent increases in immigration to the United States correlate with more jobs and higher wages for U.S.-born workers. “Even when these two groups [immigrants and […]

The post Immigrants Do Not Displace US Workers or Reduce Wages appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Written by Juan Avilez, State and Local Policy Associate and Victoria Francis, Deputy Director of State and Local Initiatives  As we reach the mid-year point in 2024, most states have concluded their legislative sessions, and once again, immigrant-related policies have taken center stage. This year, legislatures advancing harmful policies targeting immigrant communities have stolen the […]

The post We’ve Tracked Over 700 Immigration Bills This Year. Here Are the Trends We’ve Seen. appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Almost one in every seven people in the United States is an immigrant, according to the American Immigration Council’s new analysis of the 2022 American Community Survey. The updated state-level data from the Council’s Map the Impact tool reveals how immigrants—including those who are undocumented—make crucial contributions through their work in vital industries, starting businesses, […]

The post Immigrants Are Key to Filling US Labor Shortages, New Data Finds appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Written by Raul Pinto & Laila Khan Approximately one year ago, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched Cash Electronic Bonds (CeBONDS), a web portal with the stated intent improving how people pay bonds to ICE to secure the release of a loved one from detention. One year in, it’s clear that while CeBONDS makes it […]

The post CeBONDS One Year After its Implementation appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In Department of State v. Munoz, the Supreme Court has chosen procedural concerns over the reality that errors by consular officers may bar U.S. citizens from residing in the United States with their noncitizen spouses. Consular nonreviewability is a judge-made doctrine. Courts have barred review of visa denials due to separation of powers concerns—that decisions […]

The post Supreme Court’s Munoz Decision Disregards Fundamental Interests of U.S. Citizens Married to Noncitizens appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Supreme Court made an about-face on June 14, holding that immigration judges may order noncitizens deported if they do not appear for their immigration hearings even if the government never provided them with a Notice to Appear (NTA) with the date and time of their immigration hearing. Under Campos-Chaves v. Garland, so long as […]

The post Supreme Court Allows Deportations Without Adequate Notice, Backtracking on Previous Rulings appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In 2022, more than one in five Florida residents were immigrants. In that same year, immigrants in Florida were over 14% more likely than their U.S.-born neighbors to be of working age, positioning them to actively participate in the labor force and economy. And they did just that—immigrants contributed $12.0 billion in state and local […]

The post Immigrant Workers Help Florida Thrive. Anti-Immigrant Policies Threaten That. appeared first on Immigration Impact.

On June 18, the Biden administration announced two major new policies which may help provide streamlined paths to legal status for certain long-time undocumented immigrants. The first policy will allow undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens who have been in the country to apply for “parole in place,” a protection against deportation which will also allow […]

The post Biden Announces Immigration Protections for Up to 550,000 Spouses and Children of US Citizens appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Stories of Us I sit By the windowsill Gazing outside. Down, on the street, so many heads, Each is unique. Amidst the traffic and frantic honking, I sense the presence of Millions of others, Just like me. I contemplate The journeys. Each of us— All of us have a story. When mothers and fathers Ventured […]

The post The 2024 ‘Celebrate America’ Creative Writing Contest Winner: Stories of Us appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The U.S. Border Patrol turned 100 years old on May 28. Its troubled origins and history form the backdrop for contemporary concerns about the agency, including impunity for abuses against migrants and citizens alike. The Border Patrol’s centennial provides an opportunity to shed light on the agency’s lack of accountability and to pursue a vision […]

The post Border Patrol’s 100th Anniversary Offers Chance to Look Back at Its Disturbing Origins appeared first on Immigration Impact.

According to a new report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, about 11.0 million undocumented immigrants were living in the United States in 2022—a 4.6% increase from 2020. This is still a 5.2% drop from the recent high of 11.6 million in 2010. The report from the Office of Homeland Security Statistics further found […]

The post Are More Undocumented Immigrants Living in the US Now? Here’s What the Numbers Say appeared first on Immigration Impact.

On June 4, President Biden issued a sweeping order under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act claiming that allows him to “suspend the entry” of most migrants who cross the border between ports of entry, echoing a similar order issued by President Trump in November 2018. Like the Trump action in 2018, Biden’s […]

The post Biden’s New Changes to the Asylum Process: What You Need to Know appeared first on Immigration Impact.