Immigration

Thousands of immigrants want to start a life in the United States. Due to the multi-faceted impact of immigration on the economy, public safety, and government services, the U.S. has seen decades of debate around immigration policies, processes, and enforcement. 

This Policy Circle Brief will provide you with a firm foundation from which to launch conversations and understand the core issues of this ongoing and important debate about immigration. 

Key Terminology

A person migrates to a new place, they emigrate from their original country. To move to another country to live is to immigrate.

Asylum is protection given to noncitizens, usually for specific, proven reasons. An asylum seeker is an individual seeking international protection whose claim has not yet been finally decided on by the country in which he or she submitted it. Asylum seekers apply at a port of entry (POE) when they seek admission within one year of arriving in the U.S. (affirmative asylum) or if they are caught in the U.S. illegally (defensive asylum).

When an asylum seeker’s application for asylum is approved, he or she becomes a refugee. This means they have officially been deemed someone who has fled their country of origin and is unable or unwilling to return because of a well-founded fear of being persecuted. Refugees generally apply for admission from a “transition country” outside their home country. They are eligible to become lawful permanent residents one year after admission to the United States.

Green cards, also known as permanent resident cards, allow immigrants to live and work permanently in the United States. A holder can apply for citizenship after living in the U.S. for five years.

A visa is a travel document placed in a passport that allows a traveler to travel to a port of entry (such as an airport or land border crossing) and request permission to enter the country. It does not guarantee entry but indicates that an embassy or consulate has determined the traveler is eligible to seek entry. You can learn more about the different types of U.S. visas here.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security focused on enforcing U.S. immigration laws. The executive branch directs its investigations and operations.

When a migrant is taken into custody, even temporarily, it is classified as an apprehension. They must wait for the legal decision on whether they can remain in the country. Title 8 of the U.S. Code is the legal foundation for apprehensions.

Expulsion means the migrant is immediately sent to their home country or the last country they entered. They are not held in U.S. custody.  Title 42 of the U.S. Code allows expulsions. It was invoked during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic because it empowers federal health authorities to stop migration if it is determined that barring immigrants could prevent the spread of contagious diseases

Why It Matters

Undoubtedly, immigration will continue to be a crucial issue for the next U.S. presidential term, which begins in 2025. This is partially due to the record surge of encounters at the southwest border and increasing net immigration. As more people seek to come into the U.S., there is mounting pressure on the federal government to review and reform its immigration policies. The agencies responsible for processing immigration requests are backlogged, even as they add personnel. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates a net increase of one migrant every 28 seconds.

Ensuring timely legal immigration procedures should help to reduce illegal immigration.

The number of immigrants entering the United States, both legally and illegally, has increased significantly in recent years, although estimates vary between agencies.Since the early 1900s, policymakers have debated U.S. immigration policies, including how or whether to enforce existing laws. The debates are centered on how to best manage the process for legal immigration and how to manage illegal immigrants who are already here.  

Economics

Immigrants play an essential role in the economy and account for a substantial proportion of the U.S.’s labor force growth. The short- and long-term effects of immigrants, especially illegal immigrants, are still being studied and debated by economists.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, foreign-born workers comprised 18.6% of the civilian labor force in 2023, up from 15.3% in 2006. Around 22% of all entrepreneurs in the U.S. are immigrants, and immigrants founded some of the largest U.S. companies. Ensuring skilled immigrants can pursue their ventures in the U.S. is just as crucial as ensuring immigrants have access to the education and training needed to advance their careers. This way, they can fill necessary gaps in the U.S. labor force and contribute to the GDP by generating economic growth.

Society

Foreign-born residents present socially and politically both opportunities and challenges for local governments. Policymakers and citizens play a role in community planning to ensure that their communities are equal and unified despite demographic changes, particularly in urban areas with large populations of immigrants. Examples in Europe showcase the societal tensions that arise from mixing cultures.

Additionally, immigration is essential to the census because it drives population projections that help report the impact of immigration on the future size and age composition of the U.S. population. This information has implications for Congressional representation, as removing unauthorized immigrants would likely shift the state seat distribution in the House of Representatives.

Public Safety

Illicit Drugs

The U.S.-Mexico border extends 1,954 miles, spanning four states and about 26 land Ports of Entry (POEs).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations (OFO) together seized nearly 549,000 pounds of illicit drug substances nationwide in the fiscal year (FY) 2023. As of June 2024, they have seized 418,000 pounds. CBP must interdict illicit substances across this vast expanse, both between and at POEs.

Crime and Gang Activity

In 2023, there were more migrant border arrests than ever before, causing concern among Americans about public safety. Further, extensive media coverage on immigration has garnered significant attention in this 2024 election year. New York City Police Commissioner Caban recently claimed there is a “migrant crime wave.” NYC police officials announced a Bronx raid and listed a litany of crimes likely committed by migrants, including robberies by men on mopeds. The Federation for American Immigration Reform compiled examples of migrant crime here.

The CBP states that criminal convictions of illegal immigrants, including violent crimes, have seen a significant increase since 2020. Assault and battery convictions among noncitizens have risen by 502.8% from 2020 to 2023, and overall arrests of noncitizen offenders have jumped by 526.2% between 2020 and 2023. 

Yet, some contend that crime data does not support the crime wave comments, claiming it is fraught with delayed and inaccurate accountancy. Some studies show the migrant population is not more violent than U.S. citizens. This Stanford University study shows that migrants were imprisoned at lower rates than people born in the United States in 2023. In 2020, a University of Wisconsin-Madison study noted that undocumented immigrants in Texas tend to have fewer felony charges than Texas residents. Other analyses conducted at both the state and federal levels find that immigrants—including undocumented ones—are less crime-prone than native-born Americans.

However, states far from the southern border are reporting an uptick in what they label migraine-related crime. Montana has seen a 30% increase in “illegal apprehensions” in FY23 compared to the rest of the northern border. The unlawful border crossings are historically mostly Canadians, but 2023 was the first year that they were mainly Mexican nationals. Unauthorized migrants are arrested for a range of crimes in Montana, including human trafficking and drug smuggling.

National Security

With the increasing illegal crossings of U.S. borders, some citizens have become concerned about the intentions of those entering legally. For example, the number of asylum seekers from China has also been trending upward since February 2023, with more than 52,000 recorded encounters in FY23 and an additional 14,000 since the start of FY24. The U.S. is the largest destination for hopeful Chinese asylees, driven by a desire to escape Xi Jinping’s resistance against individual freedoms, including free speech, expression, and religious freedom. Similarly, there have been an increasing number of migrants from India following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mistreatment of Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  In FY23, Indian nationals made up nearly 42,000  encounters at the U.S. southern border, “an increase of 128%” from FY22.

With Europe tamping down on irregular migration, including through the recent passage of the E.U.’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, more refugees and migrants across the African continent are fleeing to Nicaragua and then trekking to the U.S. border on foot.

In a recent hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray confirmed that the nearly 1.8 million known “getaways,” which are noncitizens who evade capture at a U.S. Border, pose an urgent national security threat. According to Wray, a rising number of individuals on the Terrorist Watchlist are apprehended at the Southwest border. Terrorism task forces throughout the 56 FBI field offices are dealing with these border threats. 

According to ABC, an internal intelligence notice from the San Diego CBP officials warned that militants from the Israel-Hamas war are a potential threat to the southwest border. However, the CBP has stated that the agency has seen no indication that Hamas is sending militants to the U.S. border.

Human trafficking is another problem that threatens national security, border integrity, and human rights. This egregious crime is difficult to track due to its illicit nature but the national hotline has tracked over 10,000 cases involving over 17,000 victims. To learn more, see The Policy Circle’s Human Trafficking Brief.

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Putting it in Context

History

Immigration to the U.S. was low during the first half of the 19th century. Still, it slowly increased during the mid-and late-19th century due to European famines and the U.S. victory in the Mexican-American War. 

While the United States is known as a “nation of immigrants,” the welcoming attitude towards new immigrants has shifted among some citizens and even become exclusionary. The influx of German and Irish migrants led to a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, first with the Know Nothing Party in the mid-1850s. Primarily composed of Protestant citizens born in America, the Know-Nothings resisted the European Roman Catholics who were immigrating. 

In 1875, the Supreme Court declared that immigration was a federal, not a state-level, issue. Congress began to regulate immigration and pass legislation.

Tensions surrounding immigration were prevalent in legislation such as the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. This Act was the first major action by Congress and the only of its kind to stop immigration for a specific nationality. To manage the increasing numbers of immigrants, the Immigration Act of 1882 levied a tax of 50 cents on all immigrants landing at U.S. ports. Congress eventually created the Federal Immigration Service when it passed the Immigration Act of 1891.

Legislation

Restrictive immigration legislation during the 1920s included the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the National Origins Act of 1924, which placed caps on national immigration that favored Western Europeans and barred Asian immigrants altogether. The Great Depression in the 1930s and the two World Wars contributed significantly to a sharp drop in new arrivals. Most countries distrusted foreigners during this time and were unwilling to increase immigrant quotas, including for impoverished refugees. For example, read this story about Jewish refugees seeking asylum in 1939. 

Current immigration policies are rooted in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, signed by President Johnson. This act established a system for reuniting immigrant families and attracting skilled labor to the United States. Enacted during the civil rights movement, it abolished national origin quotas and paved the way for a system that granted visas to countries considered close allies of the United States.

President Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) in 1986. This legislation made employers responsible for the legal status of their employees, funded government agencies to enforce immigration law and created new visa categories. However, it did little to stem the tide of illegal immigration. 

See this timeline of the history of immigration in the U.S. from the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Visualize two centuries of immigration to the U.S. (2 min):

Emergency Cases

Based on Title 42, a COVID-19 order, adults and families were turned away while the number of unaccompanied minors surged. By law, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “has custody and must provide care for” unaccompanied minors. The magnitude of unaccompanied child border crossings put such strains on U.S. facilities that the U.S. government authorized FEMA to provide support. This helped relieve pressure and reduced overcrowding for unaccompanied minors. However, overall migration still increased. Reports of migrants being mistreated by border patrol agents added to the attention on the southern border. 

Title 42 expired on May 11, 2023, when the public health emergency for COVID-19 was lifted. Immigration policy reverted to its pre-pandemic laws, primarily Title 8, “which allows migrants to apply for asylum but also leads to formal deportations to country of origin for those who do not qualify, and the possibility of criminal prosecution for a second entry during a five-year period.”

By the Numbers

The United States is home to more legal immigrants in total numbers (as opposed to a percentage of the population) than any other country. In April 2024, the United States Census Bureau estimated that 45.2 million foreign-born citizens were legally in the country. In March 2024, the Center for Immigration Studies reported that 15.6% of the U.S. population is foreign-born.

Green Cards

The U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services Department (USCIS) issues over 1 million green cards annually, known as Permanent Resident Cards. Half of these go to new arrivals, and half are renewals for expired green cards. A green card holder is a person who is authorized to work and live in the United States permanently. A green card holder can apply for citizenship after living in the U.S. for five years.

In FY2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) “received 10.9 million flings and completed more than 10 million pending cases- both record-breaking numbers in the agency’s history.” This accomplishment reduced the USCIS backlog by only 15%.

Work Visas

In addition to green cards, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) coordinated with the Department of State and issued more than 192,000 employment-based visas in 2023. H-1B visas are a temporary option for highly educated professionals coming to work in a special occupation requiring at least a bachelor’s degree. The annual cap for H-1B visas is 65,000, with 20,000 additional visas for foreign professionals with a master’s degree or doctorate from a U.S. institution. In FY2023, USCIS met this cap. For the second year in a row, no available visas went unused.

Refugees and Asylum Seekers

According to the United Nations, an asylum-seeker is “someone seeking international protection,” often due to human rights violations, war, or persecution in their home countries. The UN reported that at the end of 2023, there were 6.9 million people seeking asylum. In 2023, 2.5 million irregular arrivals came to the U.S.-Mexico border. As of May 2023, more than 1.3 million asylum applications are still awaiting processing. 

The annual ceiling for refugee admissions, which the president and Congress decide, is currently set at 125,000 people. So far, 68,291 refugees have been admitted as of June 2024. In 2023, 60,014 refugees were admitted.

An estimated 1.2 million immigrants have received or are eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), “a federal program that gives time-limited permission for some immigrants from certain countries to work and live in the U.S.” The program exists for refugees and various other migrant groups who need to remain in the U.S. for specific reasons. It often allows an unauthorized migrant to remain to testify in a court case.

See The Policy Circle’s Refugee Crisis Deep Dive for more discussion about this topic.

Illegal Immigration

Illegal or unauthorized immigrants are a crucial consideration in immigration policy. High levels of illegal immigration can create problems for citizens and law enforcement. Because of their status, unauthorized immigrants are often not able to pay their full taxes and contribute to social programs that they often use, which can create a burden on citizens and legal immigrants. There is an ongoing debate on how to best address illegal immigrants, which will be expanded on later in this Brief. 

Illegal immigrants are not a small population. Of the 51.4 million immigrants, the Census Bureau estimates that they are in the U.S., and the Center for Immigration Studies estimates that around 14 million are unauthorized. Most of them are single adults. To indicate the severity of the problem, in FY 2024, there have been 1,031,077 Title 8 encounters with single adults at the southwest border as of July 5, 2024. One policy concern is ensuring there are enough resources at the border to evaluate cases efficiently and accurately to help curb illegal immigration.

To see a full breakdown of encounters at this border by year and demographic, see the charts below that break down trends in the past three fiscal years into, 2024:

There have been declines in border crossings from Mexico in 2024 as a result of President Biden’s restrictions on asylum requirements and stricter enforcement from Mexican authorities, who also face a national election this year. This is discussed further below. How to manage the border will be a campaign issue in the 2024 presidential election and beyond.

Removal and Backlog

Illegal immigrants face the possibility of deportation daily. Removal proceedings commence when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) charges a foreign national with an immigration violation under Title 8 of the U.S. Code and files a Notice to Appear (NTA) in immigration court. DHS components may charge individuals at the U.S. border or within the U.S. interior with grounds of inadmissibility (e.g., attempting to enter the United States unlawfully) or with certain offenses that make it possible to deport them (e.g., committing certain criminal offenses,  violating a nonimmigrant status, or condition of entry).

Despite increases in funding and staffing, there is a backlog of more than 3,5 million immigration cases pending before the court as of April 2024. Explore more immigration topics and statistics, including the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Statistics database.

The Economics of Immigration Policies

Any immigration policy, including the system in place, affects the economy through the labor market, wages, and productivity.

Research from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton finds that increasing legal immigration in the U.S. can have long-term fiscal benefits. In contrast, policies that legalize unauthorized immigrants could potentially increase government debt. The research concluded that legal immigration reduces the burden on native-born younger workers to provide for older retirees. As the children of new immigrants enter the workforce, this becomes a multi-generational effect. As detailed in The Policy Circle’s Federal Debt Brief and Safety Net Programs Brief, the current benefit formula for Social Security has benefits growing faster than revenues. The research also found that illegal immigration boosts economic productivity in the short term, but low pay and high age negate this effect in the long run. 

On the other hand, a legal immigrant increase generates more productivity and increases the GDP – not to mention the innovative nature of immigrants. In February 2024, the Center for Public Integrity summarized the Congressional Budget Office’s economic prediction for the coming year: that the U.S. will have a smaller deficit and national debt than last year due to legal and illegal immigration. They predict the U.S. will gain 5.2 million workers, primarily due to these immigration flows, increasing the nation’s GDP by 2%. They also predict that immigrant workers will contribute $7 trillion to the economy in the next decade. The influx also helps to prevent America’s labor force from shrinking. 

Professor Antony Davies of Duquesne University breaks down the economic effects of immigration (5 min):

Impact on Wages

Immigrants have a convoluted relationship with the U.S. economy. On the one hand, the influx of labor increases productivity while decreasing wages. Illegal immigration especially puts downward pressure on wages for low-skill jobs. Educated lawful immigrants create a similar effect in high-skill job markets. This often leads citizens to demand government protections, like E-Verify.  

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2023, “foreign-born workers were more likely than native-born workers to be employed in service occupations” such as construction, maintenance, production, and transportation-related occupations and are “less likely than native-born workers to be employed in management, professional, and related occupations.” The difference in occupations directly affects differences in wages.

In contrast, the Center for Immigration Studies found that immigration lowers wages in a way that harms competing native-U.S. workers with low levels of education. They also reported in June 2024 that most post-pandemic employment growth has gone to immigrants rather than native-born Americans.

Role of Government

Federal

Current Challenges and Areas of Reform

Various Viewpoints

Historically, opinions on immigration policy have greatly varied and fallen along party lines. However, with the recent surge in illegal border crossings, more bipartisan approaches are being considered. A Pew Research study in July 2024 found that, across both parties, there is a sharp increase in the percentage of people who want to decrease immigration (legal and unauthorized).

The Wall Street Journal explains the obstacles to changing immigration policies (6 min):

There are a variety of proposed options, the most prominent of which are featured here.

Open Borders Policy

The U.S. does not currently have an open border. An open border would mean there are no checkpoints, patrols, or regulations. Examples of open borders are cities and the states. When you go on a road trip, you do not have to pass through a checkpoint at the state line or to leave your city. This option would create the same effect at U.S. borders and ports of entry.

No country in the world has open borders. 

Some support a more open border approach for benevolent reasons based on the belief that America is a land of opportunity that should be open to all. Others support this policy for economic reasons. The U.S. economy is approaching a labor shortage due to decreases in the natural-born population, and supporters claim open borders would allow people to take a job anywhere they can find one.

Increased Restriction on Immigration

Others believe that our immigration policies should be more restrictive because immigration levels have ballooned over the years. There is particular concern about the number of illegal immigrants living in the country. With so many immigrants living in the nation, many ask about the effects on schools, infrastructure, the labor market, and America’s culture. An additional component is that most immigrants come to the U.S. to work, but they support family members back home. Thus, much of their profits are sent outside of this country.

Benefits for Immigrants

Some argue that the government does not provide enough resources for individuals trying to make it in America. Thus, programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and welfare programs should be opened to illegal immigrants. Others express concerns about additional pressure on welfare programs. 

Recent evidence suggests that immigrants consume significantly more amounts of welfare funding. About 59% of immigrant families (legal and unauthorized) used at least one welfare program. For American families, it was 39%. Read more about these programs in The Policy Circle’s Federal Debt Brief or Safety Net Programs Brief.

Policies In-Between

Many Americans support policies in between the ones outlined above, favoring generous but still restricted levels of immigration. For example, some support increasing the level of high-skilled immigrants. 

In June 2024, the U.S. Conference of Mayors endorsed a new proposal for high-skilled immigration to better their communities. It created a pathway for these migrants to gain citizenship under certain conditions. Other Americans favor family reunification. 

A widespread reform on both sides of the aisle is the mandatory nationwide implementation of E-Verify. This system allows businesses to verify a potential employee’s immigration status before hiring the individual. However, some members of the business community and the agriculture community maintain that worker visa reforms must come ahead of an E-Verify requirement. Immigrant agricultural workers frequently do not receive their authorization until after the growing season has passed. 

Another area of great debate is how to address illegal immigrants that are already here and settled. The discussion mainly centers around whether or not to grant them permanent legal status. They make up a good portion of the labor market and would negatively impact GDP if they were all deported. On the other side, granting all unauthorized immigrants citizenship or amnesty would cost quite a bit of money in the short term, be unfair to those who immigrated legally, and set a dangerous precedent. DACA and DAPA were two proposed solutions that attempted to grant temporary status to children and their parents – DAPA has since been rescinded, and DACA is being challenged in court. These two programs are discussed later in this Brief.

The Debate is Ongoing

These various viewpoints inform current opinions and challenges in the immigration debate. For a current overview of Americans’ views on immigration, consider this study by the Pew Research Center published in February 2024. Of the few comprehensive reforms introduced in recent years, Congress has failed to reach a consensus or compromise and pass immigration legislation.

For a longer, in-depth analytical analysis of the immigration system and illegal immigration, consider this testimony to Congress in 2023 on behalf of the Cato Institute.

See this Kite and Key Media video about the tangled nature of immigration policy (8 min):

Challenge: Securing the Border

Operational Control

Creating operational control of the U.S. land border with Mexico consists of deployed agents, fences, and technology such as sensors, cameras, and unmanned devices. Close coordination with partner agencies and foreign government partnerships will also help gather intelligence. The strategy for achieving operational control consists of a combination of enforcement tactics depending on the terrain.

The 2022-2026 U.S. Border Patrol Strategy focuses on securing the U.S. border to protect U.S. citizens and economic flourishing in the country. They are working to implement new technology at the border to improve surveillance, infrastructure, communication, awareness, and detection. Some of the main concerns surrounding the support for strict border control are human trafficking and fentanyl.

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been experiencing a “system-wide emergency” since 2019. After declining at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border has been rising since April 2020 and was “on pace to hit a 20-year peak” in 2021. The higher-than-average trend has continued into 2023 and remained consistent in 2024. 

CBP noted that repeat individuals have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 33% of encounters in June 2021 were migrants with at least one border encounter in the previous 12 months, compared to an average rate of 14% between 2014 and 2019.

Current Reforms

CBP set up an app migrants seeking asylum can use to apply and make an appointment with a port of entry. This was in response to the lack of success from Title 42, which “involved a mix of disincentives and incentives to channel people away from irregular crossings and towards lawful entries.”

In June 2022, the Biden Administration announced the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection. It is a non-binding migration agreement with Latin American countries to create asylum systems, provide more work visas, and increase border security. In May 2024, Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the third Los Angeles Declaration Ministerial in Guatemala and announced that $578 million would go towards “humanitarian, development, and economic assistance to support partner countries.” On June 4, 2024, President Biden announced a plan to block most asylum claims once border crossings have hit a certain level. Some fear that this will worsen the humanitarian state of the border, while others fear the implications of increased immigration. 

In April 2024, U.S. Immigration Courts had over 3 million pending cases due to the growing number of asylum seekers. Some advocate for more immigration court judges, while some say “asylum cases should be handled administratively rather than through time-consuming litigation in courts.” Another issue is the authority of immigration judges to refuse cases that do not have legal merit. Streamlining procedures will enable asylum officers to decide cases or give judges this authority, which would save resources and time.

The Entry-Exit System

An entry-exit system is our nation’s way of monitoring who enters and leaves the country. 

The argument for installing a biometric exit system is that visa overstays account for an estimated 42% of illegal immigrants in our nation today, but the true number is not known. Biometric entry-exit systems can provide precise statistics and better tracking for people who have overstayed their visas. The 9/11 Commission recommended a biometric entry/exit system. Congress has approved and funded the system on at least six other occasions and has slowly implemented it across all ports of entry.

The proposed immigration entry-exit system was delayed because of the complexity and cost. It would draw on digitized physical markers, like fingerprint images, photographs, or iris scans, and is estimated to be a $7 billion investment. In February 2024, CBP announced its plan to implement biometrics into the CBP app to better track immigrants leaving the country.  They also hope to improve their “ability to identify criminals and known or suspected terrorists.” Some groups are worried about the data that the CBP will now have access to.

Challenge: Underaged and Unauthorized Migrants

The legal status of illegal immigrant children is politically controversial. Some argue that these children should be awarded legal status because the unlawful action taken by their parents was out of their control. Others maintain that such an exception rewards and continues the cycle of illegal immigration.

DACA

The USCIS.gov provides this overview of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA):

“On June 15, 2012, the secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal. They are also eligible for work authorization. Deferred action is the use of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against an individual for a certain period of time. Deferred action does not provide lawful status.”

In June 2020, the Supreme Court rejected in a 5-4 decision the Trump administration’s attempt to cancel the program but did not rule on the legality of the program itself. 

In July 2021, a district judge ruled DACA was unlawful because the executive branch does not have the power to grant reprieves to immigrants in the U.S. without authorization, meaning the president overstepped by creating the program. 

In September 2023, a federal judge in the U.S. Southern District of Texas also ruled that DACA is illegal. This decision does not affect the current protections offered to DACA recipients and their ongoing ability to renew their status. 

An appeal of this ruling will be heard by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which previously ruled against DACA. If the Fifth Circuit rules that DACA is illegal, the case will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court. The case is now under review after being appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in November 2023. The Fifth Circuit Court could stop DACA renewals, but regardless, the case will likely go to the Supreme Court. The current ruling prevents new DACA applicants from being approved, although current recipients can maintain and renew their status under the program.

DAPA

In November 2014, the Obama Administration took executive action to shelter the parents of DACA by creating Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). At the same time, they expanded the eligibility requirements for DACA. The constitutionality of DAPA has been questioned, and the policy experienced several setbacks in court review. As a result, the policy has not been implemented. DAPA was rescinded in September 2017, but the action was blocked by three district court judges and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Read more about DACA, DAPA, and the court battle here.

Conclusion

Recent administrations have all endeavored to address U.S. immigration policy, but there have been few lasting changes, a testament to the complexities of immigration reform. Congress recently failed to enact legislation despite calls from both parties to address the current crisis. 

Immigration reform is complex and plays a significant role in the state of our nation. All citizens face evolving policies from all levels of government. Taking the time to be more informed on this issue can help you assess laws and policies impacting your area and take action.

Ways to Get Involved/What Can You Do

Measure: Find out what your state and district are doing about immigration.

• Do you know the state of immigration in your community or state? Also, see current immigration movements here.
• See data points for your state regarding DACA participants. 
• What are your state’s laws?
  • Has your state or county enacted sanctuary policies?
• Is there a coalition or task force, or does one need to be formed?

Identify: Who are the influencers in your state, county, or community? Learn about their priorities and consider how to contact them, including elected officials, attorneys general, law enforcement, boards of education, city councils, journalists, media outlets, community organizations, and local businesses.

• Who are the members of coalitions or task forces in your state?
  • Which committees do your elected representatives serve on?
• What steps have your state’s or community’s elected and appointed officials taken?

Reach out: You are a catalyst. Finding a common cause is an excellent opportunity to develop relationships with people outside your immediate network. All it takes is a small team of two or three people to set a path for real improvement. The Policy Circle is your platform to convene with experts you want to hear from.

• Find allies in your community or nearby towns and elsewhere in the state.
• Foster collaborative relationships with law enforcement, first responders, faith-based organizations, local hospitals, community organizations, or local businesses.

Plan: Set some milestones based on your state’s legislative calendar.

• Don’t hesitate to contact The Policy Circle at [email protected] for connections to the broader network, advice, and insights on how to build rapport with policymakers and establish yourself as a civic leader.

Execute: Give it your best shot. You can:

• Consider asking your local business owners or your local Chamber of Commerce about the economic effects of immigration. 
  • You can find your local Chamber of Commerce here.
  • Learn about your local businesses and if owners are first- or second-generation immigrants.
• Find out if your local schools or higher education institutions offer classes in English as a second language.
  • Explore USCIS’s Adult Citizenship Education Strategies for Volunteers to understand the basics of second language acquisition or the naturalization process.
• See if community-based organizations serve immigrants in your community with USCIS’s locator.
• Consider hosting a community dialogue to unite people with different opinions, understand other points of view, and strengthen the community. 

Working with others, you may create something great for your community. Here are some tools to learn how to contact your representatives and write an op-ed.

Thought Leaders & Additional Resources

• America’s Broken Immigration System: An Honest Debate (podcast).
• Dave Seminara at the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal regularly writes about immigration.
• Bush Center’s Immigration Focus.
• U.S. Chamber – Pro-business stance on immigration.
• U.S. House Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
• The Migration Policy Institute is a nonprofit organization that conducts nonpartisan research and analysis to help improve and develop immigration and integration policies.
• The Center for Immigration Studies is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization that seeks to provide policymakers, news media, and citizens with accurate and reliable immigration information.
• Immigration Research is a free research library maintained by the University of Massachusetts Boston.
• ImmigrationHistory.org
• The Council on Foreign Relations
• David Bier, from the Cato Institute, testified in Congress about immigration sources, effects, and myths.