Overview of US Immigration Policy
crab.rutgers.edu/~ccoe/courses/immigration/Powerpoints/immlaw.ppt
US immigration law is complex, with
many different categories for different
kinds of people.
How does a non-citizen legally enter the
US?
There are two distinct paths into the country:
 Permanent (immigrant): As a lawful permanent
resident (LPR), one receives a permanent resident
card (a “green card”), is eligible to work, and may
later apply for US citizenship.
 Temporary: diplomats, tourists, temporary
agricultural workers, students, intracompany
business personnel. They are not eligible to get
citizenship, may not work or work only for a particular
place, and are required to leave the country when
their visas expire.
You are not allowed into the country if:
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You are convicted of a felony.
You have a history of drug abuse.
You have a infectious disease (syphilis, HIV,
tuberculosis).
You may become a public charge.
These characteristics are also grounds for
deportation once you have come in.
Some Statistics
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The US admits approximately 900,000 legal
immigrants (permanent residents) every year
(900,000 is .3% of the US population).
The State Department issues 5 million visas
authorizing temporary admission to the US.
The criteria for admission for permanent
residence is much more stringent than for
temporary visitors.
The goals of current immigration policy
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To reunite families by admitting immigrants who
already have family members living in the US
To admit workers in occupations with a strong
demand for labor
To provide a refuge for people who face the risk of
political, racial, or religious persecution in their home
countries
To provide admission to people from a diverse set of
countries
Category #1: Immediate Relatives of US
Citizens (43% of total LPRs)
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Spouses and unmarried children (under 21
years) of US citizens
Parents of US citizens aged 21 and older
Category #2: Family-Sponsored
Immigration (23%)
In order of preference:
1) Unmarried sons and daughters (aged 21 and
older) of US citizens
2) Spouses and unmarried children of lawful
permanent residents
3) Married sons and daughters of US citizens
4) Brothers and sisters of US citizens aged 21
and over
Category #3: Employment-Based
Immigrants (16%)
Up to 155,000 visas in 5 preference categories:
1) “Priority workers” with extraordinary ability in the arts,
athletics, business, education or science;
2) Professionals with advanced degrees;
3) Skilled and unskilled workers in occupations deemed
to be experiencing shortages;
4) “Special immigrants” such as ministers of religion;
5) People willing to invest at least $1 million in a
business that create at least 10 new jobs in the US.
Category #4: Refugees and Asylum
Seekers (8%)
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Refugees and asylum seekers are persons
who are outside the country and are unable
or unwilling to return to that country because
of a well-founded fear that they will be
persecuted because of race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social
group, or political opinion. In 2007, President
Bush authorized the admission of 70,000
refugees annually into the country (.02%).
Category #5: Diversity Immigrants (5%)
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Up to 50,000 green cards are given away
through a lottery system to promote
immigration from those countries that are not
currently the principal sources of immigration
to the US. Applicants must have a high
school diploma or equivalent or at least two
years of training or experience in an
occupation and are selected through a
lottery.
Top Sending Countries for LPRs
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Within all these categories, there are either
regional (continental) or national caps on the
numbers of LPRs.
Top three source countries of LPRs are 1)
Mexico, 2) India 3) Philippines which together
make up a third of all LPRs in the US.
Some History of Immigration Law
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First law limiting immigration was in 1875: no
criminals, prostitutes, or Chinese contract
laborers
After World War I, new restrictions:
Quota law in 1921: each nationality had a
quota based on its representation in past US
census figures, with immediate relatives of
US citizens exempt from the quotas.
Some History of Immigration Law
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The quota system was abolished in 1965 and
replaced with categorical preferences for
relatives of US citizens and LPRs and for
immigrants with job skills deemed useful to
the US. This system is largely still in place.
Immigration Act of 1990 added a category of
admission based on diversity (countries that
were not historically sending countries to the
US).
Immigration Reform and Control Act
(IRCA), 1986
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Enhanced enforcement through sanctions on
employers who knowingly hired or recruited
unauthorized non-citizens.
Two amnesty programs for unauthorized
non-citizens to legalize their status: Seasonal
Agricultural Workers (who had worked for 90
days) and Legally Authorized Workers (who
lived in the US since 1982).
Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act, 1996
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Doubled the number of border patrols and approved
a fence along the most used areas of the US-Mexico
border;
Reduced government benefits available to
immigrants. Legal immigrants lost benefits to food
stamps and SSI; illegal immigrants became ineligible
for all government benefits except emergency
medical care, immunization, and disaster relief;
Instituted program so that employers could verify
electronically or by telephone a potential worker’s
eligibility to work
Becoming a US citizen: Naturalization
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Any lawful permanent resident who has maintained a
period of continuous residence and presence in the
US for 3-5 years can apply for citizenship.
He or she must have good moral character,
knowledge of US history and government and the
English language, and a willingness to support and
defend the US and the Constitution.
About 500,000 LPRs became citizens in 2004.
Illegal Immigration
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An estimated 300,000 people come to the
US illegally every year.
Why are they here?
How did they get here?
Two Main Ways Into the Country for
Illegal Immigrants
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Entering the country without going through a
checkpoint (at airport, port, or border
crossing)
Overstaying a temporary visa
Why is there Illegal Immigration?
What is Rob Paral’s
answer to this
question?
Why is there Illegal Immigration?
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Pathways of legal immigration are slow and
costly: significant backlogs at USCIS. See
handout, p. 3
Non-citizens with LPR petitions are denied
temporary admission to the US.
Under the category of unskilled workers in
shortage areas, there is a cap of only 10,000
green cards annually.
Illegal and Legal Immigrants are not so
different as they seem
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Illegal immigrants pursue legality through
papers (driver’s licenses, SS cards).
Many of those who are illegal have children
or spouses who are legal residents or
citizens.
Many illegal immigrants fall through the legal
cracks in terms of paperwork.
Everyone Agrees the System is Broken
As is….
But What to Do to Fix It?
Congress is currently
debating more than a dozen
proposals to alter or
overhaul US immigration
policy
Current Proposed Legislation
Enforcement:
 Increased surveillance at the US-Mexico
border through the National Guard and
Border Patrol
 Construction of 700 miles of fence at the
border (2100 miles long).
The Proposed US-Mexico Border Fence
US-Mexico Border at Nogales (Arizona
and Sonora)
The Unintended Consequences of this
Approach
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It has not resulted in less movement across
the border.
Rather, movement happens in more deserted
areas; the crossing routes are more
dangerous (more isolated) and more
expensive in terms of smuggling fees.
See handout, p. 4
Current Proposed Legislation
Employer and Employee Sanctions
 Raids on illegal workers, as in Fall 2006, who
are then detained and deported.
 Sanctions (fines) or criminalization of
employers or other people who give
employment or other assistance to illegal
workers.
What does Peter Kwong consider to
be the unintended consequences of
this approach?
Current Proposed Legislation
Legalization:
 More legal routes of entry, whether a
guestworker program or more green cards
 Amnesty programs: allowing illegal
immigrants a pathway to legalization,
provided they pay a fine
What does Peter Kwong consider to
be some of the unintended
consequences of this approach?
What does Kwong propose as a
solution?
What do you think of it?
What are its pros and
cons?
Local Ordinances
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Because of the failure at the federal level to
fix the problem, attempts have been made at
the local and state level.
Local ordinances to penalize employers and
landlords who hire or rent to illegal
immigrants: Hazleton, PA and Riverside, NJ
English-only provisions in 23 states.