Immigration law has been a sensitive subject in U.S. political debate for decades. Politicians, presidents, Congress and the courts have faced difficult decisions balancing U.S. security and humanitarian concerns.
Since 1986, when the last significant immigration reform plan was enacted, Congress has been unable to reach consensus on comprehensive immigration policies, effectively moving some major decisions into the executive and judicial branches of government.
Some of the top current immigration issues include:
The number of undocumented foreigners is estimated to be about 11.4 million people. In just one month (May 2022) immigration officials arrested 239,416 people trying to cross the Mexican border, the highest monthly figure in 20 years.
Roughly two-thirds of undocumented immigrants have lived in the United States for more than a decade. Until 2013, almost all of those trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border were Mexican citizens and were generally coming to find jobs; since then, Central Americans have made up an increasingly large share, reaching 81 percent of those crossing the southern border in 2019.
Generally, they are coming not for work but to make asylum claims, and many of them are unaccompanied children. The spike in migration has strained the U.S. immigration system. More than 1.8 million cases are currently pending in immigration courts.
Most of the efforts to reduce illegal immigration focus on border enforcement. However, individuals who arrive in the United States legally and then overstay their visas comprise a significant portion of illegal immigration. Between 2010 and 2018, individuals who overstayed their visas outnumbered those who arrived by crossing the border illegally.
The United States has long been a global leader in assistance to refugees, and the need for such leadership remains enormous. The number of refugees around the world who are fleeing persecution in their home countries has grown dramatically over the past decade.
The United States has long provided significant immigration benefits to those who are refugees or asylees. (Refugees are those people who are seeking immigration while they are outside the United States. Asylees are those seeking the same benefits while they are already in the U.S., or are at the border.)
Until recently, the United States accepted more refugees than all other nations combined. But the maximum number of refugees who can come here has been drastically reduced. Moreover, our immigration system has imposed new security procedures on refugees before they can enter the country. This has dramatically lengthened wait times and left many refugees in dangerous situations for long periods of time.
Under the definition established by the United Nations and enacted into U.S. law, a “refugee” is a person who is unable or unwilling to return to their home country because of a “well-founded fear of persecution” due to race, national origin, membership in a particular social group, religion, or political opinion. Poverty, lack of education, unemployment, lack of housing, domestic violence and crime are not viewed as legitimate grounds for asylum and claims on those grounds are rejected.
The White House and Congress face urgent and controversial questions concerning refugees and asylum seekers. How many people should be permitted to enter the country each year as refugees? Should the grounds for granting asylum be expanded? How can we uphold our country’s dedication to protecting those who are not free – indeed, not even safe?
Many immigration categories contain restrictions on how many people can move to the United States under the given category. Two categories are discussed here, but there are many more visas that are subject to an annual cap.
Refugees. Every year the President, in consultation with Congress, determines the number of refugees that will be admitted during the following year. The quota is broken up into five global regions, and there is a reserve to be used if a country goes to war or if there is an unforeseen emergency. In 2020, the ceiling was set at an all-time low of 18,000 and only 12,000 were actually admitted. In prior years the ceiling ranged from 80,000 – 200,000, so the recent drop in eligibility has been dramatic.
Quotas are controversial. How do immigration officials decide which refugees to allow to enter and which refugees to deny, forcing them to stay in their home countries or elsewhere until a number comes up? How many refugees should the U.S. take in per year? One of our country’s core values is to provide a home to those who are in danger. How can we best live up to our intentions?
Work visas. There are quotas in work visa categories too. For example, there is a visa category (H-1B) designed to allow U.S. employers to hire high-level, professional foreign workers: engineers, accountants, mathematicians, architects, doctors and nurses, lawyers, and more. Only 65,000 foreigners are allowed to enter the U.S. each year on H-1B visas. The first day you can file a petition for this category of visa is the first business day in April, and the cap is met within just a few months and no one else will be granted a visa until the next fiscal year.
These professionals are important to our employers and to our economy. They are not taking jobs away from Americans – one of the things that has to be proven before the visa can be issued is that there are no U.S. workers available for the job. The H-1B quota is controversial because employers are desperate to hire skilled workers and want more visas to be allotted; others believe that the program tends to take jobs away from U.S. workers and they want the number to be lowered.
Adjustment of status is applying for permanent resident status (i.e. a green card). Those looking to apply for a green card may fall under one of these possible categories (there are more):
The biggest issue with adjustment of status requests is the incredibly long wait to obtain permanent residence: in 2021, more than 4,000,000 people were on the waiting list.
Since its inception in 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) has been a very controversial policy. DACA provides immigration benefits to young people who are in the U.S. illegally, but who did not personally cause their negative immigration status: instead, their parents brought them to the U.S. when they were children. Under DACA, those who were brought to the U.S. when they were younger than 16 may obtain a renewable work permit for 2 years. DACA does not provide a path to citizenship for recipients.
DACA has been a political bouncing ball. Former President Barack Obama asked Congress to send him a DACA-type bill to sign, but Congress failed to act. Obama then announced the creation of DACA as a presidential fiat during a 2012 speech on the anniversary of a Supreme Court decision concerning child immigrants and school tuition.
In 2014, Obama attempted to expand the program. Instead, in 2017 former President Donald Trump announced a plan to terminate the entire program, which gave rise to a significant number of lawsuits. Three separate federal district courts ruled that terminating the DACA program was unconstitutional; in 2020 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed.
Most of the controversy concerning DACA comes about because instead of a law passed by Congress, it was announced by presidential decree. Republicans and Democrats disagree on whether that is a proper execution of presidential power.
There have been other concerns raised about DACA: (1) Does DACA violate the law? Shouldn’t U.S. immigration policy precisely follow the law? (2) Some argue that undocumented immigrants have a higher rate of the commission of crimes. Will DACA result in danger to U.S. security?
Most immigration cases involve complex legal issues that can be difficult to fully understand. You may need to hire an immigration lawyer if you need help with any of today’s top immigration issues.
Your lawyer can help you or your loved ones with legal concerns such as visa requirements, green card petitions, refugee status, and much more.
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