Immigration Reform

The U.S. immigration system is complex and can be difficult to understand. These resources provide key data points, historical information, and background on hot topics in immigration. Learn the basics about immigration.

Recent Features

  • Fact Sheet

The Cost of Immigration Enforcement and Border Security

Since the last major overhaul of the U.S. immigration system in 1986, the federal government has spent an estimated $263 billion on immigration enforcement. 

  • Special Report

Back to the Future: The Impact of Legalization Then and Now

While there are many facets to an intelligent immigration reform package, one thing is clear: legalization for undocumented immigrants helps all of us. 

All Immigration Reform Content

  • Fact Sheet

The Dream Act, DACA, and Other Policies Designed to Protect Dreamers

September 6, 2017
This fact sheet provides an overview of the Dream Act and other similar legislative proposals, explains changes made to DACA, and provides information about policies at the state level that support...
  • Fact Sheet

The RAISE Act

August 11, 2017
The Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act (RAISE Act) or S. 354 would mark a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. immigration system. It would significantly reduce levels of legal...
  • Fact Sheet

Summary of Executive Order “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States”

May 19, 2017
The Trump administration’s approach will have devastating consequences for immigrant communities and will undermine, rather than improve, public safety.
  • Fact Sheet

Summary of Executive Order “Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements”

February 27, 2017
The provisions in the order pose serious concerns for the protection and due process rights of those currently residing in the United States, communities along the U.S-Mexico border, and vulnerable...
  • Fact Sheet

The Cost of Immigration Enforcement and Border Security

January 25, 2017
Since the last major overhaul of the U.S. immigration system in 1986, the federal government has spent an estimated $263 billion on immigration enforcement.
  • Fact Sheet

Understanding the Legal Challenges to Executive Action

June 28, 2016
This fact sheet provides an overview of the lawsuits that have challenged expanded DACA and DAPA. It explains the legal claims, the court decisions, and the process.
  • Special Report

DACA at Year Three: Challenges and Opportunities in Accessing Higher Education and Employment

February 1, 2016
DACA has helped its beneficiaries find employment and increase their earnings. But, even with better jobs, not all DACA beneficiaries in our study were able to afford tuition at four-year...
  • Fact Sheet

Only the Beginning: The Economic Potential of Executive Action on Immigration

March 11, 2015
The series of executive actions on immigration which President Obama announced on November 20, 2014, would have a beneficial—if modest—impact on the U.S. economy.
  • Fact Sheet

Reagan-Bush Family Fairness: A Chronological History

December 9, 2014
From 1987 to 1990, Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, Sr. used their executive authority to protect from deportation a group that Congress left out of its 1986 immigration reform legislation—...
  • Special Report

A Guide to the Immigration Accountability Executive Action

November 30, 2014
On November 20 and 21, 2014, President Obama announced his “immigration accountability executive action,” which includes a series of measures that are first steps towards common-sense reforms to an...
  • Litigation

Challenging "Extreme Vetting" of Immigration Benefits Applicants

The Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program (CAARP) is a secret and unlawful government vetting program that targets thousands of applicants who are Muslim or from certain Muslim-majority countries for delay or denial of immigration benefits.
  • Litigation

Immigrant Rights Groups File Class Action Suit Challenging Trump Administration’s “Muslim Ban”

This intervention is needed to protect the integrity of the United States’ immigrant visa process and the families diligently seeking to reunite with their loved ones.
  • Advocacy

Letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano (submitted Feb. 9, 2012)

This sign-on letter expresses concerns about DHS’s implementation of the new prosecutorial discretion policy, including the agency’s failure to grant work authorization to those who receive a favorable exercise of discretion. The letter also makes recommendations to ensure that DHS fulfills its pledge to implement an effective and fair prosecutorial discretion policy nationwide.
  • Advocacy

NIJC Recommendations Regarding Implementation of the Prosecutorial Discretion Initiative (submitted Sep. 30, 2011)

This letter to several Administration officials was submitted in response to the DHS/White House announcement on August 18, 2011 that it would form a "Prosecutorial Discretion Working Group" to...

  • Advocacy

Memorandum, “Executive Branch Authority Regarding Implementation of Immigration Laws and Policies” (April 29, 2011)

This memorandum, which was released by the American Immigration Council and co-signed by two general counsels of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, offers an overview of the scope of executive branch authority and outlines specific steps the Administration could take to forestall removals in sympathetic cases.
  • Advocacy

Letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano (submitted April 6, 2011)

This letter requests written guidance setting forth detailed criteria for the favorable exercise of prosecutorial discretion and the assignment of a high-level officer to monitor implementation of...

  • Practice Advisories

Expedited Removal: What Has Changed Since Executive Order No. 13767, Border Security And Immigration Enforcement Improvements

February 21, 2017

This Practice Advisory addresses the coming expansion of expedited removal, who likely will be impacted, and possible ways to challenge an expedited removal order. The National Immigration Project...

  • Practice Advisories

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

November 18, 2015
This Practice Advisory provides updated information about Initial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as well as the DACA Renewal process. It offers strategic advice for attorneys representing individuals who may qualify for DACA. The American Immigration Council issued this Advisory jointly with the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild.
  • Practice Advisories

Prosecutorial Discretion: How to Advocate for Your Client

March 18, 2015
This Practice Advisory, updated following the issuance of Secretary Johnson’s November 20, 2014 memorandum on Policies for the Apprehension, Detention and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants, explains what prosecutorial discretion is, who has authority to exercise it, and how it is exercised most often in immigration cases. It also suggests ways that attorneys can influence the favorable exercise of prosecutorial discretion by ICE, CBP and USCIS officers.
  • Blog

What Matthew Whitaker’s Designation as Acting Attorney General Means for Immigration

December 3, 2018

Following Jeff Sessions’ resignation as Attorney General, President Trump named Matthew Whitaker to replace him—a move that has already inspired multiple lawsuits that contend the designation was...

  • Blog

Trump’s Illegal Ban on Asylum Seekers Solves Nothing

November 9, 2018

In response to a much over-hyped caravan of migrants slowly trekking north through Mexico, the Trump administration announced new rules to block people from applying for asylum if they cross...

  • Blog

Ending Birthright Citizenship Could Put All Americans’ Nationality in Jeopardy

October 31, 2018

On Monday night, President Trump told reporters that he intended to end birthright citizenship and claimed that he could do so with an executive order. Birthright citizenship comes from the...

  • Blog

Federal Court Blocks Trump’s Efforts to Terminate Temporary Protected Status for 250,000 Recipients

October 4, 2018

Just weeks ahead of thousands of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders beginning to lose their immigration status, a federal court in California blocked the Trump administration’s decision to...

  • Blog

In the Face of a Shutdown, Trump and Congress Delay Border Wall Fight Until December

September 27, 2018

President Trump announced on Wednesday that he plans to sign a spending bill that will fund some federal agencies for the entire fiscal year, as well as provide a short-term fix for six others...

  • Blog

John McCain’s Legacy on Immigration

August 28, 2018

The United States Senate and Republican Party lost one of their biggest champions for bipartisan immigration reform and most vocal critics of President Trump’s immigration policies when Senator...

  • Blog

Despite Bipartisan Amendments, House Committee Passes Enforcement-Focused Bill

July 26, 2018

The House Appropriations Committee passed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that provides the agency with its budget for Fiscal Year 2019, which begins October 1, 2018. The...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Upholds President Trump’s Muslim Ban

June 26, 2018

The Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Trump v. Hawaii on Tuesday, upholding the third iteration of the president’s Muslim Ban. The decision by the closely divided court, which...

  • Blog

Here Is the Latest on President Trump’s Family Separation Policy

June 21, 2018

President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday in response to public outcry about family separation – a horrific policy that has led to the forced separation of over 2,000 minor children...

  • Blog

Confused About the Current Status of DACA? Here Is What You Need to Know

May 16, 2018

The Trump administration’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative set off a slew of lawsuits attempting to stop the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from...

  • Press Release

American Immigration Council Condemns Trump Administration’s Proposed “Public Charge” Regulations

September 23, 2018
The Trump administration is proposing sweeping new regulations that could lead to the largest decline in legal immigration in generations. The new regulations propose to redefine the meaning of the legal term “public charge."
  • Press Release

Immigrant Rights Groups Amend Class Action Suit, Seek Temporary Restraining Order to Newest Version of Trump Administration’s “Muslim Ban”

March 10, 2017
Immigrant rights groups asked the Washington District Court to again enjoin the Trump Administration’s “Muslim Ban” executive order.
  • Press Release

Statement on Executive Order on Refugees and Muslim Admissions

January 27, 2017
These actions will isolate America and make us all party to blatant and bigoted religious targeting. These actions also ignore the multi-layered processes the government already uses to screen and vet those seeking entry to the U.S., whether as a refugee, on a tourist visa, or another visa permitting entry.
  • Press Release

Statement on President Trump's Executive Actions on Immigration

January 25, 2017
President Trump announced executive orders that are intended to follow through on campaign promises to build a wall and deport millions. Here's our response.
  • Press Release

Council Urges Prompt Appeal to the Supreme Court of Flawed Fifth Circuit Decision

July 20, 2016
In a disappointing but unsurprising decision, a divided panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals today denied the federal government’s appeal of the preliminary injunction that has temporarily stopped President Obama’s latest deferred action initiatives from being implemented.
  • Press Release

Immigration, Civil Rights and Labor Groups Join Legal Effort to Defend Immigration Action

July 19, 2016
Immigration, civil rights and labor groups joined the legal effort to defend President Obama’s recent executive action on immigration by filing an amicus “friend of the court” brief in the case, State of Texas vs. United States.
  • Press Release

Supreme Court Issues Disappointing Split Decision in United States v. Texas

June 23, 2016

Washington D.C. - Today, the Supreme Court issued a 4-4 decision in United States v.

  • Press Release

When is Enough, Enough?

May 25, 2016

Washington, D.C. - Following a meeting to discuss comprehensive immigration reform with Senate Republicans, President Obama announced that he would send 1,200 Nati

  • Press Release

Creating a Workable Future Flow Program in Senate Immigration Bill

May 13, 2016

Washington D.C. - Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee continues “mark-up” of S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.

  • Press Release

Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in U.S. v. Texas

April 18, 2016

Washington D.C. - Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Texas.

  • Blog

What Matthew Whitaker’s Designation as Acting Attorney General Means for Immigration

December 3, 2018

Following Jeff Sessions’ resignation as Attorney General, President Trump named Matthew Whitaker to replace him—a move that has already inspired multiple lawsuits that contend the designation was...

  • Blog

Trump’s Illegal Ban on Asylum Seekers Solves Nothing

November 9, 2018

In response to a much over-hyped caravan of migrants slowly trekking north through Mexico, the Trump administration announced new rules to block people from applying for asylum if they cross...

  • Blog

Ending Birthright Citizenship Could Put All Americans’ Nationality in Jeopardy

October 31, 2018

On Monday night, President Trump told reporters that he intended to end birthright citizenship and claimed that he could do so with an executive order. Birthright citizenship comes from the...

  • Blog

Federal Court Blocks Trump’s Efforts to Terminate Temporary Protected Status for 250,000 Recipients

October 4, 2018

Just weeks ahead of thousands of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders beginning to lose their immigration status, a federal court in California blocked the Trump administration’s decision to...

  • Blog

In the Face of a Shutdown, Trump and Congress Delay Border Wall Fight Until December

September 27, 2018

President Trump announced on Wednesday that he plans to sign a spending bill that will fund some federal agencies for the entire fiscal year, as well as provide a short-term fix for six others...

  • Press Release

American Immigration Council Condemns Trump Administration’s Proposed “Public Charge” Regulations

September 23, 2018
The Trump administration is proposing sweeping new regulations that could lead to the largest decline in legal immigration in generations. The new regulations propose to redefine the meaning of the legal term “public charge."
  • Blog

John McCain’s Legacy on Immigration

August 28, 2018

The United States Senate and Republican Party lost one of their biggest champions for bipartisan immigration reform and most vocal critics of President Trump’s immigration policies when Senator...

  • Blog

Despite Bipartisan Amendments, House Committee Passes Enforcement-Focused Bill

July 26, 2018

The House Appropriations Committee passed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that provides the agency with its budget for Fiscal Year 2019, which begins October 1, 2018. The...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Upholds President Trump’s Muslim Ban

June 26, 2018

The Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Trump v. Hawaii on Tuesday, upholding the third iteration of the president’s Muslim Ban. The decision by the closely divided court, which...

  • Blog

Here Is the Latest on President Trump’s Family Separation Policy

June 21, 2018

President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday in response to public outcry about family separation – a horrific policy that has led to the forced separation of over 2,000 minor children...

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