Congressional Research Service (CRS)
*Immigration Reform Issues in the 111th Congress*
Ruth Ellen Wasem, Specialist in Immigration Policy
October 29, 2010
http://opencrs.com/document/R40501/2010-10-29/download/1013/
[full-text, 16 pages]
*Summary*
There is a broad-based consensus that the U.S. immigration system is broken. This consensus
erodes, however, as soon as the options to reform the U.S. immigration system are debated. The
number of foreign-born people residing in the United States is at the highest level in U.S. history
and has reached a proportion of the U.S. population—12.6%—not seen since the early 20th
century. Of the 38 million foreign-born residents in the United States, approximately 16.4 million
are naturalized citizens. According to the latest estimates by the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), about 10.8 million unauthorized aliens were living in the United States in
January 2009. The Pew Hispanic Center recently reported an estimate of 11.1 million
unauthorized aliens in March 2009, down from a peak of 12 million in March 2007. Some
observers and policy experts maintain that the presence of an estimated 11 million unauthorized
residents is evidence of flaws in the legal immigration system as well as failures of immigration
control policies and practices.
The 111th Congress is faced with strategic questions of whether to continue to build on
incremental reforms of specific elements of immigration (e.g., employment verification, skilled
migration, temporary workers, worksite enforcement, and legalization of certain categories of
unauthorized residents) or whether to comprehensively reform the Immigration and Nationality
Act (INA). President Barack Obama has affirmed his support for comprehensive immigration
reform legislation that includes increased enforcement as well as a pathway to legal residence for
certain unauthorized residents.
This report synthesizes the multi-tiered debate over immigration reform into key elements: legal
immigration; legalization; immigration control; refugees, asylees, and humanitarian migrants; and
alien rights, benefits, and responsibilities. It delineates the issues for the 111th Congress on
permanent residence, temporary admissions, border security, worksite enforcement, employment
eligibility verification, document fraud, criminal aliens, and the grounds for inadmissibility.
Addressing these contentious policy reforms against the backdrop of economic crisis sharpens the
social and business cleavages and narrows the range of options.
The report will be updated as events warrant.
*Contents*
Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1
Legal Immigration ......................................................................................................................2
Permanent Residence ............................................................................................................2
Temporary Admissions..........................................................................................................3
Legalization ...............................................................................................................................4
Immigration Control ...................................................................................................................4
Border Security.....................................................................................................................5
Worksite Enforcement...........................................................................................................5
Employment Eligibility Verification ......................................................................................6
Document Fraud ...................................................................................................................6
Criminal Aliens .....................................................................................................................7
Grounds for Inadmissibility...................................................................................................7
Refugee, Asylee, and Humanitarian Concerns .............................................................................8
Alien Rights, Benefits, and Responsibilities ................................................................................9
Legislative Prospects.................................................................................................................10
Contacts
Author Contact Information ......................................................................................................13
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