This page was created when the administration of President George W. Bush was attempting to pass comprehensive immigration reform. As such, not all the legislation that is linked to is current. It reflects the status of events in 2006. However, it is still a useful starting point for researching the issues.
2. Law & Legislation
There are both Federal and State laws that govern immigrants and immigration. Title 8 of The Code of Federal Regulations is a good place to get a quick overview of the basic legal framework governing immigration at the Federal level. There are many areas of law -- for example, employment law -- that are also relevant. For a broad overview, click on the second link, immediately below.
- U.S. Code of Federal Regulations: Title 8, Aliens & Nationality
- Immigration Law on the Web (LLRX.com)
Search Federal Legislation
- THOMAS: Legislative Information (US Library of Congress)
- GPO Access (US Government Printing Office)
proposed Legislation
Hundreds of bills that would affect immigration law have been filed during the 109th Congress. Here are a few of the major bills currently proposed:
- S.2454 - Securing America’s Borders Act
- S. 1438 Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act of 2005
- H.R.4437 - Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act
(Note: For an overview of the legislative process, see How a Bill Becomes a Law.)
RESOURCES for further research
- American Immigration Law Foundation
- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- Current Immigration Proposals (National Network for Immigrant & Refugee Rights)
- Track Legislation (AILA)
- Pending legislation (GovTrack)
- Immigration Law & Policy (National Immigration Law Center)
3. News & Analysis
- Full Coverage: Immigration (Yahoo! News)
- Immigrant Policy (National Conference of State Legislatures)
- Immigration Reform (Wikipedia)
- Pew Hispanic Center
4. Advocacy Groups
Below is a sampling of advocacy groups representing diverse perspectives on immigration reform. The first set comprises groups tending to favor regularizing the status of immigrants and liberalizing the laws that govern it.
- Immigration Reform Now
- League of United Latin American Citizens
- National Council of La Raza
- National Immigration Forum
The links in this set are to groups that tend, in general, to favor restricting immigration and tightening current laws.
5. History & Statistics
- Bracero Program (Wikipedia)
- Digital History: Ethnic America (Univ. of Houston)
- Migration Information Source (Migration Policy Institute)
- Office of Immigration Statistics (US Dept. of Homeland Security)
- United States Foreign Born Population (US Bureau of the Census)