Immigration Policy

Extracted Attributes

• Governing Law (US)

  Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)

• INA Codification Date

  1952

• Purpose of Border Control Measures

  Enforcing customs, sanitary, phytosanitary, or biosecurity regulations; restricting migration

• Key Principles of US Immigration Law

  Family reunification, admitting immigrants with valuable skills, humanitarian protections, promoting diversity

• Annual Permanent Immigrant Visas (US)

  Up to 675,000

• Visa Categories Without Annual Limit (US)

  US citizens' spouses, parents, and children under 21

• Estimated Indirect Economic Cost of Migration Restrictions

  Trillions of dollars

• Potential Global Economy Growth if Migration Restrictions Lifted

  Could double

Timeline

• The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the primary law governing U.S. immigration policy, is first codified. (Source: Web Search)

  1952-XX-XX

• President Obama takes executive action to allow young adults brought to the country illegally to apply for deportation relief and work permits (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals - DACA). (Source: Web Search)

  2012-XX-XX

• A bipartisan 'Gang of Eight' Senators announces principles for comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. (Source: Web Search)

  2013-01-28

• President Obama expands the DACA program and establishes a new program (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans - DAPA) offering similar benefits to some unauthorized-immigrant parents of U.S.-born children. (Source: Web Search)

  2014-XX-XX

• The Supreme Court deadlocks 4-4 in *United States v. Texas*, leaving in place an appeals court ruling that blocked Obama's executive actions on immigration (DACA expansion and DAPA). (Source: Web Search)

  2016-06-23

• Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly announces the rescission of the DAPA program. (Source: Web Search)

  2017-06-15

• Donald Trump's administration implements its immigration policies, which continue until 2021. (Source: Web Search)

  2017-XX-XX

• LA Riots occur following ICE raids, serving as a flashpoint for deeper debate on national immigration policy, the role of Sanctuary Cities, and the clash between Federal Law Enforcement and local officials. (Source: Related Document)

  XXXX-XX-XX

Border control

Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it also encompasses controls imposed on internal borders within a single state. Border control measures serve a variety of purposes, ranging from enforcing customs, sanitary and phytosanitary, or biosecurity regulations to restricting migration. While some borders (including most states' internal borders and international borders within the Schengen Area) are open and completely unguarded, others (including the vast majority of borders between countries as well as some internal borders) are subject to some degree of control and may be crossed legally only at designated checkpoints. Border controls in the 21st century are tightly intertwined with intricate systems of travel documents, visas, and increasingly complex policies that vary between countries. It is estimated that the indirect economic cost of border controls, particularly migration restrictions, cost many trillions of dollars and the size of the global economy could double if migration restrictions were lifted.

Web Search Results

• A Guide to Immigration Policy Changes in 2025

  ### U.S. immigration policy today Today, U.S. immigration policy is governed largely by the Immigration and Nationality Act. This current U.S. policy has two major aspects: the first “facilitates migration flows of foreign nationals into the United States” and the second “focuses on immigration enforcement and removal,” as the U.S. Congress confirms in its primer on immigration policy. [...] Current state of immigration in the United States ------------------------------------------------- The U.S. immigration system that we have today is the result of several major legislative reforms. The first reform of significance was the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which was first codified in 1952 and has been amended significantly several times since, with Congress making these amendments based on new public laws. ### Overview of U.S. immigration policies [...] For more than a decade, high-profile members of Congress – Democrats and Republicans alike – have called for changes to border policy, but disagree on how to get there and what success looks like. As a result, progress toward immigration policy change has been slow and difficult. But for government affairs professionals, tracking legislative and regulatory updates remains a critical task.

• How the United States Immigration System Works

  The law governing U.S. immigration policy is called the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA allows the United States to grant up to 675,000 permanent immigrant visas each year across various visa categories. On top of those 675,000 visas, the INA sets no limit on the annual admission of U.S. citizens’ spouses, parents, and children under the age of 21. In addition, each year the president is required to consult with Congress and set an annual number of refugees to be admitted to the [...] Family unification is an important principle governing U.S. immigration policy. The family-based immigration system allows U.S. citizens and LPRs to enable certain family members to gain LPR status as well. Even U.S. citizens seeking to help an immediate family member already in the United States must technically petition for a visa so that their family member can become an LPR. [...] U.S. immigration law is based on the following principles: the reunification of families, admitting immigrants with skills that are valuable to the U.S. economy, humanitarian protections, and promoting diversity. This fact sheet provides basic information about how the U.S. legal immigration system is designed and functions.

• Protecting The American People Against Invasion - The White House

  Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens, particularly those aliens who threaten the safety or security of the American people. Further, it is the policy of the United States to achieve the total and efficient enforcement of those laws, including through lawful incentives and detention capabilities.

• Immigration reform in the United States - Wikipedia

  | Visas and policies | Visa policy + Permanent residence (Green card) + Visa Waiver Program + Temporary protected status (TPS) + Asylum + Green Card Lottery + Central American Minors Employment authorization document (EAD card) Deferred action Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) Parole "Parole (United States immigration)") Keeping Families Together (KFT) "Keeping Families Together (United States immigration policy)") [...] In United States v. Texas "United States v. Texas (2016)"), the Supreme Court deadlocked 4–4 on June 23, leaving in place the appeals court ruling blocking Obama's executive actions. On June 15, 2017, Trump's Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly announced that the order establishing the DAPA program was rescinded. ## President Trump's Immigration Policy (2017 to 2021) [...] On January 28, 2013, a bipartisan group of eight Senators, known as the "Gang of Eight" announced principles for comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). The Senators involved include: Charles Schumer of New York, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, and Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Republicans John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Jeff Flake of Arizona. The policies envisioned by the Senators include the following provisions:

• How U.S. immigration laws and rules have changed through history

  Migration Policy Institute. 2013. “Major U.S. Immigration Laws, 1790-Present.” Washington, D.C: March. Neuman, Gerald L. and Charles F. Hobson. 2005. “John Marshall and the Enemy Alien: A Case Missing from the Canon.” New York, NY: Columbia Law School. Passel, Jeffrey S. and Mark Hugo Lopez. 2012. “Up to 1.7 Million Unauthorized Immigrant Youth May Benefit from New Deportation Rules.” Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center, August. “Immigration Policy: Past and Present”. [...] The most recent changes in immigration policy have been an exception to that pattern. In 2012, President Obama took executive action to allow young adults who had been brought to the country illegally to apply for deportation relief and a work permit. In 2014, he expanded that program (known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA) and set up a new program to offer similar benefits to some unauthorized-immigrant parents of U.S.-born children. The DACA expansion and the new program [...] _In addition to the following references, legislation text was used to develop the timeline._ DeSilver, Drew. 2014. “Executive Actions on Immigration have long history.” Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center, November. Ewing, Walter A. 2012. “Opportunity and Exclusion: A Brief History of U.S. Immigration Policy.” Washington, D.C.: Immigration Policy Center, January. “Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930.”