Recent CRS Reports on Immigration

Recent CRS Reports on Immigration include the following:

• CRIMINALIZING UNLAWFUL PRESENCE: SELECTED ISSUES
• IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION AND ISSUES IN THE 109TH CONGRESS
• IMMIGRATION RELATED BORDER SECURITY LEGISLATION IN THE 109TH CONGRESS
• TOWARD MORE EFFECTIVE IMMIGRATION POLICIES: SELECTED ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES
• U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY ON PERMANENT ADMISSIONS
• THE EFFECTS ON U.S. FARM WORKERS OF AN AGRICULTURAL GUEST WORKER PROGRAM
• FARM LABOR: THE ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE RATE
• IMMIGRATION: LEGISLATIVE ISSUES ON NONIMMIGRANT PROFESSIONAL SPECIALTY (H-1B) WORKERS
• BORDER SECURITY: KEY AGENCIES AND THEIR MISSIONS
• IMMIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION: CURRENT LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

CRIMINALIZING UNLAWFUL PRESENCE: SELECTED ISSUES   
CRS Publication Date:  03/29/2006
Document No.:  RS22413
Author(s):  Michael John Garcia, American Law Division

Abstract:  Several bills introduced in the 109th Congress would make the unauthorized presence of aliens in the U.S. a criminal offense, including H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, introduced by Representative James Sensenbrenner on December 6, 2005 and passed by the House as amended on December 16, 2005, and S. 2454, the Securing America's Borders Act, introduced by Senator Bill Frist on March 16, 2006. The version of Chairman Arlen Specter's mark reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 27, 2006 does not contain a provision criminalizing unlawful presence, though the bill had initially contained such a provision. This report discusses some of the issues raised by criminalizing unlawful presence.

IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION AND ISSUES IN THE 109TH CONGRESS   
CRS Publication Date:  03/23/2006
Document No.:  RL33125
Author(s):  Andorra Bruno, Ruth Ellen Wasem, Alison Siskin, and Blas Nunez-Neto, Domestic Social Policy Division; Michael John Garcia, Stephen R. Vina, and Mikyung Lee, American Law Division; and Karma Ester, Knowledge Services Group

Abstract:  While immigration reform proposals remain pending, Congress has enacted limited provisions on temporary and permanent employment-based immigration as part of P.L. 109-13. It also has enacted legislation concerning alien victims of domestic violence, trafficking in persons, and refugees. This report discusses these and other immigration-related issues that have seen legislative action or are of significant congressional interest. The final section of the report lists enacted legislation and selected bills receiving action.

IMMIGRATION RELATED BORDER SECURITY LEGISLATION IN THE 109TH CONGRESS   
CRS Publication Date:  03/24/2006
Document No.:  RL33181
Author(s):  Blas Nunez-Neto, Domestic Social Policy Division

Abstract:  In the 109th Congress, there are a large number of bills currently pending that would address some of the immigration issues associated with border security by focusing on the movement of people into the country, both at POE and illegally across the U.S. international land border. This report focuses on the main legislative issues facing the 109th Congress relating to the movement of people across the border.

TOWARD MORE EFFECTIVE IMMIGRATION POLICIES: SELECTED ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES   
CRS Publication Date:  03/17/2006
Document No.:  RL33319
Author(s):  Ruth Ellen Wasem, Domestic Social Policy Division

Abstract:  As Congress weighs comprehensive immigration reform legislation that would likely include strengthened enforcement measures, a significant expansion of guest workers, and perhaps include increased levels of permanent immigration, some question whether the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can handle the increased immigration workload. In response to growing concerns that the immigration responsibilities and other important duties of DHS were not functioning effectively, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the Second Stage Review (2SR) to base work on priorities driven by risk. "Strengthen[ing] border security and interior enforcement and reform[ing] immigration processes" is on the six-point agenda driving Secretary Chertoff's plans to improve DHS management. Currently, three agencies in DHS have important immigration functions: Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY ON PERMANENT ADMISSIONS   
CRS Publication Date:  03/24/2006
Document No.:  RL32235
Author(s):  Ruth Ellen Wasem, Domestic Social Policy Division

Abstract:  Four major principles underlie U.S. policy on legal permanent immigration: the reunification of families, the admission of immigrants with needed skills, the protection of refugees, and the diversity of admissions by country of origin. These principles are embodied in federal law, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) first codified in 1952. The Immigration Amendments of 1965 replaced the national origins quota system (enacted after World War I) with per-country ceilings, and the statutory provisions regulating permanent immigration to the United States were last revised significantly by the Immigration Act of 1990.

THE EFFECTS ON U.S. FARM WORKERS OF AN AGRICULTURAL GUEST WORKER PROGRAM   
CRS Publication Date:  03/09/2006
Document No.:  95-712
Author(s):  Linda Levine, Domestic Social Policy Division

Abstract:  If amendment of the H-2A program or initiation of a new agricultural guest worker program led growers to employ many more aliens than is now the case, the effects of the Bracero program might be instructive: although the 1942-1964 Bracero program succeeded in expanding the farm labor supply, studies estimate that it also harmed domestic farm workers as measured by their reduced wages and employment. The magnitudes of these adverse effects might differ today depending upon how much the U.S. farm labor and product markets have changed over time, but their direction likely would be the same.

FARM LABOR: THE ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE RATE (AEWR)   
CRS Publication Date:  03/17/2006
Document No.:  RL32861
Author(s):  William G. Whittaker, Domestic Social Policy Division

Abstract:  American agricultural employers have long utilized foreign workers on a temporary basis, regarding them as an important labor resource. At the same time, the relatively low wages and adverse working conditions of such workers have caused them to be viewed as a threat to domestic American workers. Some have argued that foreign guest workers compete unfairly with U.S. workers - both in terms of compensation that they are willing to accept and by making it somewhat more difficult for domestic workers to organize and to bargain with management. To mitigate any "adverse effect"for the domestic workforce, a system of wage floors was developed that applies, variously, both to alien and citizen workers: i.e., the adverse effect wage rate (AEWR). This report deals with one element of immigration (i.e., namely the H-2A workers). It introduces the adverse effect wage rate, it examines the concerns out of which it grew, and it explains at least some of the problems that have been encountered in giving it effect.

IMMIGRATION: LEGISLATIVE ISSUES ON NONIMMIGRANT PROFESSIONAL SPECIALTY (H-1B) WORKERS   
CRS Publication Date:  03/24/2006
Document No.:  RL30498
Author(s):  Ruth Ellen Wasem, Domestic Social Policy Division

Abstract:  Most recently, Title IV of S. 2454, which Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist introduced, as well as Title V in the draft of Senate Judiciary Chairman Specter's mark, would exempt aliens who have earned an advanced degree in science, technology, engineering, or math from an accredited university in the United States from the numerical limits of H-1Bs.

BORDER SECURITY: KEY AGENCIES AND THEIR MISSIONS   
CRS Publication Date:  01/26/2006
Document No.:  RS21899
Author(s):  Blas Nunez-Neto, Domestic Social Policy Division

Abstract:  This report is a primer on the key federal agencies charged with border security; as such it describes each agency's role in securing our nation's borders.

IMMIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION: CURRENT LEGISLATIVE ISSUES   
CRS Publication Date:  02/09/2006
Document No.:  RL32369
Author(s):  Alison M. Siskin, Domestic Social Policy Division

Abstract:  There are many policy issues surrounding detention of aliens including concerns about the number of aliens subject to mandatory detention, and the justness of mandatory detention, especially as it is applied to asylum seekers arriving without proper documentation. Some have raised concerns about the length of time in detention for aliens who have been ordered removed. Additionally, issues have been raised about the amount of detention space available to house Department of Homeland Security detainees. Another area of uncertainty is the Attorney Generals role in the detention of noncitizens, since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

CRS Reports can be obtained from GalleryWatch.com. Individual reports are available from www.pennyhill.com.

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati College of Law