Immigration 101
Immigration in the United States is complex and ever-evolving. Start here to understand the fundamental aspects of immigration policy, its history, and its impact on both individuals and the country at large. Learn commonly used terms about immigration law and how the U.S. immigration system is designed. Explore layered topics like how and whether immigrants can become citizens, as well as what individual protections look like under the law.
How the United States Immigration System Works
- How the Immigration System Works
- June 24, 2024
U.S. immigration law is very complex, and there is much confusion as to how it works. This fact sheet provides basic information…
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Birthright Citizenship in the United States
- Birthright Citizenship
- July 9, 2026
This fact sheet explains birthright citizenship, the Fourteenth Amendment, and its interpretations. Who is…
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Asylum in the United States
- Asylum
- August 27, 2014
Asylum seekers must navigate a difficult and complex process that can involve multiple government…
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The Criminalization of Immigration in the United States
For more than a century, innumerable studies have confirmed two simple yet powerful truths about the relationship between immigration and crime: immigrants are less likely to commit serious crimes or be behind bars than the native-born, and high rates of immigration are associated with lower rates of violent crime and property crime. Read More
Immigrant Families Keep a Small Town’s Church — and its Manufacturing Base — Alive
For 20 years, leaders of the predominantly white Trinity United Methodist Church in Dalton, Georgia, had had little luck attracting congregants from the town’s growing immigrant community. Today, that’s changing. A few Hispanic families have now helped the church earn a significant level of trust among the Latino community, says… Read More
Mexican Tax Lawyer Says a Path to Legal Status Would Allow Her to Pay More Into the U.S. Economy
After Maribel Solache’s neighbor was kidnapped in Mexico City more than a decade ago, Solache and her husband took their young children to the United States on a tourist visa. Too fearful to return, the family remained in the northern San Diego suburb of San Marcos. Yet they live in… Read More
Oceanside Chamber of Commerce Official Says Immigration Reform Will Help the Local Economy
As the first ever Latino outreach coordinator for the Chamber of Commerce in Oceanside, California, Laura Ojeda is a testament to the Hispanic community’s rising economic power. The chamber created the position to provide a bridge to the Hispanic community, which makes up nearly 36 percent of the… Read More
Weekend Reading: Highlights from this week’s immigration news (July 4-8)
Just about every day in towns and cities across America, immigrants are becoming naturalized citizens. But what is it like to pledge allegiance to America and become a U.S. citizen on July 4, our nation’s birthday? Vice’s Serena Solomon writes about the unique experience here. This week in… Read More
Immigration Lawyer Sees How Immigrants Boost New Orleans’ Economy
As acting director of the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic & Center for Social Justice at Loyola University College of Law in Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District, Ramona Fernandez oversees between 400 and 500 cases at a time. Roughly 40 percent of those are part of the clinic’s immigration law branch,… Read More
From Experience, Doctoral Student Knows More Immigrants Would Love the Chance to Study, Work, Pay Taxes
When Mariana Ocampo was growing up in Texas, she and her siblings longed for part-time jobs similar to the ones their teenage friends held. They wanted to work, they wanted to spend their earnings, and they wanted to contribute to their family. But since Ocampo and her siblings… Read More
A Former Undocumented Immigrant is Behind One of Kansas City’s Most Popular Youth Soccer Facilities
Raul Villegas had been living in America as an undocumented immigrant for more than 20 years when he decided to build an indoor soccer facility in Kansas City, Kansas. That was in 2013, long before the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, removed the threat of deportation for… Read More
College Director Has the Answer to Firms’ Worker Shortages: Let Undocumented Immigrants Go To School
When Julio Hernandez was growing up around gangs in San Antonio, his parents made it clear that college would be in his future. His peers seemed surprised. One even teased him: “How can you go to college? You rich or something?” As the son of Mexican immigrants who worked… Read More
Miss Michigan 2016 Just Happens to Be an Automotive Designer–and a Chinese Immigrant
This summer, Arianna Quan was crowned Miss Michigan — but the 23-year-old, who aspires to be an automobile designer and is paying for her studies with the tens of thousands of dollars she’s won from competing with the Miss America Organization, didn’t have a typical “Toddlers & Tiaras” upbringing. Quan,… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
