Immigration Reform
The last time Congress updated our legal immigration system was November 1990, one month before the World Wide Web went online. We are long overdue for comprehensive immigration reform.
Through immigration reform, we can provide noncitizens with a system of justice that provides due process of law and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. Because it can be a contentious and wide-ranging issue, we aim to provide advocates with facts and work to move bipartisan solutions forward. Read more about topics like legalization for undocumented immigrants and border security below.In the Spotlight
Restoring Credibility and Humanity
- Interior Enforcement
- May 12, 2026
A new framework for U.S. immigration enforcement that prioritizes public safety, fairness, accountability, and humane, proportionate consequences. Read More
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Here He Goes Again: Lamar Smith Rehashes Distorted Claims on Immigrants and Social Security
Representative Lamar Smith, the top ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, has been making the rounds again with astounding claims regarding immigrants and Social Security. Based on what he has described as “hard data” released by the Social Security Administration (SSA), Rep. Smith’s analysis is inaccurate and his conclusion wrong. There is broad agreement that the presence of undocumented workers in the United States helps to keep the Social Security system solvent. In fact, SSA estimates that payroll contributions relating to work performed by undocumented immigrants improved Social Security’s cash flow by $12 billion in 2007 alone, benefiting us all. Rep. Smith recognizes that undocumented immigrants pay into Social Security, yet he doesn’t want them to become U.S. citizens and participate when they retire and can no longer work. But that’s not how America works. The bedrock principle of the Social Security system is that what you get is based on what you pay in. Read More
Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) NOT an Immigration Benefit
There is a lot of confusion surrounding Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs)—what they are, who has them, and the purposes for which they are used. Immigration restrictionists take advantage of this confusion and often bring up ITINs in an effort to make it seem as if undocumented immigrants are receiving special benefits or quasi-legal immigration status. The fact is that ITINs are used to pay taxes—some legal immigrants have them, some undocumented immigrants use them, and some people who don’t even live in the U.S. have them if they need to pay U.S. taxes. Read More
Immigrant Homebuyers Play Crucial Role in Housing Market Revival
Earlier this week, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University released a new housing report which provides a rather grim analysis of the current housing crisis. Real home prices continue to fall and foreclosures continue to mount despite recent federal interventions. Because of job losses, decreased home prices, and tougher credit eligibility requirements, homebuyers are finding it more and more difficult to purchase homes. But, as the report notes, immigrants could be a key element to recovery. Read More
President Obama Lights Torch for Common Sense Immigration Reform
Embedded video from CNN Video Today the President, Vice President, and key cabinet members met with a bipartisan group of Senate and House leaders on immigration reform in a closed-door meeting at the White House. The White House characterized the meeting as the "launch" of a policy conversation and "an honest discussion about the issues.” True to “Yes We Can” form, President Obama’s no-nonsense remarks after the meeting indicated that the time for inflammatory rhetoric is over and the time for genuine dialogue is now. Read More
Students Storm Capitol Hill for National DREAM Act Graduation Day
On Tuesday, more than 500 students from across the country gathered in Washington, DC, to take part in the National DREAM Act Graduation Ceremony. Although only a symbolic ceremony, students from different countries and backgrounds stood as one in an effort to push Congress to pass the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act). From Orange County California to Capitol Hill, students came dressed in graduation attire with signs hanging around their necks reading, “Future Doctor,” “Future Engineer” and “I support the DREAM Act.” Yet for many, the graduation ceremony was bittersweet. Read More
President Obama to Chart Course for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Tomorrow, President Obama and a bipartisan group of Congressional leaders are expected to convene at the White House to draft a roadmap for moving forward with Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2009. Despite Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’ dismal legislative voter forecast for moving forward this year, President Obama has continually reaffirmed his commitment to a “fair, practical and promising way forward” for immigration reform. Last week, President Obama spoke at the Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast: For those who wish to become citizens, we should require them to pay a penalty and pay taxes, learn English, go to the back of the line behind those who played by the rules. That is the fair, practical, and promising way forward, and that’s what I’m committed to passing as President of the United States. Read More
PASS ID Act Not An Immigration Solution
Introduced by Sen. Akaka (D-HI) last week with 5 co-sponsors, the “Providing for Additional Security in States’ Identification Act” (PASS ID) (S. 1261) would give states a breather from the costs and restrictions imposed by the REAL ID Act, which became law in 2005 without Congressional hearings and as part of must-pass war funding bill. The PASS ID Act, however, would do little for immigrant access to licenses and nothing for a common sense approach to immigration reform. PASS ID would repeal the REAL ID Act, which numerous states have vociferously opposed as a burdensome, unfunded mandate and akin to creation of a national ID system. Currently, 23 states have passed laws and resolutions opposing the REAL ID Act, including Arizona whose former governor, Janet Napolitano, is now the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). But PASS ID—like REAL ID—sets national standards for driver’s licenses. Driver’s licenses won’t be accepted for federal purposes if they don’t meet the national standards. Read More
Faith Leaders Crusade for Immigration Reform
It’s no secret that faith and religious leaders have not always seen eye-to-eye with Washington on politically controversial issues—right to life, gay rights, capital punishment, etc. Immigration, however, is not one of those issues. In fact, many interfaith groups have been the most vocal in calling on the new Administration and 111th Congress to “enact humane and equitable immigration reform in 2009.” Last week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement urging President Obama to keep his promise to fix our broken and outdated immigration system. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the bishops' conference, said: Only through comprehensive reform can we restore the rule of law to our nation’s immigration system. Now is the time to address this pressing humanitarian issue which affects so many lives and undermines basic human dignity. Read More
President Obama Calls on Congress for a “Fair, Practical and Promising Way Forward” on Immigration Reform
This morning, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his dedication to comprehensive immigration reform at the Esperanza USA National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. “This promise means upholding America’s tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants,” he said. The President also gave a general outline… Read More
Obama Administration Begins Rolling Back Midnight Regulations Left by Bush Administration
While a bill that would reform our immigration system waits in queue behind other issues, like healthcare and climate change, the new Administration has begun a good faith effort to right some of the most egregious wrongs left by the former White House. For example, last week Secretary Napolitano suspended the Bush administration’s policy of deporting widows of fallen U.S. soldiers. The Wall Street Journal reported: Only a few hundred people were at risk of deportation under the policy, but critics viewed it as one of the most painful consequences of President George W. Bush's immigration crackdown. Under the current interpretation of federal law, some immigrants whose American spouses had died faced possible deportation because their legal status was in limbo. The clause, known as the "widow penalty," had resulted in a spate of lawsuits. Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
