Policy Topic: Immigration | Bipartisan Policy Center

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There is consensus that the current immigration system is fundamentally flawed. The economic, national security, and human rights impacts of the nation’s immigration system need to be informed by objective, data-driven, empirical research and analysis. BPC focuses on four primary issue areas: controlling the flow of unauthorized immigration, legalization and citizenship, legal immigration, and economic impacts.

Where does the United States stand on key components of immigration enforcement, including border security, E-Verify, and entry-exit systems? How can we determine whether the border is secure?

How do immigrants affect the economy and the labor market? How would immigration reform proposals impact the federal budget deficit and future economic growth?

How does our legal immigration system work? What types of immigrants does it prioritize, and how do they get here?

What paths to citizenship exist in our immigration system? What programs and proposals exist to grant legal status to unauthorized immigrants?

How would key legislative proposals change affect immigration system, including legal flows, enforcement, and the unauthorized population?

Haley Barbour

Co-Chair, Immigration Task Force; Former Governor of Mississippi

Haley Barbour co-chairs BPC’s Immigration Task Force. Barbour served two consecutive terms as governor of Mississippi. A founding partner of BGR Group, he heads advocacy coalitions, lobbies on behalf of his clients, and remains a major force in Republican party politics.

Michael Chertoff

Co-Chair, Immigration Task Force; Former Secretary of Homeland Security

Michael Chertoff co-chairs BPC’s Immigration Task Force. From 2005 to 2009, he served as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Henry Cisneros

Board Member; Co-Chair, Housing Commission and Immigration Task Force; Former Secretary of HUD

Henry Cisneros, a BPC board member, co-chairs BPC’s Housing Commission, Immigration Task Force, and Senior Health and Housing Task Force. He served as the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in President Bill Clinton’s administration.

Edward G. Rendell

Co-Chair, Immigration Task Force; Former Governor of Pennsylvania

Edward G. Rendell co-chairs BPC’s Immigration Task Force. He served as the Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. He currently sits on several boards, is a Brookings fellow, and teaches government and politics courses at the University of Pennsylvania.

Theresa Cardinal Brown

Director of Immigration and Cross-Border Policy

Theresa Cardinal Brown is BPC’s director of immigration and cross-border policy. She previously served in immigration and border policy positions at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and under Secretaries Chertoff and Napolitano at the Department of Homeland Security.

Lazaro Zamora

Senior Policy Analyst

Lazaro Zamora is a policy analyst for BPC’s Immigration Task Force. Zamora previously worked for BPC’s Energy Project and supported its transportation initiative.

Borders and Enforcement

Congress Pushes Stronger Border Security Metrics

The government has generally failed to publish consistent outcome metrics to better inform this discussion.

Borders and Enforcement, Legal and Temporary Immigration, Legalization and Citizenship

States and Cities Pulled into Immigration Enforcement

The Trump orders would, by agreement or by coercion, put states and localities squarely in the middle of immigration enforcement in the United States.

Borders and Enforcement, Legal and Temporary Immigration, Legalization and Citizenship

Obama’s Immigration Executive Actions: Two Years Later

While the controversial deferred action programs remain frozen in the courts, several other reforms have been rolled out or otherwise addressed.

Borders and Enforcement, Legal and Temporary Immigration, Legalization and Citizenship, Reform Legislation

Addressing Unauthorized Immigrants in America

Both parties will likely need to concede parts of their agenda and conceive of new ideas and proposals to break the political deadlock and build trust.

Borders and Enforcement, Legal and Temporary Immigration, Legalization and Citizenship, Reform Legislation

The Political Obstacles to Immigration Reform

Getting immigration legislation to the president’s desk will require overcoming several political obstacles that have doomed reform attempts in the past.

Borders and Enforcement

Immigration and National Security: Balancing Interests

Reducing immigration policy to the simple notion of border security and restricting the entry of large groups of people is both impractical and counterproductive.

Borders and Enforcement, Legal and Temporary Immigration

Administration Attempts to Adapt as Central American Flow Continues

Atypical migration patterns have created unpredictability that challenge the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to stem and predict future trends.

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Reports

Still Room for Consensus

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Reports

Balancing Priorities: Immigration, National Security, and Public Safety

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Reports

Culprit or Scapegoat? Immigration’s Effect on Employment and Wages

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Alt

Data and Resources

Immigration in Two Acts

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H-1B Visas Used for More than Just Tech

LEGAL AND TEMPORARY IMMIGRATION
Blog

Deportation Without a Hearing: A Primer

LEGAL AND TEMPORARY IMMIGRATION
Blog

Refugee Admissions Under the Trump Administration

@BPC_Bipartisan

TONIGHT @ 7:30: hear @ASlavitt & @bfrist talk about bringing innovation to #healthcare: https://t.co/YugPdmljSL
July 25, 2017

A Snapshot of Immigration at the Border

BORDERS AND ENFORCEMENT
Blog

Immigration in Trump’s FY2018 Budget

DHS Overstay Report Shows Students Overstay More Than Visitors

LEGALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP
Blog

Immigration in the Omnibus

BUDGET AND ECONOMICS
Blog

New Developments Bring Biometric Entry-Exit System Closer to Reality

BORDERS AND ENFORCEMENT
Blog

Congress Pushes Stronger Border Security Metrics

BORDERS AND ENFORCEMENT
Blog

Trump’s First 100 Days

Trump’s Wall Is Worthless If He Doesn’t Back It Up With Tech

BUDGET AND ECONOMICS
News - Huffington Post

Trump, Congress Set Sights on H-1B Visa Reforms

REFORM LEGISLATION
Blog

Merit-Based Immigration System

LEGAL AND TEMPORARY IMMIGRATION
Blog

An immigration policy worth ending

REFORM LEGISLATION
News - The Washington Post

The battle continues over travel ban

REFORM LEGISLATION
News - CNN

President Trump Issues Sweeping Travel Ban

REFORM LEGISLATION
News - CNN

Trump’s Fevered Executive Orders Leave Capitol Hill in Chaos

REFORM LEGISLATION
News - Vanity Fair

How Trump can defund 'sanctuary cities'

REFORM LEGISLATION
News - USA Today

VIDEO: What Trump’s DHS pick might mean for immigration policy

BORDERS AND ENFORCEMENT
News - Fox News

Muslim Registry “Easy” To Reinstate But “Ineffective”

LEGAL AND TEMPORARY IMMIGRATION
News - Buzzfeed News

The Immigration Debate in the Age of Trump

REFORM LEGISLATION
News - SiriusXM

Trump’s plan to subject immigrants to “ideological tests"

LEGALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP
News - Vox

Many What-Ifs in Donald Trump’s Plan for Migrants

LEGAL AND TEMPORARY IMMIGRATION
News - The New York Times

Migrant surge signals systemic problems in immigration enforcement

BORDERS AND ENFORCEMENT
News - Fox News Latino

Entrepreneurship: One issue both parties can agree on

LEGAL AND TEMPORARY IMMIGRATION
News - CNBC

U.S. Doesn’t Know How Many Foreign Visitors Overstay Visas

LEGAL AND TEMPORARY IMMIGRATION
News - The New York Times

Lawmakers Must Do More to Respond to Refugee Crisis

LEGAL AND TEMPORARY IMMIGRATION
News - Roll Call

Carson: Political correctness is ruining our country

BORDERS AND ENFORCEMENT
News - The Hill