With one statutory change, Congress could extend legal status to millions of undocumented residents through an existing legalization program known as the “registry.” In past decades, the program legalized thousands of long-term undocumented residents, but virtually no undocumented residents today would qualify unless Congress revises the legislation. If updated, the program could extend legal status to millions.
The American Committee on Italian Migration (ACIM) was innovative for its time, organizing immigrants and their US-born descendants to serve the immigrant community and to advocate for immigration reform. It was an experiment that offers valuable lessons for immigration activists today.
CMS estimates show approximately 71,700 Black undocumented immigrants live in New York State, out of which 83 percent live in New York City.
This paper offers estimates of US foreign-born populations that are eligible for special legal status programs and those that would be eligible for permanent residence (legalization) under pending bills. It seeks to provide policymakers, government agencies, community-based organizations (CBOs), researchers, and others with a unique tool to assess the potential impact, implement, and analyze the success of these programs. The paper views timely, comprehensive data on targeted immigrant populations as an essential pillar of legalization preparedness, implementation, and evaluation. The paper and the exhaustive estimates that underlie it, represent a first attempt to provide a detailed statistical profile of beneficiaries of proposed major US legalization programs and special, large-scale legal status programs.
New York City is a “welcoming city” that encourages “all New Yorkers regardless of immigration status” to access the public benefits and services for which they qualify (NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs or “MOIA” 2021a). Moreover, it invests significant resources in educating immigrant communities on this core commitment and its lack of participation in federal immigration enforcement activities. However, this report by the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) finds that immigrants in New York City still face significant barriers to accessing public benefits and services.
The report is based on CMS research that examined immigrant fear and other barriers in three general areas: the use of public benefits, with a particular focus on the public charge rule; the use of public health services; and access to law enforcement and the courts. The report documents how Trump-era immigration policies perpetuated fear among immigrant communities, in the context of other barriers to accessing services and benefits, and why its detrimental impacts have persisted and outlived the Trump administration.
The Center for Migration Studies welcomes its newest collection, the papers of Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio. This new collection is an opportunity to examine how the traditions of the Church can meet some of the needs of the modern world. The collection promises to expand CMS’s coverage of immigration.
On December 6, 2021, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reimplemented the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), commonly known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy. This post and the accompanying graphic outline policy changes and estimates of people impacted by MPP and their asylum case outcomes.
This report offers estimates of US foreign-born populations that are eligible for special legal status programs and those that would be eligible for permanent residence (legalization) under pending bills. It seeks to provide policymakers, government agencies, community-based organizations (CBOs), researchers, and others with a unique tool to assess the potential impact, implement, and analyze the success of these programs. The report views timely, comprehensive data on targeted immigrant populations as an essential pillar of legalization preparedness, implementation, and evaluation. The report and the exhaustive estimates that underlie it, represent a first attempt to provide a detailed statistical profile of beneficiaries of proposed major US legalization programs and special, large-scale legal status programs.
On November 19, the House passed the Build Back Better Act, which includes significant immigration provisions.