Thursday, March 10, 2011

[IWS] CRS: IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION & ISSUES IN THE 111th CONGRESS [18 January 2011]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor----------------------
Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

 

Congressional Research Service (CRS)

 

Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 111th Congress

Andorra Bruno, Coordinator, Specialist in Immigration Policy

Karma Ester, Information Research Specialist

Margaret Mikyung Lee, Legislative Attorney

Alison Siskin, Specialist in Immigration Policy

Ruth Ellen Wasem, Specialist in Immigration Policy

January 18, 2011

http://www.opencrs.com/document/R40848/2011-01-18/download/1005/

[full-text, 20 pages]

 

Summary

The Speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader of the 111th Congress pledged to take up

comprehensive immigration reform legislation, the most controversial piece of which concerns

unauthorized aliens in the United States. Although the 111th Congress did not take up a

comprehensive immigration bill, it did consider a narrower DREAM Act proposal to legalize the

status of certain unauthorized alien students. On December 8, 2010, the House approved a version

of the DREAM Act as an amendment to an unrelated bill, the Removal Clarification Act of 2010

(H.R. 5281). A cloture motion in the Senate to agree to the House DREAM Act amendment failed

on a 55-41 vote on December 18, 2010.

 

The 111th Congress also considered other immigration issues and enacted a number of targeted

immigration provisions. It passed legislation (P.L. 111-8, P.L. 111-9, P.L. 111-68, P.L. 111-83) to

extend the life of several immigration programs—the E-Verify electronic employment eligibility

verification system, the Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, the Conrad State J-1

Waiver Program, and the special immigrant visa for religious workers—until September 30, 2012.

Among the other subjects of legislation enacted by the 111th Congress were border security (P.L.

111-5, P.L. 111-32, P.L. 111-83, P.L. 111-230, P.L. 111-281, P.L. 111-376), refugees (P.L. 111-8,

P.L. 111-117), and Haitian migrants (P.L. 111-212, P.L. 111-293).

 

This report discusses these and other immigration-related issues that have received legislative

action or are of significant congressional interest. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

appropriations are addressed in CRS Report R40642, Homeland Security Department: FY2010

Appropriations, and, for the most part, are not covered here.

 

Contents

Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1

Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification ...........................................................................1

Border Security..........................................................................................................................3

Resources at Ports of Entry ...................................................................................................3

Resources Between Ports of Entry.........................................................................................4

Barriers at the Border ............................................................................................................5

Unauthorized Immigration ..........................................................................................................5

Unauthorized Students ..........................................................................................................6

U.S. Refugee Program.................................................................................................................6

Refugee Resettlement Funding..............................................................................................7

Haitian Migration.......................................................................................................................8

International Adoptions ...............................................................................................................8

Haitian Adoptions .................................................................................................................9

Special Immigrants .....................................................................................................................9

Religious workers ...............................................................................................................10

Afghan Allies......................................................................................................................10

Other Issues and Legislation......................................................................................................10

Birthright Citizenship..........................................................................................................10

Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program...................................................................... 11

Widow Penalty in Permanent Admissions............................................................................ 11

Waivers for Foreign Medical Graduates...............................................................................14

Alien Smuggling.................................................................................................................14

Other Legislation Receiving Action.....................................................................................15

Temporary Professional Specialty (H-1B) Workers and Intracompany Transferees

(L) .............................................................................................................................15

Foreign Students ...........................................................................................................15

Victims of Violence and Trafficking ..............................................................................16

Refugee and Asylee Adjustments of Status ....................................................................16

LPR Return of Talent Program......................................................................................16

Immigration Relief for Immediate Family of Victims of September 11, 2001.................16

 

Contacts

Author Contact Information ......................................................................................................17

Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................17



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This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
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