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Immigration Legislation

Commentary
Escaping Afghanistan
As of April 2023, about 152,000 Special Immigrant Visa applicants remain trapped in Afghanistan. Despite many recommendations and bipartisan support for reforming the program, only minor tweaks have been made. Meanwhile, the dangerously slow process has become practically a death sentence.
Aug 14, 2023
Report
Language, Labels, and the DHS Lexicon: Analysis to Support a More-Inclusive Lexicon for Securing the Homeland
The authors analyze U.S. Department of Homeland Security documentation, processes, and procedures and then identify ways to improve them and to create an organizational culture that supports the lasting implementation of more-inclusive terminology.
Jun 19, 2023
Commentary
Addressing Climate Migration
As the effects of climate change increase in scope and severity, more people will relocate to preserve or enhance their lives and livelihoods. A review of how six countries are managing climate mobility provides options for policymakers considering the needs of climate migrants and their host communities.
Dec 7, 2021
Brochure
Immigration Policy and Border Security
A collection of RAND's interdisciplinary work on immigration and on managing the U.S. border.
Nov 30, 2021
Commentary
The Public Charge Rule's Likely Hazard to Our Nation's Health During COVID-19
The Public Charge rule makes immigrants who receive Medicaid and other publicly-funded benefits potentially ineligible for green cards, and, in some cases, subjects them to deportation. Fear and reluctance to seek assistance among immigrants is likely to worsen during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Apr 6, 2020
Dissertation
Three Essays on Minority and Immigrant Outcomes in a New Era of Immigration Enforcement: Evidence from Los Angeles
Seeks to disentangle the structural factors that affect levels of economic and social integration of minority and immigrant populations.
Sep 13, 2019
Commentary
A Threat to Immigrant Health Care with Potential Consequences for All
The proposed changes to the “public charge” rule could jeopardize decades of progress towards improved health care access and health for immigrants and U.S. citizens. Negative effects may include worse health outcomes, increased use of emergency rooms, and increased prevalence of communicable diseases.
Oct 12, 2018
Commentary
Restoring Asylum Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence
Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded asylum protections earlier this month for victims of domestic violence. The decision and the supporting analysis goes against decades of research on violence against women. Congress could reverse the decision by amending the asylum law.
Jun 25, 2018
Commentary
The Immigration Debate: Building a Bridge Across the Deportation-Amnesty Divide
Discussions of U.S. immigration are dominated by arguments that pit “rule of law” proponents — focused on apprehension, detention, and deportation — against “humanitarian” supporters seeking a pardon or amnesty that will allow immigrants to stay in the country. Minor changes to the statute known as “Cancellation of Removal” could offer a compromise.
Feb 28, 2018
Commentary
Neither Deportation nor Amnesty: An Alternative for the Immigration Debate
About 11 million people live in the United States without lawful immigration status. Proposed solutions typically focus on deportation versus amnesty, but a minor change to the current immigration law could offer a compromise.
Feb 26, 2018
Commentary
Why a Travel Restriction Won't Stop Terrorism at Home
It's not unreasonable to seek a review of immigration, and refugee-vetting procedures make sense. But America's jihadist terrorists are not imported from abroad. They are mostly homegrown.
Feb 10, 2017
Multimedia
Will Banning Travelers and Refugees Make Us Safer?
In this Call with the Experts, RAND's Brian Michael Jenkins, one of the nation's leading experts on terrorism and homeland security, discusses what we know about the perpetrators of terrorism in the United States.
Feb 9, 2017
Research Brief
Understanding the Costs and Benefits of State-Level Immigration Policies
State-level action on immigration policies is a contentious issue. RAND researchers developed a cost-benefit framework for classifying consequences of specific policies and assessed studies of specific policies' fiscal and economic impacts.
Aug 4, 2016
News Release
State-Level Immigration Policies Grow More Common; Cost-Benefit Tool Offered to Assess Full Impact of State Actions
The expanding role of U.S. states in immigration policy raises questions about the consequences of state-level action. A cost-benefit framework identifies the economic and fiscal impacts of state-level immigration policies and how different stakeholders would be affected.
Mar 8, 2016
Report
What Are the Potential Impacts of State-Level Immigration Policies?
The expanding role of U.S. states in immigration policy raises questions about the consequences of state-level action. A cost-benefit framework identifies the economic and fiscal impacts of state-level immigration policies and how different stakeholders would be affected.
Mar 8, 2016
Commentary
If Terrorism Is Homegrown, a Visa Overhaul Won't Keep Americans Safe
Despite being the focus of renewed scrutiny, only three people involved in terrorist incidents have entered the United States via the visa waiver program in the past quarter-century.
Dec 7, 2015
Commentary
Should Undocumented Immigrant Youth Pay In-State Tuition to Attend College?
Undocumented children are entitled to free primary and secondary public education everywhere in the United States, regardless of their legal status. But when they finish high school, their options for college vary depending on the state in which they live.
Jul 28, 2015
Commentary
The Forgotten Cornerstone in the Immigration Reform Debate
The Executive Office for Immigration Review manages the U.S. immigration court system and thereby plays a pivotal role in assuring the timely processing of foreign nationals and the security of the nation and its borders. It should not be left out of discussions of immigration reform.
Apr 30, 2015
Periodical
RAND Review Examines Immigration, Defense Policies, the ACA, and Correctional Education
Stories in RAND's flagship journal discuss U.S. and Mexican immigration and labor reforms; British, French, and German defense policies in the face of austerity; seven ramifications of the Affordable Care Act; and the cost-effectiveness of correctional education programs.
Nov 26, 2013
Commentary
Challenges and Opportunities Ahead for New Homeland Security Secretary
To ensure the Department of Homeland Security makes progress in the current constrained budget environment, its new secretary must put in place a strategic perspective to guide priorities for how to address the country's most pressing problems in disaster management, immigration reform, cybersecurity, violent extremism, and nuclear terrorism.
Oct 24, 2013

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RAND Topic:
Immigration Legislation

Topic Synonyms:
Immigration Law;
Migration Law

Researcher Spotlight

Alejandra Lopez

Ph.D. Student, Pardee RAND Graduate School, and Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND

Alejandra Lopez is a Ph.D. student in the Community-Partnered Policy and Action stream at Pardee RAND Graduate School and an assistant policy analyst at RAND. She has an M.S. in mathematics from Purdue University, a B.S. in mathematics from Arizona State University, and an A.S. from Mesa…
Lana Eekelschot

Analyst

Lana Eekelschot is an analyst at RAND Europe. She has mainly worked on various qualitative studies in the field of security, human rights and criminal justice, including those commissioned by EU agencies (e.g. FRA and EP) and the Dutch government (e.g. Ministry of Justice and Security). Besides…

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