Immigration policy of the United States
Article One of the United States Constitution directly empowers Congress to establish laws regarding naturalization.
The United States did not heavily legislate on immigration during the 18th and 19th centuries, resulting in a policy of open borders.
[3] In 1898, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Wong Kim Ark that birthright citizenship applied to the children of Chinese immigrants.
The Nationality Act of 1940 was passed to create a unified code of United States naturalization law.
[11][12] The Vietnam War resulted in a significant increase of immigrants and refugees to the United States from Southeast Asia.
[16] In 2001, the Supreme Court ruled that immigrants cannot be held indefinitely if no country will accept them for deportation in Zadvydas v.
President Obama adopted the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in 2012, which as of 2023 is prohibited from adding new recipients but has not been struck down or repealed by President Biden due to the Supreme Court decisions in United States v. Texas (2016) and Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California (2020).
[19] In addition to the 675,000 permanent visas, the INA does not have a limit on the annual admission of U.S. citizens (e.g. spouses, parents, and children under 21 years of age).
[19] Family relationships, employment ties, or humanitarian protection are main causes for immigrant seeking temporary or permanent U.S.
[20] Also, each year the President (currently Donald Trump) is required to address the congress and place an annual number of refugees to be admitted into the United States through the U.S.
[19] When a person legally migrates into the United States they obtain an immigrant visa and become a lawful permanent resident (LPR).
[21] To seek entry to the United States, prospective immigrants must apply and be accepted for a travel visa.
[citation needed] There are various nonimmigrant visa categories to seek entry into the United States for short periods of time and specific purposes.
It also established the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Department of Health and Human Services to oversee asylum policy.
In order to qualify for asylum, applications must meet the legally recognized definition of a refugee, must have no record of serious crimes, and cannot have already been resettled in another country.
[31] Asylum policy in the United States was more heavily regulated under the Trump administration, significantly reducing the number of refugees accepted to the United States and reducing resources toward asylum application processing, creating a significant backlog.
[34] During the 1970s and 1980s, United States asylum policy focused on Southeastern Asia due to the Vietnam War.
Applicants must also participate in an interview with the Citizenship and Immigration Services, to prove English proficiency and take the American Civics Test.
[36][37][38] The Supreme Court has ruled that multiple citizenship is legal in Kawakita v. United States and Schneider v.
The Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that undocumented children are entitled to enrollment in public schools in Plyler v. Doe.
Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, undocumented immigrants are entitled to service from any hospital that accepts Medicare.
[44] The United States has policies in place that provide for deferred action on removal of undocumented immigrants.
Under this program, eligible undocumented immigrants are granted a two-year deferral from removal and be authorized to legally work in the United States.
[49] The Obama administration sought to implement a second deferral program, the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA), in 2014.
Under this program, deferment would be granted to eligible undocumented immigrants that are the parents of American citizens or lawful permanent residents.
[53][54][55] Most immigration proceedings are civil matters, though crimes committed to enter the United States, including fraud or evasion of border enforcement, are still subject to criminal charges.
[57] Some have called for immigration courts to be moved to the judicial branch to prevent abuse by strengthening separation of powers.
[58][59] Whether people who are awaiting a decision on their deportation are detained or released to live in the United States in the meantime (possibly paying bail) is a matter of both law and discretion of the Justice Department.
The policy has varied over time and differs for those with crimes (including entry outside an official checkpoint) versus civil infractions.
The 2001 Supreme Court case Zadvydas v. Davis held that immigrants who cannot be deported because no country will accept them cannot be detained indefinitely.
