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Immigration Issue Centers Legal Immigration Reform View All An Immigration Reform Agenda for the 109th Congress Why America Needs an Immigration Time-Out A time-out would allow us to regain control of our borders, protect the nation against terrorism, ease the pressure on the environment, repair overburdened institutions, and allow the millions of recent immigrants space to pursue the American dream. U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform Recommendations The bipartisan congressional Commission on Immigration Reform (the Jordan Commission) advocated immigration reforms in line with FAIR's recommendations. Chain Migration Chain migration--where one immigrant sponsors several other immigrants for admission, who then sponsor several others themselves, and so on--results in ever-larger numbers of people coming to the U.S. and has consigned additional millions to visa waiting lists. The Nuclear Family: A Matter of Fairness Eliminating immigration entitlements for extended relatives (adult siblings, adult children, and parents) and giving priority to the nuclear family would reduce backlogs, lessen incentives for illegal immigration, and help regain control over ever-increasing immigration levels.   Illegal Immigration View All Illegal Immigration and Public Health Because illegal immigrants, unlike those who are legally admitted for permanent residence, undergo no medical screening to assure that they are not bearing contagious diseases, the rapidly swelling population of illegal aliens in our country has also set off a resurgence of contagious diseases that had been totally or nearly eradicated by our public health system. The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Californians: Executive Summary Current Census Bureau data indicate that California's illegal immigrant population is costing the state's taxpayers more than $10 billion per year in 2004. This analysis looks specifically at the costs of education, medical care and incarceration, which are the major cost categories. Even without accounting for all of the other areas in which costs are being incurred by California's taxpayers, this study indicates that the burden is substantial — nearly $1,200 per native-headed household — and that the costs are rapidly increasing. Illegal Immigrants Distort Congressional Representation and Federal Programs Illegal aliens, by being included in the apportionment of congressional seats, are automatically given a role in determining the outcome of elections across the country. Organizations Supporting Amnesty for Illegal Aliens Organizations endorsing amnesty legislation are listed by employer organizations, labor organizations, ethnic organizations, religious organizations, and civil liberties and other organizations. The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Arizonans: Executive Summary Analysis of the latest Census data indicates that Arizona's illegal immigrant population is costing the state's taxpayers about $1.3 billion per year for education, medical care and incarceration.   National Security View All Immigration-Related Findings of the 9/11 Commission Quotes from the 9/11 Commission Report and the accompanying Staff Report demonstrate that the Commission called attention to the need for reforms to the nation's immigration system and policies governing the presence of immigrants and visitors in the United States. Immigration and National Security Many of the serious problems in our immigration system exposed on 9-11--systematic overload, bureaucratic negligence, and dangerous loopholes--still have not been addressed. Immigration Reforms to Combat Terrorism Specific immigration policy recommendations to help protect the nation against terrorism. Automated Entry-Exit System: Key to National Security Without entry-exit controls, the U.S. has no way of noticing whether visitors illegally overstay their entry permits. Driver's License Security Access to driver's licenses by people in the country illegally poses serious risks and undermines U.S. immigration law.   Labor & Economics View All Immigration and the Economy Mass immigration is a drain on the economy; even studies claiming an overall gain for the economy from immigration have found that it is outweighed by the fiscal cost to taxpayers. The Cost of Immigration Mass immigration creates an enormous fiscal burden on American taxpayers. Immigration and Job Displacement Mass immigration is displacing American workers by importing a constant flow of immigrants willing to work for substandard wages. Lower Wages for American Workers Large-scale immigration is flooding the labor market and driving down wages for everyone, immigrants and native-born workers alike. The Truth About Employment-Based Immigration Although big business likes to claim that high immigration is necessary for a robust economy, we could easily end our dependence on foreign labor and find plenty of ingenuity and hard workers right here at home.   Environment View All Questions And Answers on Immigration and the Environment How does large-scale immigration impact population growth, water and energy supplies, urban sprawl, and other environmental issues? The Population-Environment Connection America's environmental priorities cannot be reconciled with the new infrastructure and resource consumption that continued population growth, driven by mass immigration, will require. Immigration & U.S. Water Supply U.S. water supply is straining under the constantly increasing demands generated by immigration-driven population growth. Immigration and Urban Sprawl The rate at which farmland, forests, and other open space is being developed doubled in the 1990s, from 1.4 million acres a year to 3.2 million acres a year. Traffic Congestion As immigration adds more than one million new residents to the United States each year, more traffic crowds our already congested roadways.   Immigration & Society View All Chicano Nationalism, Revanchism and the Aztlan Myth New! Many Mexicans consider the U.S. Southwest to be territory unfairly taken from Mexico. This, plus the enormous legal and illegal immigration from Mexico, represents a unique problem: the United States has no historic precedent of large numbers of people coming to this country who could argue that they were returning to a country that was once theirs. The assimilation process is likely to work (or not work) very differently among people who believe they are coming home, rather than moving to a new country where they will have to earn acceptance. Illegal Aliens in Elections and the Electoral College The United States sends election monitors around the world to help discourage fraudulent elections. But, here at home, it has largely turned a blind eye to the possibility that fraudulent voting by noncitizens could determine an election outcome. Immigration and School Overcrowding The overcrowding crisis in American classrooms is directly attributable to high immigration, show figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. If immigration continues at current rates, efforts to reduce class size and ease overcrowding will be doomed to failure. Immigration and Poverty Because U.S. immigration policy slants toward admitting relatives rather than immigrants with needed workplace skills, our immigration system is importing poverty--a time when America is still working to meet the challenge of assisting our own poor and disadvantaged. Immigration and Income Inequality The number of undereducated immigrants in our society is rising, as is their share of the poor population.

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