Immigration and the United States: Recession Affects Flows, Prospects for Reform

To date, the Obama administration has implemented new strategies for carrying out its immigration enforcement responsibilities regarding employers, detention, and criminal aliens. It has also emphasized naturalization and modernized systems that support legal immigration. Finally, it has broadened border control efforts to emphasize not only immigration but also joint efforts with Mexico to reduce arms trafficking and drug-war violence. This profile examines major legislation and events affecting US immigration, the size and attributes of the immigrant population in the United States, legal and illegal immigration streams, US policies for refugees and asylum seekers, the impact of the recession on immigrants and immigration, immigrant integration efforts, recent immigration enforcement trends, and prospects for comprehensive immigration reform legislation.