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Congressional Research Service (CRS)

 

U.S. Immigration Policy: Chart Book of Key Trends

William A. Kandel, Analyst in Immigration Policy

December 17, 2014

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R42988.pdf

[full-text, 31 pages]

 

Summary

This report is a chart book of selected immigration trends that touch on the main elements of

comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). Most policymakers agree that the main issues in CIR

include increased border security and immigration enforcement, improved employment eligibility

verification, revision of legal immigration, and options to address the millions of unauthorized

aliens residing in the country. The report offers snapshots of time series data, using the most

complete and consistent time series currently available for each statistic. The key findings and

elements germane to the data depicted are summarized with the figures. The summary offers the

highlights of key immigration trends.

 

The United States has a history of receiving immigrants, and these foreign-born residents of the

United States have come from all over the world.

 

• Immigration to the United States today has reached annual levels comparable to

the early years of the 20th century.

• Immigration over the last few decades of the 20th century was not as dominated

by three or four countries as it was earlier in the century, and this pattern has

continued into the 21st century.

• The number of foreign-born residents in the United States is at its highest level in

U.S. history, reaching 41.3 million in 2013.

• Foreign-born residents of the United States made up 13.1% of the U.S.

population in 2013, approaching levels not seen since the proportion of foreignborn

residents reached 14.8% in 1910.

 

Legal immigration encompasses permanent immigrant admissions (e.g., employment-based or

family-based immigrants) and temporary nonimmigrant admissions (e.g., guest workers, foreign

students). The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) contains the provisions detailing the

requirements for admission (permanent and temporary) of foreign nationals and the eligibility

rules for foreign nationals to become U.S. citizens.

 

• In FY2013, 991,000 aliens became U.S. legal permanent residents (LPRs). Of

this total, 65% entered on the basis of family ties.

• The pool of people potentially eligible to immigrate to the United States as LPRs

each year typically exceeds the worldwide level set by the INA.

• Most of the 4.4 million approved petitions pending at the close of FY2014 were

for family members of U.S. citizens.

• After falling from 7.6 million in FY2001 to 5.0 million in FY2004, temporary

visa issuances reached 9.2 million in FY2013.

• Generally, all of the temporary employment-based visa categories have increased

since FY1994. Although there was a dip during the recent recession, the number

of employment-based temporary visas increased each year between FY2010 and

FY2013.

 

Immigration control encompasses an array of enforcement tools, policies, and practices to secure grounds for exclusion and removal of foreign nationals as well as the documentary and entry-exit

controls for U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. the border and to prevent and investigate violations of immigration laws. The INA specifies the

grounds for exclusion and removal of foreign nationals as well as the documentary and entry-exit

controls for U.S. citizens and foreign nationals.

 

• U.S. State Department denials of petitions for LPR visas have increased in recent

years, and prior removals from the United States or past illegal presence in the

United States has become the leading ground of inadmissibility.

• U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions of foreign nationals between ports of entry fell

to a 40-year low of 327,577 in FY2011 before increasing to 420,789 by FY2013.

• The number of employers enrolled in the E-Verify employment eligibility

verification system grew from 5,900 at the close of FY2005 to 483,000 by the

end of FY2013. These data indicate that approximately 8% of U.S. employers

were participating in E-Verify by the close of FY2013.

• A total of $15.8 million in administrative fines was imposed on employers who

engaged in unlawful employment in FY2013—a figure that exceeds the level of

total fines imposed over the entire period from FY1999 through FY2009.

• Formal removals grew from 30,039 in 1990 to 438,421 in FY2013.

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) identifies many more potentially

removable aliens than it arrests (i.e., places in removal proceedings).

• The number of criminal aliens removed from the United States increased from

73,298 in FY2001 to 198,394 in FY2013.

The three main components of the unauthorized resident alien population are (1) aliens who enter

the country surreptitiously without inspection, (2) aliens who overstay their nonimmigrant visas,

and (3) aliens who are admitted on the basis of fraudulent documents.

• Estimates based on the March Supplement of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current

Population Survey (CPS) indicate that the unauthorized resident alien population

rose from 8.5 million in 2000 to 12.2 million in 2007, before leveling off at 11.3

million in 2013.

• The latest available estimates indicate that 42% of the 11.4 million unauthorized

resident aliens in 2012 had entered from 2000 to 2010.

• Apprehensions of unaccompanied alien children, mainly at the Mexico-U.S.

border, increased from 8,041 in FY2008 to 68,445 in FY2014. Most of this recent

increase has come from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

 

For those who seek more complete analyses of the issues, this report cites Congressional

Research Service (CRS) products that discuss the policies underlying the data presented in each

of the figures.

 

Contents

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

Historical Immigration Trends ......................................................................................................... 2

Legal Permanent Immigration ......................................................................................................... 5

Legal Temporary Migration ............................................................................................................. 9

Inadmissibility ............................................................................................................................... 13

Border Security .............................................................................................................................. 16

Employment Eligibility Verification .............................................................................................. 17

Worksite Enforcement ................................................................................................................... 18

Alien Removals ............................................................................................................................. 20

Criminal Aliens .............................................................................................................................. 21

Unauthorized Resident Aliens ....................................................................................................... 23

Unaccompanied Alien Children ..................................................................................................... 25

 

Figures

Figure 1. Annual LPR Admissions and Status Adjustments ............................................................ 2

Figure 2. Top Sending Countries Comprising at Least Half of All LPRs ........................................ 3

Figure 3. Foreign-Born Residents by Region of Origin .................................................................. 4

Figure 4. Legal Permanent Residents Admitted/Adjusted by Category .......................................... 5

Figure 5. Legal Permanent Residents Admitted/Adjusted by Category .......................................... 6

Figure 6. Approved LPR Visa Petitions Pending by Year of Submission and by Preference Category...................... 7

Figure 7. Approved LPR Visa Petitions Pending by Preference Category ...................................... 8

Figure 8. Nonimmigrant Visas Issued by U.S. Department of State ................................................ 9

Figure 9. Temporary Employment-Based Visas Issued ................................................................. 10

Figure 10. Nonimmigrant Admissions at U.S. Ports of Entry ....................................................... 11

Figure 11. Nonimmigrant Admissions by Class of Admission ...................................................... 12

Figure 12. Aliens Denied Visas Under §212(a) Inadmissibility .................................................... 13

Figure 13. LPR Inadmissibility by Legal Grounds ........................................................................ 14

Figure 14. Inadmissible Aliens at Ports of Entry ........................................................................... 15

Figure 15. U.S. Border Patrol Apprehensions................................................................................ 16

Figure 16. Number of Employers Enrolled in E-Verify and Cases Submitted .............................. 17

Figure 17. Administrative (Civil) Charges and Fines under INA §274A ...................................... 18

Figure 18. Criminal Charges and Fines under INA §274A ............................................................ 19

Figure 19. Alien Formal Removals and Voluntary Returns ........................................................... 20

Figure 20. Interior Immigration Enforcement Targeting Criminal Aliens ..................................... 21

Figure 21. Criminal and Non-criminal Aliens Removed from the United States .......................... 22

Figure 22. Estimated Number of Unauthorized Resident Aliens ................................................... 23

Figure 23. Unaccompanied Alien Children Apprehensions by Country of Origin ........................ 25

 

Contacts

Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 26

Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ 26

Key Policy Staff ............................................................................................................................. 26

 

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