This article provides an overview and critique of US immigration and asylum policies from the perspective of the author’s 46 years as a public servant. The article offers a taxonomy of the US immigration system by positing different categories of membership: full members of the “club” (US citizens), associate members (lawful permanent residents, refugees, and “asylees”), friends (nonimmigrants and holders of temporary status), and persons outside the club (the undocumented). It describes the legal framework that applies to these distinct populations and recent developments in federal law and policy that relate to them. It also identifies a series of cross-cutting issues that affect these populations, including immigrant detention, immigration court backlogs, state and local immigration policies, and constitutional rights that extend to noncitizens. It ends with a series of recommendations for reform of the US asylum system, and a short conclusion.
HaganJacquelineDemonsantJean LucChávezSergio. 2014. “Identifying and Measuring the Lifelong Human Capital of ‘Unskilled’ Migrants in the Mexico-US Migratory Circuit.” Journal on Migration and Human Security2(2):76–100. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/233150241400200202.
KerwinDonaldRobertWarren. 2016. “Potential Beneficiaries of the Obama Administration’s Executive Action Programs Deeply Embedded in US Society.” Journal on Migration and Human Security4(1):16–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/233150241600400102.
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KerwinDonaldRobertWarren. 2017. “National Interests and Common Ground in the US Immigration Debate: How to Legalize the US Immigration System and Permanently Reduces Its Undocumented Population.” Journal on Migration and Human Security5(2):297–330. https://doi.org/10.1177/233150241700500205.
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KerwinDonaldRobertWarren. 2019. “Fixing What’s Most Broken in the US Immigration System: A Profile of the Family Members of US Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents Mired in Multiyear Backlogs.” Journal on Migration and Human Security7(2):36–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/2331502419852925.
TRAC (Transactional Record Access Clearinghouse). 2019. Cancelled Immigration Hearings Grow as Shutdown Continues. Syracuse, NY: TRAC. https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/543/.
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WarrenRobert. 2019. “US Undocumented Population Continued to Fall from 2016 to 2017 and Visa Overstays Significantly Exceeded Illegal Crossing for the Seventh Consecutive Year.” Journal on Migration and Human Security7(1):19–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/2331502419830339.
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WarrenRobertKerwinDonald. 2017. “A Statistical and Demographic Profile of the US Temporary Protected Status Populations from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti.” Journal on Migration and Human Security5(3):577–592. https://doi.org/10.1177/233150241700500302.
