Current legislation under consideration in the House and Senate to reform Immigration, Naturalization, and Border Security:

The two bills being consider by Congress (and forcing the current national debate) are

House: H.R.4437 -- Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005

Senate: S.1033 -- Title: Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act

History of Legislation about Immigration and Naturalization: 1790 through 2003:

• The Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has a nearly complete list of all the immigration and naturalization.   http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/shared/aboutus/statistics/legishist/
• The basic law is the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. "Before the INA, a variety of statutes governed immigration law but were not organized in one location. The McCarran-Walter bill of 1952, Public Law No. 82-414, collected and codified many existing provisions and reorganized the structure of immigration law. The Act has been amended many times over the years, but is still the basic body of immigration law." http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/lawsregs/INA.htm
• List of laws that have amended aspects of INA -- http://www.uscis.gov/lpBin/lpext.dll/inserts/publaw/publaw-1?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm#publaw-begin

Some recent laws affecting the current policies of immigration and Naturalization

• Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (100 Statutes-at-Large 3359.) Under IRCA, employers may hire only persons who may legally work in the U.S., i.e., citizens and nationals of the U.S. and aliens authorized to work in the U.S. The employer must verify the identity and employment eligibility of anyone to be hired, which includes completing the Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9). Employers must keep each I-9 on file for at least three years, or one year after employment ends, whichever is longer. ( http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/shared/aboutus/statistics/legishist/561.htm )
• Migrant & Seasonal Agricultural Workers ( http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/lawsprog.htm#migrant )

Regulates the hiring and employment activities of agricultural employers, farm labor contractors, and associations using migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. The Act prescribes wage protections, housing and transportation safety standards, farm labor contractor registration requirements, and disclosure requirements. The Wage and Hour Division administers this law.

• The Fair Labor Standards Act exempts agricultural workers from overtime premium pay, but requires the payment of the minimum wage to workers employed on larger farms (farms employing more than approximately seven full-time workers. The Act has special child-labor regulations that apply to agricultural employment; children under 16 are forbidden to work during school hours and in certain jobs deemed too dangerous. Children employed on their families' farms are exempt from these regulations. The Wage and Hour Division administers this law. OSHA also has special safety and health standards that may apply to agricultural operations.

• Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (110 Statutes-at-Large 3009.) (Pub L. 104-208)   Includes increases in criminal penalties for immigration-related offenses, authorization for increases in enforcement personnel, and enhanced enforcement authority. ( http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/ofccp/ca_irca.htm ) - Department of Labor Information

( http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/shared/aboutus/statistics/legishist/act142.htm ) - Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Information service

Statistics, program information, and other federal agencies with major roles in immigration, naturalization and border security

• Within the Department of Homeland Security -
• Travel and Transportation
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection ( CBP )
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS )
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE )
• Other federal agencies -
• The U.S. Census Bureau collects and publishes data on the number of foreign-born residents in the United States.
• The U.S. Department of Commerce publishes data on the number of foreign tourists visiting the United States.
• The U.S. Department of Labor administers programs that certify aliens to come to the United States as foreign workers.
• The U.S. Department of Justice administers and interprets Federal immigration laws and regulations through the Executive Office of Immigration Review.
• The U.S. Department of State issues visas to foreign visitors coming to the United States. This agency also administers programs for refugees and exchange visitors .

The Office of Immigration Statistics (part of CIS) offers a wealth of statistical data on immigrants and other non-citizen issues "...is responsible for developing, analyzing, and disseminating statistical information needed to assess the effects of immigration in the United States." ( http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/index.htm )

What the White House is saying:

Web page describing President's initiative/steps he wants to take:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/immigration/

White House archive on Immigration issues:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/immigration/archive.html

What some in Congress are saying:

Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus

http://tancredo.house.gov/irc/welcome.htm

"The Immigration Reform Caucus was established to review current immigration policy, propose new immigration policies and provide a forum in Congress for addressing the positive and negative consequences of our immigration policies."

An Urban Institute publication that looks at the number of illegal aliens incarcerated:

"With the rising concern about the numbers and impacts of illegal aliens in the United States--as evidenced by the sweeping passage of Proposition 187 in California, the immigrant provisions in 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), and Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA)--criminal illegal aliens have become a subject of particular focus. These individuals have not only entered or resided in the United States without the knowledge or permission of the U.S. government, but, while here, they have also violated the laws of the nation, its states, or municipalities."

http://www.urban.org/publications/410366.html