National Legislation

Asian-Pacific migration to the United States has had a positive impact on immigration and refugee law by contributing to the demise of exclusion acts against non-whites and of the nationality-based quota system. (

Published On: Sat, May 01, 2004 | Download File

The McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 ended the blanket exclusion of immigrants based on race and created the foundation for current immigration law, but imposed a racialized immigration quota system and new ideological grounds for exclusion.

Published On: Tue, Jun 01, 2004 | Download File

Foreign-born scientists and engineers (S&Es) have long played a prominent role in U.S. technological and scientific advancement and are a critical part of the science and engineering (S&E) labor force in corporations, universities, and research centers nationwide. However, long-standing structural flaws in the U.S. visa system and the unintended consequences of security procedures instituted since September 11, 2001, may be causing an increasing number of S&Es to forgo coming to the United States, thereby depriving the nation of a critical supply of human talent.

Published On: Sun, Aug 01, 2004 | Download File

Although the federal government has made significant progress over the past three years in fighting human trafficking, more is needed to end this 21st century slave trade.

Published On: Tue, Jun 01, 2004 | Download File

Congress and the White House have pledged for a decade to reduce the backlog of immigration cases, but without providing the resources necessary to do the job.

Published On: Thu, Jul 01, 2004 | Download File

Arbitrary congressional limits on the number of H-1B visas that can be granted annually to highly skilled foreign professionals may undermine the international competitiveness of U.S. science and technology.

Published On: Sun, Aug 01, 2004 | Download File

U.S. immigration policy is based on denial. Most lawmakers in the United States have largely embraced the process of economic “globalization,” yet stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that increased migration, especially from developing nations to developed nations, is an integral and inevitable part of this process.

Published On: Mon, Nov 01, 2004 | Download File

The Barred Zone Act of February 4, 1917, offers a cautionary lesson against immigration policies based on the exclusion of immigrants from particular countries or regions of the world.

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Published On: Sat, Jan 01, 2005 | Download File

December 17 marks the anniversary of the 1943 repeal by Congress of the Chinese Exclusion Act of May 6, 1882. With only a few exceptions, this law barred any Chinese from immigrating to the United States, and was the first time U.S. immigration policy singled out citizens of a particular nation for wholesale discrimination.

Published On: Wed, Dec 01, 2004 | Download File

The efficiency of the asylum program depends in large part on a fully staffed and adequately funded Asylum Corps that evaluates asylum claims thoroughly and expeditiously.

Published On: Tue, Feb 01, 2005 | Download File