Immigration Law | JacksonWhite Law (2024)

FAQs

What is legal immigration law? ›

Federal immigration law determines whether a person is an alien, as well as the rights, duties, and obligations associated with being an alien in the United States. It also provides the means by which aliens can become legally naturalized citizens with full rights of citizenship.

The body of law governing U.S. immigration policy is called the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA allows the United States to grant up to 675,000 permanent immigrant visas each year across various visa categories.

Congress enacts the Immigration Act of 1882 (22 Stat. 214), constituting one the first attempts at broad federal oversight of immigration. The law levies a tax of 50 cents for each passenger arriving by ship from a foreign port who is not a US citizen, to be paid by the ship's owner.

When averaged across all the parameters, two states had particularly strong and comprehensive laws protecting immigrants, and fell into the most protective category: Oregon and Illinois. Three other states also have broad sanctuary statutes: New Jersey, California, and Washington.

During the seven-year period of potential eligibility, non-citizens are expected to work toward becoming U.S. citizens. If they do not, eligibility will stop after seven years. Example: Elliot arrives in 2008, and is given refugee status, which establishes his potential SSI eligibility for seven years through 2015.

The Constitution, however, is silent on immigration. That is, the federal government is not explicitly granted a general power to exclude or remove noncitizens from the United States. Nevertheless, U.S. courts have allowed the federal government to exercise such a power.

Even so, the Supreme Court's jurisprudence reflects that Congress retains broad power to regulate immigration and that the Court will accord substantial deference to the government's immigration policies, particularly those that implicate matters of national security.

Immigration is not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution or any of its amendments, which are the supreme law of the land. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled early on that immigration regulation was an exclusive responsibility of the federal government.

We see this tension between citizenship and noncitizenship in Section 1 of the 14th Amendment: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.

Human rights law recognizes that immigrants must obey the laws of their host countries. However, the right to live in a country should not be taken away without providing funda- mental due process protections, which includes the right to a fair hearing.

Are immigration laws federal or state? ›

The United States federal government in Washington, D.C., regulates immigration. But states also have some of their own laws that can control immigration in their states. The rules established in 1952 with the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) are the main ones the government follows today.

After certain states passed immigration laws following the Civil War, the Supreme Court in 1876 declared the regulation of immigration to be a federal responsibility. Legislation in 1891 and 1895 created the Bureau of Immigration.

If you're thinking of relocating this year, consider New Hampshire, Wyoming, Virginia, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, which lead the most recent list of the best states to move to, according to immigration law experts Shoreline Immigration.

With the largest numbers of immigrants living in the US, California is one of the best states to go with your dream card. This state is said to be the best because of the fact that when you can apply for a financial aid, driver's license and attend a state college with low amount of tuition rate.

Why? Because immigration law provides you with a foundation to represent people who have immigration matters to resolve, but it also allows you to recognize how a person's immigration status might impact them in many seemingly unrelated ways.

The Legislative Branch (Congress) includes the House of Representatives, whose membership is determined by the population of the states, and the Senate, which is composed of two people for every state. The Legislative Branch makes the laws, including the laws relating to immigration.

The Chinese Exclusion Act was approved on May 6, 1882. It was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States. In the spring of 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Chester A. Arthur.

Americans encouraged relatively free and open immigration during the 18th and early 19th centuries, and rarely questioned that policy until the late 1800s. After certain states passed immigration laws following the Civil War, the Supreme Court in 1875 declared regulation of immigration a federal responsibility.