Nearly 190 million people, about three percent of the world’s population, lived outside their country of birth in 2005. A look at the flow of people around the globe.
Since the early 1800's, immigration has been both a crucial component of America's growth and a periodic source of conflict, and in recent years it has become one of the most contentious issues on the nation's political agenda.
In 2003, President Bush called for a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, the first since the mid-80's. His proposal focused on creating a guest worker program that would allow immigrants to legally enter the country temporarily to fill jobs that employers say would otherwise go unfilled. The plan was overshadowed by the opening of the Iraq war and was set aside during the campaign season of 2004.
By the time legislation had worked its way through to the floor of the House of Representatives in late 2005, it was clear that the mood had shifted on immigration, particularly among Republicans. In December 2005 the Republican-controlled House passed a bill that rejected Mr. Bush's plan for a guest worker program, and instead called for the deportation of all illegal immigrants and proposed making it a felony to offer them any assistance.
Church groups and organizations representing immigrants and Hispanics reacted angrily, and organized large demonstrations through the spring of 2006.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators reached an agreement on a bill that would create a guest worker program and give many illegal immigrants a path toward citizenship. President Bush gave his support, but the effort collapsed after many conservative Republicans denounced it as an "amnesty" plan.
Negotiations resumed in the spring of 2007, with members of the Senate, now controlled by Democrats by the slimmest of margins, discussing a plan that would focus on the national security concerns and law-enforcement concerns raised by conservatives first, before moving on to elements addressing guest workers and creating a route for illegal immigrants to gain legal status.
The plan, the product of a bipartisan group, collapsed under the weight of conservative objections. It was revived after an agreement was reached among Republicans to limit the number of amendments, then collapsed again on June 28, when a proposal to end debate and move toward final passage was defeated. Senators on both sides of the issue said at the time that it was unlikely a bill could be passed before the 2008 elections. - Updated June 28, 2007
News about immigration and refugees, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.
Highlights From the Archives
At the U.S. Border, the Desert Takes a Rising Toll
The number of migrants dying while trying to cross into Pima County, Ariz., is on pace this year to set a record.
September 15, 2007U.S.NewsThree Sisters: A Series From The New York Times
Reporters and a photographer from The New York Times spent a week following three sisters who immigrated to the United States.
December 19, 2006U.S.NewsU.S. Set for a Crackdown on Illegal Hiring
Federal authorities are expected to announce rules that would require employers to fire workers who use false Social Security numbers.
August 8, 2007WashingtonNewsARTICLES ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES
LETTERS; The Power of Immigration to Divide
To the Editor:.
January 4, 2008MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: UNITED STATES POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2008, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Domestic Issues Now Outweigh Iraq
Economic anxiety may be at least matching national security as a factor driving the presidential contest.
January 3, 2008MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: OIL (PETROLEUM) AND GASOLINE, ELECTION ISSUES, HEALTH INSURANCE AND MANAGED CARE, UNITED STATES POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, UNITED STATES ECONOMY, PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2008, IOWA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, IRAQ, DEMOCRATIC PARTY, REPUBLICAN PARTY, EDWARDS, JOHN, HUCKABEE, MIKE, ROMNEY, MITT, OBAMA, BARACK, MCCAIN, JOHN, CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM
Unwilling New Frontier for Migrants: 3 Greek Isles
Three Greek islands, Samos, Lesbos and Chios, have become new fault lines for immigration into the European Union.
January 3, 2008
BERLIN JOURNAL; Gay Muslims Pack a Dance Floor of Their Own
The monthly club night known as Gayhane is an all-too-rare opportunity for gay Muslims to merge their immigrant cultures and their sexual identities.
January 1, 2008
CITYWIDE; For Helper of Immigrants, a Tale of Loss and Destiny
Ruth Ford presides over the Maura Clarke-Ita Ford Center in Brooklyn, where immigrant women learn English, finish high school and develop job skills.
December 31, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS, VOCATIONAL TRAINING, NUNS, BROOKLYN (NYC), DONOVAN, JEAN, CLARKE, MAURA, FORD, ITA, KAZEL, DOROTHY
THE NEEDIEST CASES; After Trip From Tibet, an Injury on Queens Blvd.
Shortly after arriving in the U.S. after escaping from Tibet, 9-year-old Gonpo Dorjee came close to losing his leg in a hit-and-run accident.
December 30, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: PHILANTHROPY, FAMILIES AND FAMILY LIFE, ASYLUM (POLITICAL), NEW YORK TIMES NEEDIEST CASES FUND
BAY RIDGE; For a People in Pain, a Reason to Dance
For two natives of Darfur, a condensed version of an elaborate wedding ceremony is put on with a somber subtext.
December 30, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: MARRIAGES, WEDDINGS AND ENGAGEMENTS, DARFUR (SUDAN), BROOKLYN (NYC)
Young Swedes Flock to Newly Rich Norway for Work
Norway has surpassed Sweden to become one of the richest countries in the world. The number of Swedes living and working in Norway has almost doubled between 1990 and 2007.
December 30, 2007EDITORIAL | IN OFFICE; Immigration and the Candidates
Even by the low standards of presidential campaigns, the issue of immigration has been badly served in the 2008 race.
December 30, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2008, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Immigration Is Defying Easy Answers
The immigration surge of the last decade has awakened tensions of unexpected intensity that have pervaded the campaigns in both parties and stirred voter anger.
December 30, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: UNITED STATES POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2008, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, DEMOCRATIC PARTY, REPUBLICAN PARTY
Custody Resolved, a Move Looms
A girl taken from an American couple and returned to her Chinese parents after a seven-year custody fight faces another big adjustment.
December 30, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: FAMILIES AND FAMILY LIFE, CHILD CUSTODY AND SUPPORT, DECISIONS AND VERDICTS, CHINA, TENNESSEE
Remarks on Pakistan Are Tailing Huckabee
Mike Huckabee has made several erroneous or misleading statements about the volatile situation in Pakistan at a time when he has been under increasing scrutiny for a lack of fluency in foreign policy issues.
December 29, 2007
Shame of Imported Labor in Kurdish North of Iraq
Foreign workers in Iraq’s north say they have been deceived by the agents who arranged their journeys.
December 29, 2007Shock in Pakistani Enclaves in New York
Whether they liked her or not, New York City’s Pakistani immigrants were mostly shaken by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
December 28, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: ASSASSINATIONS AND ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATIONS, PAKISTAN, BHUTTO, BENAZIR
You Must Remember This
A look at the important news that most of us have forgotten from 2007.
December 27, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: TWO THOUSAND SEVEN (YEAR), DROUGHT, AUTOMOBILES, ELECTRONIC MAIL, WEATHER, FENCES, BRIDGES AND TUNNELS, WATER, COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET, HOMOSEXUALITY, INDIA, CHINA
A Global Trek to Poor Nations, From Poorer Ones
Across the developing world, migrants move to other poor countries nearly as often as they move to rich ones.
December 27, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, LABOR, SURVEYS AND SERIES, SMUGGLING, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND TRENDS, THIRD WORLD AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, HAITI, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, WORLD BANK
Engaging a Distant Teenager With Extended Hours
A teacher slowly finds a solution to keep an underachieving student in school.
December 26, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS, CHILDREN AND YOUTH, FAMILIES AND FAMILY LIFE
Los Angeles Combating Gangs Gone International
A two-year-old program identifies transnational gang members in who have violated immigration law.
December 26, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: WORLD TRADE CENTER (NYC), PRISONS AND PRISONERS, ORGANIZED CRIME, RACKETEERING AND RACKETEERS, GANGS, CRIME AND CRIMINALS, TERRORISM, LATIN AMERICA, EL SALVADOR, MEXICO, IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT
Georgia School as a Laboratory for Getting Along
At an unusual elementary school outside Atlanta, more than half the 380 students are refugees from some 40 countries.
December 25, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS, GEORGIA
In Chinatown, a Church Speaks in Several Languages, but With One Strong Voice
At the Church of the Transfiguration in Chinatown an Italian-American priest reviewed his homily, to be delivered in Cantonese and English just two of the languages spoken there.
December 25, 2007MORE ON IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES AND: RELIGION AND CHURCHES, CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIANITY, CHRISTMAS, CHINATOWN (NYC), CHURCH OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
SEARCH 20273 ARTICLES ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES:
Multimedia
The Polish Underground
Since Poland joined the European Union in 2004, more than a million Poles, mainly young, have come to Britain.
A Fatal Crossing
Felicitas Martinez Barradas died while trying to enter the United States through Arizona's Sonoran Desert.
Exporting the Farm
Julia Preston reports on a California farmer who is moving his operation to Mexico.
The 2008 Candidates on Immigration
A look at what all the presidential candidates have said on the issue.
Immigration Resources
A list of Web sites about immigration as selected by editors of The New York Times.
Research Sites
Center for Immigration Studies
Seeks fewer immigrants but a warmer welcome
Government Sites
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
50-State Legislation-Tracking Database
From the National Conference of State Legislatures
Advocacy Groups
Federation for American Immigration Reform
Seeks to reduce levels of legal and illegal immigration.
National Immigration Forum
Promotes policies favorable to immigrants and refugees
With an Immigration Compromise Committed to Paper, the Time for Scrutiny Begins
A sweeping bipartisan bill is an ambitious package of interlocking components intended to work together to create a new immigration system.
Multimedia
Immigration Legislation in Recent Years
A comparison of past and proposed immigration legislation.
One Family's Story
A look at the American immigration experience through the turbulent, intertwined lives of three sisters from Mexico.
A Family Separated
Julia Preston reports on how Maria Brizelda Amaya's family is coping with her deportation.
A Shared Identity
Julia Preston reports on the expanding front in the document trafficking business that caters to illegal immigrants looking for work.
Meeting a Minuteman
Reporter Charlie LeDuff interviews border watchers Britt Craig and Robert Cook.
Borders, Open and Closed
Nina Bernstein discusses pendulum shifts in Mexican immigration.
One Immigrant's Story
As illegal immigrants in the United States have increased in numbers, so have the ranks of those who want to swindle them.
Audio Slide Show: Scenes From Immigration Rallies
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters gathered to show the impact they have on the nation's economy.
audio: Class Matters: The Story of Two Immigrants
For John Zannikos, who came to New York from Greece in 1953, the restaurant business has been the key to the American promise of upward mobility. For Juan Manuel Peralta, who came from Mexico nearly 40 years later and worked for Mr. Zannikos as a cook, restaurant work has been a dead end.
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