This volume presents a comprehensive, unbiased, and easily accessible review of U.S. immigration reform, and explains why reform efforts have resulted in the current state of political deadlock over the issue in the United States Congress.

Comprising seven chapters, Immigration Reform: A Reference Handbook surveys the complex topic for high school, undergraduate, and general readers. Chapter 1 gives the historical background to current immigration reform efforts, concentrating on the period from 1965 to date. Chapter 2 discusses problems and controversies, and the proposed solutions to them. Chapter 3 consists of eight original essays contributed by other scholars, complementing the perspective and expertise of the author.



Chapter 4 profiles major organizations and people who, as stakeholders in the politics of immigration reform, drive the agenda on the issue. Chapter 5 presents data and documents on the topic, giving readers the ability to analyze the facts. Chapter 6 provides additional resources that the reader may wish to consult, such as books, journal articles, and films. Chapter 7 provides a detailed chronology of important events from 1965 to 2017 that propel the politics and establish the policy of U.S. immigration reform. The book closes with a useful glossary of key terms used throughout the book and a comprehensive subject index.









Provides readers with a succinct and unbiased examination of the political complexities involved in attempts to reform legal and unauthorized immigration to the United States



Enables readers to understand why immigration reform so often ends in stalemate and why comprehensive immigration reform is so difficult to achieve



Demonstrates why every major immigration reform law has unanticipated consequences that may resolve one set of problems only to engender a new set of problems



Shows the adverse economic impact of efforts to tighten control procedures for the issuing of visas to the United States