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| 1994 - This initiative toughened the enforcement and interdiction activities at the U.S. Mexico border, particularly in te area around San Diego and El Paso, gradually pushing the flow of undocumented immigrants toward the area in between, especially along the Arizona-Mexico border |
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| 1996 - Formally known as the illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) was used to toughen the means by which the Immigration Naturalization Service (Border Patrol) could deport "aliens" back to their country origin. Deportations increased from the previous year, from 70,000 to over 114, 000; in 2012, nearly 420,000 undocumented people have been deported (either as returns or removals) |
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| 2001- The legislation had a section that dealt with border surveillance and enforcement because of the concern of terrorists crossing the border illegally; and additional $50 million was authorized to increase border enforcement |
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| Department of Homeland Security (DHS) |
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| 2003-The immigration and Naturalization service was reorganized to create the DHS. Two agencies became primarily responsible for undocumented immigration-related issues, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). ICE dealt primarily with conducting inspections of work sites and employers to identify workers without proper documentation of legal status or to conduct audits of businesses to see if they had proper documentation of the legal status of their employees. CBP, formerly and still popularly referred to as the Border Patrol, is primarily responsible for enforcement and interdiction activities at the borders of the U.S. |
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| 2004-This legislation added an additional 20,000 to the number of H-1B visas for those immigrants receiving advanced degrees from U.S. universities; under the immigration Act of 1990, the original cap for H-1B visas was for 65,000 that could be issued for immigrants with high specialty skills. Depending on the year, South Asian Indians have dominated the national origins of H-1B recipients averaging 25% to 33% of H-1B recipients. During the recession, in 2009 legislation amended the program so that H-1B visa recipients could not be hired if they were replacements for U.S. born workers who had been laid off during the recession |
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| 2005-This legislation emphasized the identification and tracking of immigrants in light of concern of national security, popularly known as the E-verify system. |
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| 2006-This legislation increased funding the extension and strengthening of the fencing along the U.S. Mexico border to over 700 miles. President Bush intended to use this action to bolster his request for Congress to entertain immigration reform legislation; Congress, however, was unable to pass comprehensive reform legislation since that time. As of 2010, approximately 651 miles of fencing had been completed at a cost of $2.48, but to finish the double-layering of the fence, the cost has been estimated to be more than $4 Billion, not including maintenance of the fencing |
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| 2012-Through an executive order, President Obama established the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that defers removal (deportation) for undocumented immigrants who arrived as children. Several states, such as Arizona, moved to block any benefits for DACA applicants such as in-state- tuition, while other states, like California, allowed DACA applicants to pay in-stat tuition in public universities. In a symbolic vote, the House of Representatives on August 1 voted to defund DACA; the vote cannot become law because such an action requires Senate approval. |
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| 2014-Via an executive order, President Obama established the Deferred Action for Parents of Childhood Arrivals and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). The president also expanded the states sued the federal government over the executive order as a violation of the president's constitutional authority. A federal court judge placed an injunction on the DAPA executive order as well as the expanded DACA program, and in the injunction remained when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sustained the injunction by a 2-1 margin, despite the appeal of the federal government to stay the original injunction. The three judges of the 5th Circuit Court are currently reviewing the suit and considering the judicial arguments made by the states as opposed to those made by the U.S. Attorney General's office. |
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| Arizona state legislature passes Senate Bill (SB) 1070 which is immediately challenged in federal court. Certain provisions of the state law were found unconstitutional, but the most controversial provision is upheld by the Supreme Court-that allows local enforcement to ask for "papers" or proof of legal residency in the U.S. of any one detained by law enforcement, where the enforcement officer has "reasonable suspicion" that the person involved is in the U.S. illegally. A key architect of the Arizona law, Kris Kobach, also consulted on anti-immigrant laws in other states, such as Alabama; a graduate of Yale Law School, Kobach is currently the Secretary of State of Kansas |
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| Following the model of ARizona, several other state legislatures consider similar (copycat) laws, but in many cases those efforts have failed to gain legislative approval as of this writing. However, several states have passed very similar if not more sever restrictions in their laws regarding undocumented immigrants than the sanctions in SB 1070. States that have passed so-called "copycat" laws on immigration include as of this writing: Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Indiana and Utah. |
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| States passed 164 anti-immigrant laws on specific issues, such as drivers' licenses for undocumented immigrants. As of this writing, for example, 11 states and the District of Columbia allow undocumented drivers to acquire a driver's license, though each state has different criteria for applicants to receive the license. California passed AB 60 in 2013 and was signed by Governor Brown, but the design of the license did not immediately met federal approval; AB 60 did not go into effect until January 2015 |
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