The Legal Landscape of U.S. Immigration in the Twenty-First Century

Joining with the Russell Sage Foundation, the Corporation continues its support of evidence-based immigration and immigrant integration policies

By Carnegie Corporation of New York November 20, 2020

Immigration

Immigration was a key topic during the weeks and months leading up to the 2020 election, but it’s often a more nuanced and complicated issue than quick campaign talking points allow. To that end, Carnegie Corporation of New York has co-published “The Legal Landscape of U.S. Immigration in the Twenty-First Century,” the newest issue of the RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences.

Through a joint grant with the Russell Sage Foundation, which dedicates itself to strengthening the methods, data, and theoretical core of the social sciences in order to better understand societal problems and develop informed responses, the journal aims to prompt renewed scholarly interest in legal immigration. Articles explore immigration policy questions such as “Do Employer-Sponsored Immigrants Fare Better in Labor Markets than Family-Sponsored Immigrants?” and “Temporary Migrant Workers or Immigrants? The Question for U.S. Labor Migration.” Arguments on “The Value of Citizenship and Service to the Nation” are also represented.

“Many have written about and debated the U.S. visa system, but three decades after the passage of the 1990 Immigration Act, it continues to define the ways in which immigrants legally enter the United States,” the introductory article explains. “Yet, without comprehensive immigration policy reform grounded in deep understanding about the drivers of migration, opportunities for legal entry and the rights of noncitizens have become more restricted.”

Top: Newly sworn in U.S. citizens celebrate and wave U.S. flags during a naturalization ceremony in 2019. (Credit: Joseph Prezioso /AFP via Getty Images)