Congressional efforts to pass sweeping immigration reform have stalled following the 2013 Senate passage of S.744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. But lawmakers continue to press the case that our system of employment-based immigration merits congressional attention.
A quick survey of legislation introduced during the first session of the 114th Congress reveals that 105 bills have been introduced on the subject of immigration. These bills address a variety of immigration policies including interior enforcement, border security, workplace verification, and employment-based immigration. Among these bills are policy ideas that would have a meaningful impact on our current system. As an aside, the survey also reveals how difficult it is to pass immigration legislation in the current legislative environment: only two bills, H.R.3009 (dealing with “sanctuary cities”) and S.1300 (dealing with international adoption) have been approved by a single chamber during the first seven months of the session. And only a handful has even had the benefit of any committee consideration.Continue Reading Legislative Roundup: Business-Related Immigration Bills in the 114th Congress