Terrorism: Immigration Law: Legal Frameworks

Publication Date: July 2004

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Research Area: Law and ethics

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Abstract:

As part of the response to the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, and the on-going war against terrorism, Congress and the Administration have been reexamining and restructuring our immigration laws and policies to strengthen them as effective components of our counterterrorism policy. This entails preventing the admission of and facilitating the tracking and removal of terrorists, while satisfying constitutional principles and legitimate commercial, familial and humanitarian goals of immigration. These efforts have resulted in the immigration provisions enacted as part of the USA PATRIOT Act, P .L. 107-56; the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002, P.L. 107-173; the Homeland Security Act of 2002, P.L. 107-296 ; and in various administrative policies. Congress and the Administration continue to consider further refinement of the immigration laws.