US Census Press Releases

US Census Press Releases

Is it time to change the criteria we use in deciding who enters the U.S.? Below are the standards currently used.

"Exclusion and Removal
All aliens must satisfy State Department consular officers abroad and DHS Bureau
of Customs and Border Protection inspectors upon entry to the U.S. that they are not ineligible for visas or admission under the so-called grounds for inadmissibility of the
INA. These criteria categories are:

• health-related grounds;
• criminal history;
• national security and terrorist concerns;
• public charge (e.g., indigence);
• seeking to work without proper labor certification;
• illegal entrants and immigration law violations;
• lacking proper documents;
• ineligible for citizenship; and,
• aliens previously removed."

If we oppose just the above standard, how would we modify it? It appears to me that the Bush plan would temporarily loosen the 'illegal entrants and immigration law violation' standard as long as the worker could prove they had legal work in the country now. Or is it permanent removal of the standard and/or others?

CRS Web (PDF)