Immigration: The Future Flow of Legal Immigration to the United States
PEMD-88-7
Published: Jan 08, 1988. Publicly Released: Jan 08, 1988.
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Highlights
In response to a congressional request, GAO developed projections concerning future legal immigration using information from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Bureau of the Census to: (1) describe past legal immigration flows; (2) forecast future legal immigration flows; (3) improve understanding of the immigration process concerning immediate relatives of U.S. citizens exempt from the annual numerical limits; and (4) assess the effect of the emigration of legal immigrants on net immigration.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Justice | The Attorney General should direct the Commissioner, INS, to consult with the Director of the Bureau of the Census to develop and implement a uniform methodology for estimating net immigration to the United States by adequately accounting for the emigration of non-U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens. This measure of the net immigration should reflect the policy objectives and requirements of the Immigration Reform and Control Act and other immigration laws. |
Congress is not willing to allocate funds at this time for INS to develop and implement a methodology for estimating net immigration.
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Topics
FamiliesImmigration enforcementImmigration and naturalization lawImmigration information systemsImmigrationPopulation statisticsProjectionsRefugeesImmigration statusImmigrants