Prepared by Tobe Liebert; Revised by Mark Holman
This resource will help the user find key resources on the subject of immigration law. All print resources mentioned in this guide are available in the Tarlton Law Library, and shelf location information is provided. Additionally, references are provided to helpful Internet resources.
Statutes currently in force regarding immigration law in the United States are found in the United States Code. Title 8 of the Code, "Aliens and Nationality," contains the majority of laws concerning immigration. The United States Code (U.S.C.) is located in stack 211 on the 2nd floor.*
Two sets of statutes provide annotation for the federal code. They are the
The Immigration and Nationality Act is the primary federal act dealing with immigration.The U.S. Bureau of Citizenship & Immigration Services (BCIS) maintains an INA web page with links to Public Laws aminding the INA:http://uscis.gov/graphics/lawsregs/INA.htm
You may also view the entire U.S. Code online at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/.
(B) Finding Pending Legislation
The Library of Congress maintains the THOMAS web site: http://thomas.loc.gov. THOMAS provides public access to the documents and activities of the United States Congress. The complete text of all bills before the United States House of Representatives and Senate; legislation recently signed into law; congressional committee reports; and relevant portions from Congressional Record, are some of the items available. You may track pending legislation and research legislative history of recent Public Laws regarding immigration with this resource.
Suggested search to find recent immigration legislation:From the Thomas homepage select "Bill Summary and Status." In the "Standard Subject Term" field search for the term "Immigration"
A wide variety of courts may issue decisions on the subject of immigration law. In the federal system, the courts may be called upon to review the constitutionality of legislation or hear an appeal from an administrative court decision. The primary courts in the federal system are: (1) United States Supreme Court; (2) the United States Circuit Courts of Appeal; and (3) United States District Courts. The decisions of these courts are found in the following court reporters: (1) United States Reports (or West's Supreme Court Reporter or United States Supreme Court Reports - Lawyer's Edition); (2) the Federal Reporter; and (3) the Federal Supplement.
(A) The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was formerly the agency primarily charged with responsibility for administering and enforcing immigration laws. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 transferred these responsibilities to the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 1, 2003. Two agencies within the DHS, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) and the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security (BTS), have been given responsibility for duties previously performed by the INS.
Administrative rules and regulations implement the statutes passed by Congress, and these regulations constitute another major body of immigration law. Besides the DHS, other agencies that may issue regulations relevant to immigration matters are the Department of State, Department of Labor and United States Information Agency.
Regulations are printed in two sources:
A majority of regulations concerning immigration are found in Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations, titled "Aliens and Nationality." The U.S. Bureau of Citizenship & Immigration Services (BCIS) web site provides a "Title 8" page with links to other immigration codes and the Federal Register: http://uscis.gov/graphics/lawsregs/8cfr.htm
(C) Executive Orders of the President
The President of the United States may issue executive orders concerning immigration. When the President signs an Executive order it is sent to the Office of the Federal Register. Executive orders and other presidential documents first appear in the Federal Register (see above). Executive orders of the seated President are also posted on the White House web page: http://www.whitehouse.gov
The Office of the Federal Register also publishes executive orders in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. Executive orders made from September 16, 1985 to the present are located at AE 2.109. Executive orders made from August 2, 1965 to September 16, 1985 are found at GS 4.114. Both sets are on the 5th floor in the Government Documents collection. The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is also maintained on-line: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS1769
Executive orders are compiled annually and can be found in Title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
The National Archives and Records Administration maintains Executive Orders Disposition Tables. Executive orders from January 8, 1937 to the present are available on-line: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/executive_orders/disposition_tables.html. Here you can find the current status (or disposition) of specific Executive orders.
Several administrative agencies issue decisions relevant to immigration matters. The most important is the Board of Immigrations Appeals (BIA). A selection of resources available for researching and updating administrative decisions is listed below.
III. TOOLS FOR RESEARCH AND PRACTICE OF IMMIGRATION LAW
Current awareness publications help the researcher keep abreast of the latest developments in an area of law, providing summaries of new cases, pending legislation and agency action.
Electronic resources also provide news on current developments on immigration law.
Looseleaf services are multi-volume publications that contain analysis and commentary on an area of law, while also reprinting current statutes, cases and regulations relevant to a particular subject.
While several of the sources mentioned in this guide contain forms relevant to immigration procedures, probably the best print source is the Immigration Procedures Handbook, by Fragomen, Del Rey and Bell. It is located at KF 4819 F73 [year].
Immigration Law & Procedure. Revised edition. KF 4819 G67, is also an excellent source of official and unofficial forms.
The BCIS website contains numerous forms that can be downloaded at no charge. The address for this site is: http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/index.htm.
The USCIS also publishes electronic versions of immigration forms: http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/index.htm.
IV. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AT TARLTON LAW LIBRARY
(A) Sources for Full Text of Statutes and Regulations
The following titles supplement the full text sources listed above.
(B) Finding More on Immigration
You may wish to find additional resources by searching in TALLONS (the library’s online catalog) under the subject "Emigration and Immigration Law - United States." Or you may browse the 4th floor stacks in the call number range KF 4801-4821.
Speak to our Government Documents librarian, Barbara Bridges about additional immigration resources. View Immigration links on the "Selected Links to Government Information" web page: http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/vlibrary/govdocs/selected.html.
Several other academic law libraries provide guides to Immigration Law on the Internet. Notably, the "Legal Information Institute" (LII) at Cornell University provides links to immigration law: http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/immigration.html.
* Stack numbers always indicate library floors. Thus 211 is on the 2nd floor, 538 is on the 5th floor, etc.
* These U.S. documents are shelved by Agency using Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) numbers. Consult the Government Documents Librarian for further assistance.