Immigration and Border Policy

What is the issue?

Immigration policy determines who may enter and live in the United States, how the border is secured, and what happens to people who arrive or stay without authorization. It includes legal pathways such as family and employment visas, humanitarian protection such as asylum and refugee status, and enforcement actions such as detention and removal. The Constitution and Supreme Court precedent give the federal government primary authority over immigration, although states and cities affect daily life through policing, benefits, and cooperation with federal agencies. Debates involve security, labor needs, humanitarian obligations, and the status of long-term residents without legal status. Data on border encounters and visas are published by federal agencies and measure different things.

Topics: Border security · Legal immigration and visa policy · Asylum and refugee policy · Deportation and immigration enforcement · Citizenship and pathways to legal status

What decisions are being debated?

How should the border be secured?

More personnel, barriers, and technology, which increase enforcement capacity at a cost.
Faster processing and more legal entry options to reduce irregular crossings.
A combination, with debate about priorities and funding.

How should legal immigration and asylum work?

Raise or lower visa and refugee limits.
Change who qualifies, such as by skills, family ties, or humanitarian need.
Speed up court and asylum decisions, which depends on staffing and funding.

What should happen to people living here without legal status?

Prioritize removal, with questions about cost and capacity.
Create a pathway to legal status under conditions set by Congress.
Focus enforcement on specific categories of people.

What can government do?

Congress and federal agencies: Congress writes immigration law and sets visa limits and funding. The President and agencies such as DHS, CBP, ICE, and USCIS carry it out, and federal immigration courts decide cases.
States: States cannot set their own immigration rules, but they choose whether to cooperate with federal enforcement, set rules on state benefits and licenses, and run state police.
Counties and cities: Cities and counties decide local police and jail cooperation with federal agencies, within state law.
Shared or limited authority: Federal law is supreme on immigration. State and local actions are limited and sometimes challenged in court.

Relevant elections:

U.S. Senate and House races: Congress writes immigration law and funds enforcement.
State election pages: States set cooperation and benefits rules.

What evidence should voters consider?

Southwest Land Border Encounters (external site, opens in new tab) (U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Official data)
Official border encounter statistics.
Office of Homeland Security Statistics (external site, opens in new tab) (U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Official data)
Official statistics on legal immigration, enforcement, and naturalization.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (external site, opens in new tab) (U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Official data)
Official rules and processing information for visas, green cards, and citizenship.
Constitution Annotated (external site, opens in new tab) (Congress.gov; Legislation)
Explains constitutional sources of federal authority over immigration.

Where do candidates stand?

Candidate comparisons for this issue are not available yet. They appear only for races where each position is backed by a source we have verified. A missing position is not support, opposition, or neutrality. Candidate filings for every race are listed on the federal races pages.

Learn more

Congressional Research Service reports (external site, opens in new tab) (Congressional Research Service; Independent research)

Sources last checked 2026-10-17. Status: explainer written from the cited sources; not independently expert-reviewed. This page explains the issue and does not recommend a candidate.