Regional Focus: United States

News:

The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson 50 years ago.  Here is President Obama's statement marking the anniversary.  The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) held a symposium to discuss the "political and policy dynamics that came together to make the law possible and how it changed the U.S. legal immigration system, the country's demographics, and future."  It also compiled a companion list of resources that help shed more light on U.S. immigration policy and immigration patterns.

In addition, two new books take stock of the INA:

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965: Legislating a New America (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming Oct. 2015) [info]
- Eprints of two chapters from this book are available via SSRN; Chapter 3, "The Beginning of the End: The Immigration Act of 1965 and the Emergence of Modern U.S./Mexico Border Enforcement" and Chapter 4, "The Last Preference: Refugees and the 1965 Immigration Act

A Nation of Nations: A Great American Immigration Story (Simon & Schuster, Sept. 2015) [info]
- The author, Tom Gjelten, is an NPR correspondent.  Listen to his related NPR story.

Events:

Note: The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee was scheduled to host a hearing on "The Syrian Refugee Crisis and Its Impact on the Security of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program" on 7 October 2015.  However, it has now been postponed.

Panel discussion: A Nation of Immigrants: Commemorating the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act and its Legacy in Re-defining American, Washington, DC, 7 October 2015 [info]

Conference: Transforming Migrations: Beyond the 1965 Immigration Act, Irvine, CA, 8-9 October 2015 [info]

Conference: 12th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference, Washington, DC, 29 October 2015 [info]
- Keynote speakers include Jeh Charles Johnson, the Secretary of Homeland Security and António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Publications:

Are Cities and States Prepared to Host More Refugees? (Pew Charitable Trusts, Sept. 2015) [text]

DHS Announces Temporary Protected Status Designation for Yemen (USCIS, Sept. 2015) [text]
- Note: These are the other countries currently designated for TPS,

The Expansion of 'Particularly Serious Crimes' in Refugee Law: Mirroring the Severity Revolution (Boston College, Sept. 2015) [text via SSRN]

Immigration (Pew Research, Sept.-Oct. 2015) [access]
- Learn more about views, data, and trends on U.S. immigration and the country's changing demographics.

The U.S. Record Shows Refugees are not a Threat (Migration Policy Institute, Oct. 2015) [text]

What Americans Really Think about the Syrian Refugee Crisis (Brookings' Markaz Blog, Sept. 2015) [text]

Related post:
- Regional Focus: Americas (29 Sept. 2015)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.