Our borders and immigration system, including law enforcement, ought to send a message of welcome, tolerance, and justice to members of the immigrant communities in the United States and their countries of origin.
—The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2004
To understand the scope of the immigration issue in the United States, it is important to know the number of immigrants in the country, where they came from, why they came, and why some did not get to stay. Because immigrant statistics have been the basis for legislation as well as the funding of projects, information about immigrants' ages, skills, ability to work, and location of settlement in the United States has been collected in a variety of forms.
U.S. immigration law defines an immigrant as a person legally admitted for permanent residence in the United States. Some arrive in the country with immigrant visas issued abroad at a consular office of the U.S. Department of State. (Visas are government authorizations permitting entry into a country.) Others who already reside in the United States adjust their status from temporary to permanent residence. These include illegal immigrants, foreign students, temporary workers, and refugees and asylees (those seeking asylum).
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