Where can I find a good resource for backgrounder information on legal immigration to the United States as well as an overview of the key immigration policy issues?

The American Immigration Law Association (AILA) provides an excellent and frequently updated overview of the top immigration policy issues that are part of their current legislative and liaison agenda.  http://www.aila.org/fileViewer.aspx?docID=10003

II. IMMIGRATION LAWS, REGULATIONS, AND GUIDES

A number of sources of law govern immigration. First among these is the United States Constitution.

A main source of immigration law is statutes (laws, public laws) enacted by Congress. Most of the laws affecting immigration are contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act also known as "the Act" or simply as the "INA."

Although the provisions (terms) of most statutes affecting immigration are reflected in the INA, many are not codified in the INA and must be found in the original legislation in which they were enacted. The Immigration and Nationality Act has been amended many times. When Congress enacts a law, it generally does not re-write the entire body of law, or even entire sections of a law, but instead adds to or changes specific words within a section. These changes are then reflected within the larger body of law.  The language changing the larger body of law is generally referred to as the "amendatory" language.  Public laws amending the INA can be found here.

Statutes usually provide broad authority and apply to general situations. Agencies must take the general provisions of the statute and apply them to specific, detailed situations. The INS regulations serve this purpose.

There are immigration laws that involve other agencies in addition to the INS. For example, both the Department of Labor http://www.dol.gov/ and the Department of State http://www.state.gov/ are involved in the administration of the immigration laws.

One source of legal interpretations of immigration laws and regulations are administrative decisions. The Board of Immigration Appeals http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/is a separate agency within the Department of Justice http://www.usdoj.gov/ that reviews immigration cases and issues appellate administrative decisions that are binding on the INS nationwide.

The Library of Congress has an excellent in-depth discussion of how our laws are made. http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html

III. FEDERAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Department of Homeland Security: www.dhs.gov

Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administers such services as immigrant and nonimmigrant sponsorship; adjustment of status; work authorization and other permits; naturalization of qualified applicants for U.S. citizenship; and asylum or refugee processing.  www.uscis.gov

Visas: BCIS maintains a "Visa Portal" for information on immigration classifications and visas.   http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/visa_info.htm

Citizenship and Immigration Service Glossary and Acronyms: words and phrases regarding immigrants and immigration http://uscis.gov/graphics/glossary.htm

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is responsible for the enforcement of federal immigration laws, customs laws, and air security laws. www.ice.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) The CBP combines the functions of the former U.S. Customs, U.S. Immigration, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the U.S. Border Patrol. Its stated purpose is to manage, control, and protect the U.S. borders at and between the official ports of entry. http://www.customs.gov/

Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman: The CIS Ombudsman was created pursuant to Section 452 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) within the Department of Homeland Security. The CIS Ombudsman provides recommendations for resolving individual and employer problems with the (USCIS). http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0482.xml

Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties  The Office was created by Congress to review and assess allegations of abuse of civil rights or civil liberties, racial or ethnic profiling, by Department of Homeland Security Personnel. The Office is required to report annually to Congress on any such abuses committed by DHS personnel, how much money was required to resolve such complaints, and how such complaints were resolved. http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0375.xml

Office of Immigration Statistics:  The Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS), Office of Management, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) publishes the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics each year (formerly entitled Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service). This publication provides information, in the form of text, tables, and charts, about the various types of foreign nationals who are inspected, naturalized, apprehended, or removed by the DHS. Types of aliens include immigrants, nonimmigrants (temporary visitors), parolees, refugees, and asylees, as well as those naturalized or apprehended. Topics covered include statistical data overview, discussion of specific statistical programs (e.g., naturalization), and assistance in understanding the data with information on data collection and data limitations. http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/aboutus/statistics/index.htm

The Department of State (DOS) http://www.state.gov/

Visa Bulletins: these bulletins summarize the availability of immigrant numbers on a month by month basis.  Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security reports applicants for adjustment of status:  http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi_bulletin.html

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees and its stated objective is to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.  The UNHCR has an office in Washington, D.C. which provides the public with some assistance on asylum questions.  UNHCR does not address general immigration questions, however.

IV. ADVOCACY AND LEGAL-SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS

National Immigration Forum: The National Immigration Forum works to embrace and uphold America's tradition as a nation of immigrants. The Forum advocates support for public policies that welcome immigrants and refugees and that are fair and supportive. http://www.immigrationforum.org/

Human Rights First www.humanrightsfirst.org

Amnesty International http://www.amnestyusa.org/

New York Immigration Coalition 
The NYIC is an umbrella advocacy organization for approximately 150 groups in New York State that work with immigrants and refugees on local, state and national levels. Its membership includes rights advocates, community leaders and service providers and community-based ethnic and nonprofit human service organizations.The NYIC was founded in 1987 to mobilize the leadership of New York’s immigrant communities in response to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and it has become a leading advocates on immigrants rights and needs.

Gotham Gazette
The immigration page of the weekly journal published by the Citizens Union Foundation contains news coverage and good links to many immigration organizations, local, regional and national.

American Immigration Law Foundation
AILF was established in 1987 to promote public understanding of immigration law and policy education, policy analysis and support to litigators.

American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants' Rights Project
News, updates on court action and pending legislation and broad links to many organizations.

National Immigration Law Center
NILC's mission is to protect and promote the rights of low-income immigrants. Its staff specializes in immigration law and the employment and public benefits rights of immigrants, conducts policy analysis and provides publications, technical advice and training. NILC has offices in Los Angeles, Oakland and Washington, D.C.

National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild
http://www.nationalimmigrationproject.org  The NIP is a network of immigration lawyers, law students, jailhouse lawyers, and legal workers who work to end unlawful immigration practices, to recognize the contributions of immigrants in this country, to promote fair immigration practices and to expand the civil and human rights of all immigrants.

Citizens and Immigrants for Equal Justice
CIEJ is a coalition of American/legal resident families facing permanent separation because of the 1996 immigration acts.

Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force
A national organization that focuses on how bi-national couples, immigrants with HIV/AIDS and sexual orientation-based asylum seekers are negatively affected by current U.S. immigration law.

National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
The NNIRR is a national organization of local coalitions and immigrant, refugee, community, religious, civil rights and labor organizations that serves as a forum to share information and analysis, to educate communities and the general public and to develop and coordinate plans of action on immigrant issues.

National Council of La Raza
NCLR is a nonprofit organization that works to reduce poverty and discrimination for Hispanic Americans. Through research, policy analysis and advocacy it provides an Hispanic perspective on issues including immigration.

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
The AALDEF, based on the East Coast, is a group of lawyers, law students and community activists who use the law as a tool to achieve social and economic justice for Asian Americans and all Americans.

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) http://www.maldef.org/  Founded in 1968 in San Antonio, Texas, MALDEF is a leading nonprofit Latino litigation, advocacy and educational outreach institution in the United States.

National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium
The National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium works to advance the legal and civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans through litigation, public education and public policy.

Southeast Asian Resource Action Committee (SEARAC) http://www.searac.org/ SEARAC, founded in 1979 as the Indochina Refugee Action Center (IRAC), is a national organization advancing the interests of Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans through leadership development, capacity building, and community empowerment.

Asian Americans for Equality
AAFE is a community-based, nonprofit organization that advocates for equal opportunities for minorities in New York City.

National Coalition for Haitian Rights
NCHR works for litigation, education and advocacy efforts designed to halt the deportation and secure the legal status of Haitian boat people.

National Association of Korean Americans
A Washington-based education and lobbying organization.

Emerald Isle Immigration Center of New York www.eiic.org  An information and service site for Irish immigrants.

Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees http://www.unitehere.org/  A labor perspective on sweatshops and other issues

V. SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS

American Immigration Law Association (AILA) AILA is a national bar association of over 7,000 attorneys who practice and teach immigration law.  http://www.aila.org/

Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) In 1988, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) established CLINIC as a legally distinct 501(c)(3) organization to provide a full range of legal and non-legal support services to Catholic Charities' and diocesan legal immigration programs.www.cliniclegal.org

VI. RESEARCH CENTERS

Immigration History Research Center
The University of Minnesota's IHRC collects, preserves, and makes available archival and published resources documenting immigration and ethnicity on a national scope.

Migration Policy Institute www.migrationpolicy.org  MPI is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think-tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide. MPI provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at the local, national, and international levels. The Migration Information Source http://www.migrationinformation.org is a project of the MPI.  The Source is an online resource, which offers data and essential facts on the movement of people worldwide.

The Urban Institute
The Urban Institute is a nonprofit nonpartisan policy research and educational organization established to examine the social, economic, and governance problems facing the nation.  In the area of immigration, UI focuses on the areas of characteristics and trends, economic progress, fiscal and social impacts, immigration policy, refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented immigrants, and welfare reform and immigration.

VII. GENERAL INFORMATION FOR IMMIGRANTS

Yahoo Immigration Home Page
Many links to immigration specific web-sites.

Immigrants' Weekly: the Immigration Portal
ILW.com describes itself as a one-stop shop for immigration news, views, services and information.

American Immigration Resources
Operated by Immigration Technology Associates, this site offers links to reference and self-help materials and to lists of lawyers, consultants and organizations.

American Immigration Center
The American Immigration Center says it strives to provide immigration and naturalization solutions through a range of Immigration, naturalization and citizenship products and services, with a focus on visas, permanent residence, green cards, lotteries and citizenship.