A report from the Center for Migration Studies of New York analyzes the increasingly dynamic interaction among states, localities, and the federal government in the formulation and implementation of immigration policy. The report reviews immigration policy developments over the last 20 years that have led to a patchwork of policies, determined by a mix of local, state, and federal directives rather than a single federal policy set in Washington, D.C. The paper contends that we are now in an era of immigration federalism characterized by increasingly broad distribution of powers across all levels of government and wide variations in immigration regimes and practices.
