9/11 and Immigration: Major Immigration Changes in the Decade since 9/11

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) held a conference call to discuss the most significant changes that have occurred in the immigration arena in the decade since the September 11, 2001 attacks. MPI Senior Fellow Doris Meissner, commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service during the 1990s, and Muzaffar Chishti, director of MPI’s office at NYU School of Law, provided analysis on the realignment of the U.S. immigration system – ranging from new enforcement programs and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security to changed visa policies and the rise of state and local actors. Both are co-authors of MPI’s new Fact Sheet, Through the Prism of National Security: Major Immigration Policy and Program Changes in the Decade since 9/11, which details the major immigration policy, budget and organizational changes that have occurred as an outgrowth of 9/11.