This immigration policy discourages immigrants from adjusting their status; because they face the risk of seeing their families separated, more immigrants have chosen to remain undocumented in the U.S. long term.
Story and photo by Policy Brief | FWD.us | MAR. 23, 2023
When individuals remain in the U.S. without authorization for more than 12 months and then depart, they are barred from re-entering the U.S. through any legal channel for at least 10 years.
This is the situation facing millions of mixed-status families across the U.S., like Sylvia Alvera Flores and her husband and children, who are subject to re-entry bars like the three- and ten-year bars. She came to the U.S. undocumented when she was 7, and has lived here ever since. And even though her husband and three children are all U.S. citizens, there is no way for them to sponsor Sylvia for legal status, unless she takes the tremendous risk of leaving the U.S.—and her family—to wait out her re-entry bars before applying to return many years later.
These legal re-entry bars make it impossible for long-term undocumented immigrants, many of them spouses and parents of U.S. citizens, to “get in line” to receive a valid visa. Since the re-entry bars were created, the number of undocumented immigrants remaining permanently in the U.S. has grown substantially.
By repealing the bars and allowing immigrants with deep ties to the U.S. to access the legal pathways for which they qualify, Congress could help keep American families together.
Re-entry bars prevent immigrants who voluntarily leave the U.S. from returning legally for years
Legal re-entry bars, also referred to as “unlawful presence” bars or “three- and ten-year bars,” are punishments applied to undocumented immigrants who remain in the United States without authorization.
Undocumented immigrants, whether they entered unlawfully or overstayed a visa, who remain in the U.S. without authorization for more than six consecutive months are considered to be “unlawfully present.”
If they then leave the United States, even voluntarily, re-entry bars are applied to prohibit them from re-entering through any legal channel for some years.1 The duration of the re-entry bar depends on how long they were unlawfully present in the U.S.—less than a year is a three-year bar, and anything longer is a ten-year bar. If they have entered the U.S. without authorization multiple times, even as children, they may be subject to permanent bars.2 The re-entry bars separate families and bar integral members of our communities for years.
The re-entry bars are a relatively recent policy, created as part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) signed into law by President Bill Clinton. However, migration trends and the makeup of families and communities living in the United States have changed significantly since they were implemented, warranting renewed consideration of their effectiveness.
After re-entry bars were created, more undocumented immigrants remained permanently in the U.S.
While the re-entry bars were intended to punish unauthorized immigration, they have had unintended consequences, as undocumented immigrants have increasingly chosen to remain in the U.S. permanently, boosting the growth rate of the undocumented population.
Until relatively recently, immigration across the southern border was mostly circular, as immigrants (with and without authorization) traveled back and forth, often for economic opportunities, much more frequently. However, that changed when Congress started passing legislation to increase immigration enforcement and restrict legal channels.
For example, researchers found that increased enforcement policies implemented in the 1980s and ’90s did not discourage undocumented immigrants from Mexico from coming to the U.S. in the first place, but did make it far less likely that they would depart the U.S. after arriving. The likelihood of undocumented immigrants from Mexico returning home after being in the U.S. began to decrease after Congress boosted enforcement in 1986, and then decreased more significantly after IIRIRA imposed even more penalties and restrictions, including the re-entry bars.
Probability of Return to Mexico Within One Year After First Undocumented Trip to U.S.
Line chart with 51 data points.
Circular migration between the U.S. and Mexico has all but ended completley, with most undocumented immigrants choosing to remain in the U.S. long-term after arriving.View as data table, Probability of Return to Mexico Within One Year After First Undocumented Trip to U.S.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying values. Data ranges from 1966 to 2016.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Data ranges from 2.8 to 52.4.197019801990200020100%10%20%30%40%50%60%Source: Mexican Migration Project, https://mmp.opr.princeton.edu/results/results-en.aspx.
Probability of Return to Mexico Within One Year After First Undocumented Trip to U.S.Circular migration between the U.S. and Mexico has all but ended completley, with most undocumented immigrants choosing to remain in the U.S. long-term after arriving.
End of interactive chart.
Source: Source: Mexican Migration Project
Note: Five-year moving averages through 2016 based on data for 1964 to 2018. Five-year moving averages used to account for a small number of respondents in the data indicating an undocumented journey into the U.S. during the last decade, and consequently larger margin of error.
“68% of undocumented immigrants currently in the U.S. have lived here for more than 10 years.”
According to Douglas Massey, a Princeton professor who led this study, approximately 5.3 million people who were undocumented would have likely chosen to leave the U.S. if not for these increased enforcement measures. Since IIRIRA went into effect, however, the size of the undocumented population in the U.S. has grown significantly, with most undocumented immigrants remaining here for a long time.
In 1990, the number of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. was estimated to be about 3.5 million; by 2000, that number had grown to 8.6 million, and has settled around 10 to 11 million in recent years. Roughly 68% of undocumented immigrants currently in the U.S. have lived here for more than 10 years, according to FWD.us estimates.
“Approximately 1.1 million undocumented immigrants have a spouse who is a U.S. citizen.”
Repealing re-entry bars would allow millions of U.S. citizens to sponsor their family members for legal status
Passing legislation to repeal the three- and ten-year re-entry bars would allow millions of undocumented immigrants who otherwise qualify for a legal immigration pathway, like being sponsored by a relative or an employer, to apply for an immigration status and become legal permanent residents.
Repealing the bars would most directly benefit U.S. citizens hoping to sponsor their immediate family members, like spouses and parents, who are undocumented. For many, the re-entry bars are the main obstacle preventing them from securing certainty and relief for their families in the U.S.
For example, FWD.us estimates that approximately 1.1 million undocumented immigrants have a spouse who is a U.S. citizen who could sponsor them for a green card.3 On average, these individuals have lived in the U.S. for 16 years and have been married to their U.S. citizen spouse for at least a decade; we estimate that as many as 100,000 are DACA recipients.
They would still have to formally apply with the government, pass background and security checks, and in most cases, they would have to leave the U.S. and re-enter under a new, legal status.
“Repealing the bars is a common-sense solution that would provide relief and opportunity to millions of families.“
Pathways to legal status and citizenship benefit all Americans
Allowing undocumented residents an opportunity to secure legal status and pursue citizenship is generally good policy that benefits all Americans. It is a common-sense solution that provides relief and opportunity to millions of families, while also helping increase access to legal status for individuals who are undocumented. And it is clearly better than the alternatives, like continuing to bar otherwise-eligible immigrants from adjusting status, or attempting to forcibly deport millions of people from American communities.
After becoming citizens and being able to access lawful employment, undocumented immigrants would be able to significantly increase their economic contributions. FWD.us analysis shows that currently undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens would contribute an additional $16 billion annually to the U.S. economy, along with an additional $5 billion in federal, payroll, state, and local taxes. With lawful work authorization, previously undocumented immigrants could fill critical job openings, helping ease inflationary pressures caused by labor shortages.
Congress should repeal the re-entry bars and expand access to legal pathways
Repealing the outdated three- and ten-year re-entry bars is a narrow but meaningful starting point for bipartisan immigration reform, long supported by a host of policy experts, advocates, and lawmakers from both parties. As Congress has failed to achieve consensus on broad, bipartisan immigration reform, this is a targeted, common-sense policy correction that can help millions of American families.
