Harris County, Texas, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez during a 2017 news conference in Crosby, Texas. President Biden has nominated Gonzalez to head U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of an attempt to overhaul the agency. Gregory Bull/AP hide caption
Zapata County Sheriff Raymundo Del Bosque says they used to have one car chase and bailout of unauthorized immigrants a week; now they have one a day. John Burnett/NPR hide caption
The Trump-era "zero tolerance" immigration policy has resulted in the separation of more than 3,000 children from their families after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Ross D. Franklin/AP hide caption
President-elect Joe Biden, seen here speaking about national security last month, plans to make good on an election promise to send Congress an immigration bill on Day 1. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
TK TK/TK hide caption
Ingmar Riveros and Peruvian refugee Xiomy De la Cruz distribute food from a store basement last month in Hartford, Conn. Joe Amon/Connecticut Public hide caption
While campaigning in November 2019, Joe Biden talked with a protester about his stance on deportations at a town hall at Lander University in Greenwood, S.C. The Biden administration says it will rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement, starting with a temporary moratorium on deportations. Meg Kinnard/AP hide caption
Xavier, a fifth grader, shows his teacher Raisa Luna Guzmán the comic book he made for his virtual language arts class. Movimiento Cosecha/Ann Arbor Community Learning Center hide caption
José spent three months in the hospital being treated for COVID-19. "All of the nurses clapped for me as I was leaving the hospital," he says. But now he faces a long recovery at home. Eddie Quiñones for NPR hide caption
Author Karla Cornejo Villavicencio. Talya Zemach-Bersin hide caption
Christian (left) and his wife Monze (right) were laid off from restaurant jobs in mid-March and not qualified to receive unemployment because they are undocumented immigrants. Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images hide caption
Immigrant rights group CASA, along with the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center, filed a federal class-action lawsuit Tuesday. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The Pew Research Center estimates there are 7.5 million unauthorized workers in the United States concentrated in agriculture, construction and the hospitality industry. Karina Perez for NPR hide caption
Changes to the expedited removal process allow low-level immigration officers to determine if an undocumented immigrant has been living in the U.S. for less than two years. Gregory Bull/AP hide caption
In many cases, federal agents can request access to state DMV records by filling out a form. This is an example of a Homeland Security request that was made to the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles in 2017. Georgetown Law hide caption