French National Identity and Integration: Who Belongs to the National Community? By Patrick Simon
Since the mid-1980s, France has faced a contentious debate of crucial importance for immigrants and their descendents — defining what it means to be French. Though countries with rich histories of immigration have long accepted “dual belonging,” this concept has been criticized and perceived as at odds with a person’s commitment to French identity. A recent survey of French immigrants, however, shows that multiple allegiances are not an impediment to integration; it is possible to “feel French” and maintain links with a country of origin. However, because of external perceptions, native French citizens are far less likely to accept this adoption of French identity.
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Labour Migration from Colombo Process Countries: Good Practices, Challenges and Ways Forward By Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias and Christine Aghazarm
This issue brief, the first in a series launched by MPI and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that examines migration trends and issues in Asia, discusses labor migration from the 11 Colombo Process countries (which include China, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam). Since 2005, these countries have taken concrete steps to manage these labor flows and protect their citizens working abroad, particularly with respect to recruitment regulation and welfare protection. Despite the progress, however, the brief details a number of remaining challenges and highlights possible areas of focus for these governments. Download Brief | Press Release
The Relationship Between Immigration and Nativism in Europe and North America By Cas Mudde
Far-right parties across Europe are gaining momentum, as witnessed by their recent successes at the ballot box in Greece, France, and elsewhere. While immigration is thought to be a major factor fueling the parties’ rise, this report finds that although there is clearly a relationship, the connection is not as straightforward as is often assumed. The report examines the electoral performance of far-right parties in Europe and North America since 1980, finding that high levels of immigration do not automatically lead to more votes for radical-right parties. Download Report | Press Release
Profile of Immigrants in Napa County By Randy Capps, Kristen McCabe, and Michael Fix
This report offers a comprehensive profile of immigration to Napa County, examining the important role that immigrant workers play in the Napa Valley’s wine-related sectors and their fiscal contributions and costs. The authors examine demographic changes in Napa County, tracing immigrants’ origins, economic well-being, education, residence and home ownership, tax payments and public expenditures, and more. Download Report | Executive Summary
Building a British Model of Integration in an Era of Immigration: Policy Lessons for Government By Shamit Saggar and Will Somerville
Despite experiencing large-scale immigration flows and settlement over the past half century, the United Kingdom has not developed a formal integration program. Few public policies have specifically sought to advance immigrant integration, and the political debates surrounding immigrant integration have often been fraught and destabilizing, reflecting deep-seated ambivalence in British society about immigrants and immigration. The authors offer a menu of policy options and actions the government should consider to achieve a well-thought-out approach. Download Report
Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development By Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias and Kathleen Newland
Governments at both ends of the migration cycle increasingly are seeking ways to magnify the human capital and financial resources that emigrants and their descendants contribute to development in their countries of origin. This user-friendly handbook offers a strategic road map for governments in both origin and destination countries to build a constructive relationship with diasporas. The guide, a project of MPI and the International Organization for Migration, offers practical advice to policymakers and practitioners and details the wide range of institutions that governments worldwide have established to work with diasporas. Learn More About Handbook | Press Release
MPI Celebrates its 10th Anniversary From its roots as a project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, MPI a little over a decade ago became the first stand-alone, independent think tank dedicated solely to the study of US and global migration policy and trends. Co-founded by Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Kathleen Newland, the Institute heads into its second decade squarely focused on its mission: to provide an evidence-based, pragmatic, nonideological approach to sound migration management and immigrant integration policymaking designed to benefit all stakeholders. At a gala celebration in Washington, MPI paid tribute to several visionaries in the US and international migration arenas: the lead sponsors of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) and former Rep. Ron Mazzoli (D-KY); Aryeh Neier, president of the Open Society Foundations; former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato; and the founders of the OneVietnam Network, Uyen Nguyen and James Huy Bao. Anniversary Details | MPI Accomplishments | Press Release
The Development and Fiscal Effects of Emigration on Mexico By Raymundo Campos-Vazquez and Horacio Sobarzo
The economic consequences of emigration on migrants’ countries of origin have long been studied, yet the precise assessment of positive and negative impacts remains complex. This analysis finds that when the labor market effects and household income benefits of remittances are compiled into a model of the Mexican economy, Mexico’s fiscal balance appears to benefit from emigration – its GDP rising by 8.8 percent and tax collection by 7.4 percent. Download Report
Changing Demography and Circumstances for Young Black Children in African and Caribbean Immigrant Families By Donald J. Hernandez
This report, the first in a trio of reports from the Young Children of Black Immigrants research initiative, finds that the 813,000 children under the age of 10 who have Black immigrant parents generally fall in the middle of multiple well-being indicators, faring less well than Asian and white children but better than their native-born Black and Hispanic peers. The report examines their family structure, citizenship status, English proficiency, parental characteristics, poverty, housing, and access to social supports. Download Report | Press Release
Diverse Streams: African Migration to the United States By Randy Capps, Kristen McCabe, and Michael Fix
Black African immigrants represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the US immigrant population, increasing by about 200 percent during the 1980s and 1990s and by 100 percent during the 2000s. This report finds African immigrants generally fare well on integration indicators, with college completion rates that greatly exceed those for most other immigrant groups and US natives. Despite higher levels of human capital, high employment rates, and strong English skills, African immigrants’ earnings lag those of the native born. Download Report | Press Release | Research Project
A Demographic Profile of Black Caribbean Immigrants in the United States By Kevin J.A. Thomas
Immigration from the Caribbean to the United States is a relatively recent phenomenon, beginning largely after changes to US immigration law in 1965 that placed a new priority on family-based migration. This report finds that despite relatively low educational attainment, English-speaking Black Caribbean immigrants earn more than Black African immigrants. This earnings gap may be explained in part by the fact that Caribbean immigrants, who account for 1.7 million of the nation’s nearly 40 million immigrants, tend to have been in the United States longer. Download Report | Press Release | Research Project
The Educational Trajectories of English Language Learners in Texas By Stella M. Flores, Jeanne Batalova, and Michael Fix
English Language Learner (ELL) public school students who successfully complete English as a Second Language (ESL) or bilingual education programs within three years appear to fare better in meeting basic math and reading proficiency standards than long-term ELLs, according to analysis of a unique longitudinaldataset that tracks all Texas students from first grade through high school graduation and beyond. Interestingly, Hispanic ELLs who opt out of ESL or bilingual education programs in favor of English-only courses may be particularly disadvantaged in terms of college enrollment. Download Report | Press Release
Multiculturalism: Success, Failure, and the Future By Will Kymlicka
Despite substantial evidence to the contrary, a chorus of political leaders in Europe has declared multiculturalism policies a failure – in effect mischaracterizing the multiculturalism experiment, its future prospects, and its progress over the past three decades. This report challenges the recent rhetoric and addresses the advancement of policy areas for countries, examining factors that impede or facilitate successful the implementation of multiculturalism. Download Report | Read Council Statement
The Role of the State in Cultural Integration: Trends, Challenges, and Ways Ahead By Christian Joppke
For more than a decade, states have experimented with a range of civic integration policies that require immigrants to learn the official language of their host country and acknowledge its basic norms and values — or risk losing social benefits and sometimes even residence permits. The challenge for liberal states is to strike the right balance between policies that are aggressive enough to further social cohesion, yet restrained enough to respect the moral autonomy of immigrants. This is especially difficult when it comes to regulating sensitive identity issues, particularly with respect to religion. Download Report| Read Council Statement
The Centrality of Employment in Immigrant Integration in Europe By Randall Hansen
The two sides of the debate on immigration and integration in Europe share an underlying assumption that the problem is cultural, while disagreeing on whether it is the result of too much or too little respect for cultural differences. Both get the issue wrong, this report contends, calling attention to the inability of policies to ensure immigrants acquire and retain work. Employment, not culture, must be the basis for immigration policy in Europe, the author suggests. Download Report| Read Council Statement
Regularizations in the European Union: The Contentious Policy Tool By Kate Brick
Though contentious, regularization (typically referred to in the US context as legalization) remains a frequently utilized policy tool to address the European Union’s unauthorized immigrant population. Since 1996, over 5 million people have been regularized through a variety of methods, which this Insight details. This work informed the Transatlantic Council on Migration meeting, “Restoring Trust in the Management of Migration and Borders.” The resulting Council Statement, authored by MPI President Demetrios G. Papademetriou, offers a menu of policy options and actions governments can take to build a “whole-of-system” approach to controlling illegal immigration while also creating the political space necessary for reforms of their immigration systems. Download Report | Read Council Statement
Irregular Migration in Europe By Christal Morehouse and Michael Blomfield
While irregular migration frequently makes headlines and policymakers are under increasing pressure to reduce illegal immigration, the estimated population of unauthorized immigrants in EU-15 countries has declined on average for almost a decade since 2002. European governments are collaborating extensively on the management of their external borders, as this report details, discussing the detected and estimated scope of irregular migration in the European Union. This work informed the Transatlantic Council on Migration meeting, “Restoring Trust in the Management of Migration and Borders.” The resulting Council Statement, authored by MPI President Demetrios G. Papademetriou, offers a menu of policy options and actions governments can take to build a “whole-of-system” approach to controlling illegal immigration while also creating the political space necessary for reforms of their immigration systems. Download Report | Read Council Statement
Limited English Proficient Individuals in the United States: Number, Share, Growth, and Linguistic Diversity By Chhandasi Pandya, Margie McHugh, and Jeanne Batalova
The number of US residents who are deemed to be Limited English Proficient (LEP) has increased substantially in recent decades, consistent with the growth of the US foreign-born population. With LEP individuals now representing 9 percent of the US population, an increasing number of states and localities must grapple with issues of communication and English language learning. This data brief offers the most up-to-date analysis on the number, share, growth, and linguistic diversity of LEP individuals in the United States from 1990 to 2010 at the national, state and metropolitan-area levels, with maps and detailed state-level data. Download Data Brief | State-level Data on LEP Number, Share, and Growth | State-level Data on Linguistic Diversity
Improving the Governance of International Migration Contemporary states are ambivalent about the global governance of migration: They desire more of it because they know they cannot reach their goals by acting alone, but they fear the necessary compromise on terms they may not be able to control and regarding an issue that is politically charged. Currently, there is no formal, coherent, multilateral institutional framework governing the global flow of migrants. While most actors agree that greater international cooperation on migration is needed, there has been no persuasive analysis of what form this would take or of what greater global cooperation would aim to achieve. The purpose of this book, the Transatlantic Council on Migration's fifth volume, is to fill this analytical gap by focusing on a set of fundamental questions: What are the key steps to building a better, more cooperative system of governance? What are the goals that can be achieved through greater international cooperation? And, most fundamentally, who (or what) is to be governed? Purchase a Copy
By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
Youth and young adults from immigrant families represent one in four people in the United States between the ages of 16-26 and account for half of the growth of the young adult population between 1995 and 2010. This report profiles the nation’s 11.3 million first- and second-generation young adults, finding substantial generational progress in terms of high school graduation, college enrollment, and ability to earn family-sustaining wages. Second-generation Hispanic women are faring particularly well, with college enrollment rates equal to those of third-generation non-Hispanic white women. However, they are not graduating from college at the same rate or on the same timeline because of family, work, or economic reasons. The report sketches how postsecondary education, workforce development, and language training programs could better meet the needs of this population, which will assume a greater role as the US workforce ages. Read Report | Watch Video | Listen to Podcast | View Powerpoints
Shared Challenges and Opportunities for EU and US Immigration Policymakers By Philippe Fargues, Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Giambattista Salinari, and Madeleine Sumption
This final report summarizes and reflects upon the key findings of the Improving EU and US Immigration Systems: Learning from Experience comparative research project undertaken by the Migration Policy Institute and the European University Institute through a grant from the European Commission. The project focused on developments in Europe and the United States in eight key areas – employment, economic growth, human rights, security, immigrant integration, demographics, development, and cooperation with immigrant-sending countries. This final report highlights the lessons to be learned from both similar and divergent experiences on either side of the Atlantic, sketching opportunities for future reform, as well as ways in which the European Union and the United States could improve their cooperative relationship. Download Report | Project Website
Migration and Development Policy: What Have We Learned?
By Kathleen Newland
Migration and development have become a pressing policy priority on the global agenda over the past decade, and a number of revisions to conventional thinking on the subject have gained traction and yielded innovative — albeit in many cases yet unproven — policies and programs. This brief identifies critical lessons from the past decade of policy experimentation and offers some recommendations for policy moving forward. Download Brief
Climate Change and Migration Dynamics By Kathleen Newland
Climate change is a new driver of human migration, and is expected by many to dwarf all other factors in its impact. But while there is growing concern about climate change, far less agreement exists about what kinds of effects will be felt where, by whom, and precisely when. Human displacement is a result of a complex mix of factors, and some of the more commonly repeated predictions of the numbers of people who will be displaced by climate change are not informed by a full understanding of the dynamics of migration. This report analyzes the salient mechanisms of displacement: sea level rise, higher temperatures, disruption of water cycles, and increasing severity of storms. It also examines the ensuing migration responses and proposes recommendations to offset the severity of displacement. Download Report
Through the Prism of National Security: Major Immigration Policy and Program Changes in the Decade since 9/11 By Michelle Mittelstadt, Burke Speaker, Doris Meissner, and Muzaffar Chishti
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 prompted the profound realignment of the US immigration system, with national security and enforcement the dominant lens through which programs and budgets have been shaped over the past decade. The post-9/11 era has witnessed the largest government reorganization since World War II; increased information sharing and data collection across international, federal, state, and local law enforcement and intelligence agencies; the broad use of nationality-based screening and enforcement initiatives; the expansion of immigrant detention policies; and exponential increases in funding for homeland security-related immigration programs. This Fact Sheet details the policy, programmatic, budget, and manpower changes that have happened in the immigration arena as an outgrowth of the 9/11 attacks. Download Fact Sheet | Press Release | Listen to Podcast
US Immigration Policy since 9/11: Understanding the Stalemate over Comprehensive Immigration Reform By Marc R. Rosenblum
The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks derailed what had seemed to be a turning point in US immigration policy: A move away from the assertive enforcement policies that had held sway since the mid-1990s. But just days after the US and Mexican presidents had agreed to a framework that included a temporary worker program, legalization, and new border security measures, 9/11 dramatically reshaped the policy debate. This report reviews the history of immigration legislation since then, including new enforcement mandates enacted immediately after the attacks and the unsuccessful efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Download Report
US Immigration Policy and Mexican/Central American Migration Flows: Then and Now By Marc R. Rosenblum and Kate Brick
Migration from Mexico and Central America’s “Northern Triangle” region (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) to the United States has increased significantly in the past four decades, from less than 1 million immigrants in the 1970s to 14 million today. Propelled by difficult economic and social conditions at home, massive opportunity differentials, and strengthening social networks, these regional migration flows have been shaped by evolving policies and practices. This report examines the push-and-pull factors of migration in the region from three major migration periods: the mostly laissez faire policies prior to the 1930s, the large-scale Bracero temporary worker program before and after World War II, and the mostly illegal system that emerged after the Bracero Program’s end in 1964. Download Report
Running in Circles: Progress and Challenges in Regulating Recruitment of Filipino and Sri Lankan Labor Migrants to Jordan
By Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias
Labor migration from the Philippines and Sri Lanka to Jordan has filled a growing share of unskilled and semi-skilled jobs in recent years, with private recruitment agencies playing an important role in facilitating and driving labor migration. But despite a comprehensive set of laws and guidelines to control migration systems in these countries, workers remain vulnerable to abuse and exploitation at the hands of recruitment agents. Excessive placement fees, violations of contractual terms and conditions, underpayment or nonpayment of wages, poor working or living conditions, confiscation of passports, and even physical abuse highlight the significant gaps in these countries' migration protection systems. This report identifies problem areas and recommends ways to strengthen system management. Download Report | Press Release
The Economic Integration of Immigrants in the United States: Long- and Short-Term Perspectives
By Aaron Terrazas
The United States has provided excellent economic opportunities for generations of immigrants, who are set to play an increasingly significant role in the US economy in coming decades as more baby boomers retire. Because many immigrants are concentrated in low-wage or low-skill jobs, the 2007-09 economic crisis accentuated their vulnerabilities in the labor market, with a risk that the crisis could prove to be a turning point in their future upward socioeconomic mobility. While historically, in the absence of government integration policies, the workplace has played a key role in immigration integration, it remains unclear if this approach will continue to ensure strong economic integration moving forward. Download Report
Scientists, Managers, and Tourists: The Changing Shape of European Migration to the United States By Madeleine Sumption and Xiaochu Hu
Once the dominant immigrant stream into the United States, European migration to the country has fallen sharply since World War II, a result of economic, demographic, and policy trends across the Atlantic. Today’s migration from European Union Member States is characterized by highly skilled immigrants who are more educated, earn better wages, have greater English proficiency, and are more strongly represented as scientists, professionals, and businesspeople than other immigrant groups. European migration has maintained a relatively low profile in immigration policy debates, however the Europe-favoring Visa Waiver Program has figured prominently into the immigration policy arena because of its relation to enhanced border security. Download Report
Labor Standards Enforcement and Low-Wage Immigrants: Creating an Effective Enforcement System By Donald M. Kerwin with Kristen McCabe
This report analyzes the labor standards enforcement record of the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations and argues that enforcement of labor laws should become a higher priority, particularly amid high rates of unemployment and underemployment. The report, which also examines states’ activity, concludes that labor standards enforcement should become a pillar of immigration policymaking and asks whether enforcement could play a role in reducing unauthorized employment and illegal immigration. It details the elements necessary for an effective labor standards enforcement system and proposes a way forward. Download Report | Press Release | View Powerpoint | Listen to Podcast
Mexican and Central American Immigrants in the United States By Kate Brick, A. E. Challinor, and Marc R. Rosenblum
The Mexican and Central American immigrant population in the United States has increased by a factor of 20 since 1970 — a period during which the overall US immigrant population increased four-fold. This report examines the age, educational, and workforce characteristics of immigrants and the second generation from Mexico and Central America, finding that these immigrants are younger, more likely to be male, and more likely to be married with children than the US born or other immigrant groups. A high proportion are unauthorized, with key implications for their economic and social status and the overall immigration debate. Download Report
The Role of Civil Society in EU Migration Policy: Perspectives on the European Union’s Engagement in its Neighborhood By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
Civil society provides a crucial link between governments and the communities they represent — infusing policy processes with grassroots knowledge to which governments may not otherwise have access and lending legitimacy to government actions. But thus far, civil-society organizations have had a limited role in European policy debates. As the European Union seeks to reach out to developing regions in its “neighborhood” of nearby countries, it has emphasized the importance of involving civil society in both agenda-setting and implementation. Yet EU policymakers have not clearly articulated how this engagement might be structured. In effect, the question is not whether to engage, but how to do so. Download Report
Improving Immigrants’ Employment Prospects through Work-Focused Language Instruction By Margie McHugh and A. E. Challinor
Immigrants’ employment prospects depend on their underlying levels of education and technical skills as well as their ability to communicate as needed in the host-country language. Since basic language courses do not impart the host-country language skills necessary for success in the workplace, many governments on both sides of the Atlantic are eager to expand work-focused language training. Yet implementing effective employment-focused language systems is difficult, as policymakers must find ways to design cost-effective programs that are sufficiently tailored to the needs of a wide range of occupations and that take account of immigrants’ underlying literacy skills and their financial and family circumstances. This policy memo explores the different approaches to providing work-focused language training that have developed in Europe and the United States. Download Memo
Opportunities for Transatlantic Cooperation on International Migration By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption
The transatlantic relationship is among the most significant partnerships between wealthy nations in immigration policy. While cooperation between the European Union and United States is, of course, far surpassed by the intra-EU or US-Canada relationships, the sheer size of the North Atlantic economic space and the number of workers and travelers who circulate within it make dialogue on migration both necessary and inevitable. This policy memo explores opportunities for cooperation regarding travel and border security, labor mobility, and other areas. Download Memo
Migration and the Great Recession: The Transatlantic Experience Edited by Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption, and Aaron Terrazas
This edited volume addresses the impact of the economic crisis in seven major immigrant-receiving countries: the United States, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The Great Recession marked a sudden and dramatic interruption in international migration trends, bringing the growth of foreign-born populations to a virtual standstill in Europe and North America and pushing many policymakers to reevaluate their approach towards immigration. The crisis has had a disproportionate impact on immigrant workers, especially young immigrants and members of disadvantaged minority groups — impacts which, in some countries, show little sign of receding. Meanwhile, stringent deficit-reduction plans, especially in some of the worst affected European Member States, have created an inhospitable environment for addressing these impacts through investments in immigrant integration. Purchase a Copy | Press Release
Emerging Transatlantic Security Dilemmas in Border Management By Elizabeth Collett
The sheer volume of global travel, which has risen exponentially since the 1960s, puts border management systems under constant pressure. Beyond that growth, border management systems have had to contend with additional risks associated with these movements. Mass-casualty terrorist attacks, rising illegal immigration, and human trafficking have exposed weaknesses in states’ ability to manage their borders effectively. This policy memo examines the infrastructure and policy developments – and challenges – that have occurred in recent years on both sides of the Atlantic, discussing the differing nature and prioritization of those policy challenges. Download Memo
Eight Policies to Boost the Economic Contribution of Employment-Based Immigration By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption
Immigration can be a powerful tool for supporting a country’s economic growth and prosperity, but its success in accomplishing that objective depends on well-designed and carefully implemented immigration policies that deliberately and strategically facilitate immigration’s economic contribution. This policy memo, drawing on experiences from Asia, Europe, North America, and the Pacific region, presents eight strategies to create effective and efficient economic-stream immigration systems. Download Memo
Migration and Development: Policy Perspectives from the United States By Aaron Terrazas
As migration has become an increasingly visible global phenomenon in recent decades, there has been heightened interest in the complex relationship between migration and the development prospects of migrants’ countries of origin. While individual migrants and their families tend to benefit from the decision to seek opportunities abroad, the consequences for migrant communities and countries of origin are more ambiguous. This report examines the evidence and whether there is any role for US policymakers to play. Download Report | European Report
Rethinking Points Systems and Employer-Selected Immigration By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption
Advanced industrialized economies typically have used one of two competing models for selecting economic-stream immigrants: Points-based or employer-led selection. Increasingly, however, they are creating hybrid selection systems, implement the best ideas from each model. The result: Selection systems that have much of the flexibility of points systems while also prioritizing employer demand. Download Report
Policies to Curb Unauthorized Employment By Madeleine Sumption
Illegal immigration is driven in large measure by illegal employment. Lower wages aren’t the only reasons why employers turn to unauthorized workers: Illegal hiring can also allow them to evade costly regulations and taxes and to have greater flexibility in working hours and employment length. This memo outlines the three major lines of attack policymakers can use to craft a coherent strategy to reduce illegal employment: Employer sanctions, realistic legal channels to admit needed workers, and domestic labor market reforms. Download Report
The Faltering US Refugee Protection System: Legal and Policy Responses to Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Others in Need of Protection By Donald M. Kerwin
While generous in many respects, the US refugee protection system has become less robust over the last two decades amid heightened security reviews, inadequate coordination between government and NGOs, and unresolved policy tensions between the goals of protecting the most vulnerable and of refugee integration. This report examines US legal and policy responses to those seeking protection in the United States and addresses the barriers, gaps, and opportunities that exist in the refugee protection regime. Download Report | European Asylum Report
MPI, Wilson Center Convene High-Level Study Group on Migration and Economic Competitiveness MPI and the Latin American Program/Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center have convened a Regional Migration Study Group to develop and promote a long-term, strategic vision for building up the region’s human-capital infrastructure as a means of improving the lives of the region’s people; laying the foundation for stronger and more equitable economic growth; helping foster a more economically competitive region; and making migration relations within the region normal and ordinary, rather than a subject of constant tension. The Study Group is co-chaired by former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, former US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, and former Guatemalan Vice President Eduardo Stein; and its members include high-ranking former officials, civil-society leaders, and immigration specialists in the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The first report of the three-year initiative assesses the implications for regional migration resulting from the rapidly evolving demographic and human-capital profiles of Mexico and Central America as well as the longstanding shifts in the US economy and labor market that were accelerated by the recent economic crisis.
Download Report | Press Release | Learn More about Study Group
The Role of Immigration in Fostering Competitiveness in the United States By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption
Immigration is an
indispensable
piece of any strategy to boost economic growth and prosperity. The United States has a natural advantage in attracting the world’s most talented workers. But employment-based immigration makes up too small a proportion of overall US permanent immigration, and US policy is inflexible in the face of changing circumstances, including the growth of other skill-focused immigration programs across the developed world. This report examines effective strategies to ensure that immigration policy facilitates US economic growth, innovation, and competitiveness. Download Report | European Competitiveness Report
Immigrants in the United States: How Well Are They Integrating into Society?
By Tomás R. Jiménez
Even though immigration is intertwined with the history of the United States, fears about immigrants' ability to integrate remain an area of concern. Yet an examination of immigrants’ integration across five major indicators – language proficiency, socioeconomic attainment, political participation, residential locale, and social interaction with host communities – shows they are integrating reasonably well. Remarkably, the process has unfolded almost entirely without policy intervention. The author examines the laissez faire policy approach to integration, raising concerns about how the state of public education and size of the US unauthorized population may remain powerful barriers to immigrants' full social, economic, and political integration. Download Report | European Integration Challenges Report
Executive Action on Immigration: Six Ways to Make the System Work Better By Donald M. Kerwin, Doris Meissner, Margie McHugh
While sweeping reform to fix a US immigration system widely acknowledged as broken has taken a backseat politically, opportunities exist within the executive branch to improve the ways in which the nation’s existing immigration laws and policies are administered. Among the report’s recommendations: establishing uniform enforcement priorities and defining what constitutes effective border control, strengthening immigrant integration policy creation and implementation, allowing applicants for immigrant visas to file in the United States, and making use of prosecutorial discretion in removal proceeding filings. Download Report | Press Release | Video | Audio/Podcast
E-Verify: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Proposals for Reform By Marc R. Rosenblum
With Congress likely to consider new mandates involving E-Verify, the currently voluntary employment eligibility verification system, this Insight examines the strengths and weaknesses of E-Verify, which has grown dramatically in recent years. It also discusses proposals for reform, including adding biometric screening to the system. Download Report
Delegation and Divergence: A Study of 287(g) State and Local Immigration Enforcement By Randy Capps, Marc R. Rosenblum, Cristina Rodríguez, and Muzaffar Chishti
The section 287(g) program, which delegates federal immigration enforcement powers to state and local officers, is not targeted primarily at serious offenders. Despite public statements by Obama administration officials that the program is primarily aimed at identifying and removing “dangerous criminals,” MPI researchers found that about half of 287(g) activity involves noncitizens arrested for misdemeanors or traffic offenses. Formal program changes unveiled by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2009 have not substantially changed program priorities, operations, outcomes, or community impacts, the report concludes, offering findings that also have implications for the Secure Communities program. Download Report | Video | Audio/Podcast
New Data Guide On Finding, Using the Most Accurate, Recent Immigration Data Resources
The Immigration: Data Matters guide shows where to locate some of the most credible, up-to-date US and global immigration-related data compiled by government and non-governmental sources. The online guide, also available in hard copy, includes clickable links to resources that offer immigrant population estimates; the size of the unauthorized immigrant population; English proficiency rates; the share of immigrants in the workforce; education, health, and income and poverty statistics relating to immigrants; and other data. Download Report | Press Release | Purchase Hard Copy
MPI is seeking exceptional, talented, and energetic individuals to join its US Immigration Policy Program as Policy Analyst, and to become Editor of the Migration Information Source. More detail here.
Upcoming Events
The Role of National Governments in Promoting Immigrant Integration: How Can and How Are Different Countries Supporting Integration? A discussion with Rosario Farmhouse, High Commissioner for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue in Portugal; Alejandro Mayorkas, Director, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, US Department of Homeland Security; Jasenko Selimovic, State Secretary to the Minister for Integration in Sweden; Peter Sylvester, Associate Deputy Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada; and Demetrios G. Papademetriou, MPI President.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
9:00 to 11:00 AM
MPI Conference Room
1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
MPI's 10th Anniversary
During its 10th Anniversary celebration in Washington, DC on April 19, 2012, MPI held a ceremony and awards program, honoring visionaries in immigration policy in the United States and internationally. The ceremony opened with comments from MPI President Demetrios Papademetriou; featured a discussion between MPI Senior Fellow Doris Meissner and former Rep. Ron Mazzoli, one of the lead sponsors of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act; and included a keynote address by Open Society Foundations President Aryeh Neier.
Help Us Advance Smart, Effective Migration Policy
For a decade, MPI has promoted nonpartisan, evidence-based policy solutions allowing for more effective management of immigration, immigrant integration, and asylum systems as well as successful outcomes for newcomers, families of immigrant background, and receiving communities alike. As MPI celebrates its 10th Anniversary, please consider supporting MPI’s mission of providing independent, fact-based migration research and analysis in the United States and internationally. Click here to learn more about our 10th anniversary and how to donate.
The Migration Information Source recently published a Special Issue on migration in the modern Chinese world. The issue's seven articles delve into a wide range of migration developments regarding China, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese, including rural-to-urban migration in China, the circulatory migration of ethnic Chinese in the Asia-Pacific region, the integration of ethnic Chinese in South African society, and more.
The China Special Issue is just one of the unique content offerings from the Migration Information Source. Sign up for our free bimonthly Migration Information Source e-newsletter, and receive first word of interesting, authoritative, and nonpartisan articles that profile the immigration histories of countries around the world, spotlight immigrant populations in the United States and beyond, and chronicle US policy developments. The Source web site is the repository for all those articles and offers useful tools, vital data, and essential facts on the movement of people worldwide.
See the most popular articles of the week and subscribe to our RSS feed for Source updates.
In the News
With the DREAM Act and birthright citizenship in the news and the focus of congressional attention, MPI research of interest:
DREAM vs. Reality: An Analysis of Potential DREAM Act Beneficiaries
Slightly more than 2.1 million unauthorized immigrant youth and young adults could be eligible to apply for legal status under the DREAM Act legislation pending in Congress, though perhaps fewer than 40 percent would obtain legal status because of barriers limiting their ability to take advantage of the legislation's educational and military service routes to legalization. This MPI analysis offers the most recent and detailed estimates of potential DREAM Act beneficiaries by age, education levels, gender, state of residence and likelihood of gaining legalization. Download Report | Press Release
The Demographic Impacts of Repealing Birthright Citizenship
By Jennifer Van Hook with Michael Fix
Repeal of birthright citizenship for the US-born children of unauthorized immigrants would expand the unauthorized population by at least 5 million over the next four decades. Employing standard demographic techniques, this analysis suggests that there would be 4.7 million unauthorized immigrants as of 2050 who had been born in the United States — 1 million of them with US-born mother and father — if birthright citizenship were denied to children born to parents who are both unauthorized immigrants. While some policymakers are discussing changes to birthright citizenship as a means to reduce illegal immigration, the report makes clear such a move could in fact significantly increase the size of the unauthorized population. Download Report | Press Release
Browse the New MPI Bookstore
Recently redesigned for easier navigation through its varied offerings, the MPI Bookstore presents a selection of publications – from topics such as migrants and the recession, migration management, national security, refugee protection, and immigrant integration. As well as being in-depth, nonpartisan reading, the books are excellent material for academic use, staff trainings, strategic planning, program evaluation, board and donor education, advocacy efforts, and other migration-related work. Visit the bookstore here.
Praise for Immigrants and Welfare: The Impact of Welfare Reform on America’s Newcomers in the September 2011 issue of Social Service Review. Read review excerpts and first chapter of book here.
New Books by MPI Experts
Improving the Governance of International Migration Contemporary states are ambivalent about the global governance of migration: They desire more of it because they know they cannot reach their goals by acting alone, but they fear the necessary compromise on terms they may not be able to control and regarding an issue that is politically charged. Currently, there is no formal, coherent, multilateral institutional framework governing the global flow of migrants. While most actors agree that greater international cooperation on migration is needed, there has been no persuasive analysis of what form this would take or of what greater global cooperation would aim to achieve. The purpose of this book, the Transatlantic Council on Migration's fifth volume, is to fill this analytical gap by focusing on a set of fundamental questions: What are the key steps to building a better, more cooperative system of governance? What are the goals that can be achieved through greater international cooperation? And, most fundamentally, who (or what) is to be governed? Purchase a Copy
Migration and the Great Recession: The Transatlantic Experience Edited by Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption, and Aaron Terrazas
This edited volume addresses the impact of the economic crisis in seven major immigrant-receiving countries: the United States, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The Great Recession marked a sudden and dramatic interruption in international migration trends, bringing the growth of foreign-born populations to a virtual standstill in Europe and North America and pushing many policymakers to reevaluate their approach towards immigration. The crisis has had a disproportionate impact on immigrant workers, especially young immigrants and members of disadvantaged minority groups — impacts which, in some countries, show little sign of receding. Meanwhile, stringent deficit-reduction plans, especially in some of the worst affected European Member States, have created an inhospitable environment for addressing these impacts through investments in immigrant integration. Purchase a Copy | Press Release
Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy Kathleen Newland, Editor
This MPI volume, produced in partnership with the US Agency for International Development, analyzes the increasingly prominent place that immigrants and their descendants occupy in discussions of development policy and the effectiveness of foreign assistance programs. The book discusses ways that governments of migrant-sending countries can attract both the talents and resources of emigrants and their descendants, while governments of aid-sending countries can improve the outcomes of development assistance by engaging the talents and expertise of diasporas. Individual chapters examine six critical areas of diaspora engagement: Entrepreneurship, capital markets, heritage tourism and nostalgia trade, philanthropy, volunteerism, and advocacy. Order a Copy | Press Release
Immigration Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany By Douglas B. Klusmeyer and Demetrios G. Papademetriou
This book, co-authored by MPI President Demetrios Papademetriou, examines the crossroads at which German migration policy finds itself, caught between a 50-year history of missed opportunities and serious new challenges. The authors offer a comprehensive and critical examination of the history of German migration law and policy from the Federal Republic's inception in 1949 to the present, focusing on the challenges confronting policymakers. Purchase a copy
Immigrants and Welfare: The Impact of Welfare Reform on America's Newcomers
Michael Fix, Editor This volume, edited by MPI Senior Vice President Michael Fix, rigorously assesses the 1996 welfare reform law, questions whether its immigrant provisions were ever really necessary, and examines its impact on legal immigrants' ability to integrate into American society. The book probes the politics behind the welfare reform law, its legal underpinnings, and what it may mean for integration policy. It also focuses on empirical research regarding immigrants' propensity to use benefits before the law passed, and immigrants' use and hardship levels afterwards. Purchase a copy
Recent Events
Federal Update: A Conversation on Language Access with the US Department of Justice
This MPI webinar features US Department of Justice (DOJ) officials discussing the department’s efforts to improve communications with Limited English Proficient (LEP) communities in federal and federally-funded programs and activities. Laureen Laglagaron, an Attorney-Advisor in the department’s Federal Coordination and Compliance Section of the Civil Rights Division, Christine Stoneman, Special Counsel in the Federal Coordination and Compliance Section, and Emily McCarthy, Deputy Chief of the Educational Opportunities Section of the Civil Rights Division, provide an update on the progress of language access compliance at the federal level and discuss how the agency is continuing to provide oversight and technical assistance to states and localities as they too attempt to meet their language access responsibilities. This webinar is moderated by Chhandasi Pandya, a policy analyst at MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. Listen to the Webinar | View PowerPoint
Rethinking European Identity in the Age of Immigration A discussion in Brussels, upon the official launch of Migration Policy Institute Europe, to explore what is driving societal discontent in Europe, the role immigration plays in this, and why there is a growing perception that immigrant integration efforts are failing. Panelists are Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs; Charles Clarke, former UK Home Secretary and Member of MPI’s Transatlantic Council on Migration; Demetrios Papademetriou, President of MPI and MPI Europe; and Patrick Simon, Director of Research for Institut National d'Etudes Demographiques (INED). The event is moderated by Elizabeth Collett, Director, MPI Europe.
February 27, 2012 Watch Video | Listen to Podcast | Read Council Statement
Up for Grabs: The Gains and Prospects of First- and Second-Generation Young Adults A discussion on the gains that young adult immigrants or the US-born children of immigrants have made in education and employment, with speakers: Michael Fix, MPI Senior Vice President; Jeanne Batalova, MPI Policy Analyst; Andrew P. Kelly, Research Fellow, Education Policy, American Enterprise Institute; Raul Gonzalez, Director of Legislative Affairs, National Council of La Raza; and Margie McHugh, Co-Director, MPI National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy.
December 7, 2011 Watch Video | View Powerpoints | Listen to Podcast | Read Report | Listen to Media Podcast
Through the Prism of National Security: Major Immigration Policy and Program 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.
August 26, 2011 Listen to the Webinar | Read Report | Listen to Podcast
Proactive Engagement: Two Strategies for Providing Language Access in Workforce Development Services Part of a series offered by the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, this interactive language access webinar examines how New York and Illinois have proactively engaged Limited English Proficient ( LEP ) communities to obtain workforce services. The s peakers : Julio Rodriguez, Director of Program Services, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; Haeya Yim, Counsel, Division of Immigrant Policies and Affairs, New York Department of Labor; Kerry Douglas-Duffy, Workforce Development Program Specialist, Division of Employment and Workforce Solutions, New York Department of Labor; and Chhandasi Pandya, Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute . They discussed W orkforce Investment Act (W IA ) -funded employment and training services, federal compliance, and the policy and programmatic fixes implemented to meet the workforce needs of their state’s LEP populations.
August 3, 2011
View PowerPoint | Listen to/Download Audio
Running in Circles: Progress and Challenges in Regulating Recruitment of Filipino and Sri Lankan Labor Migrants to Jordan Report release with MPI Policy Analyst and IOM Regional Research Officer Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias; His Excellency, Dr. Khleif Al Khawaldeh, Secretary General, Ministry of Labor in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Linda Al-Kalash, Human Rights Programs Manager, Tamkeen Center for Legal Aid; His Excellency Julius D. Torres, Ambassador, Embassy of the Philippines in Amman, Jordan; His Excellency A.W . Mohottala, Ambassador, Embassy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in Amman, Jordan; and Tauhid Pasha, Program Manager, International Organization for Migration.
July 28, 2011 at The University of Jordan - Amman, Jordan Read the report
Migration and the Great Recession: The Transatlantic Experience The release event for MPI’s book, Migration and the Great Recession: The Transatlantic Experience, which reviews how the financial and economic crisis of the late 2000s marked a sudden and dramatic interruption in international migration trends, and the effects of the economic turmoil on immigrant workers in major immigrant-receiving countries in Europe as well as the United States. What will be the legacy of the crisis for immigrant workers and their families in coming years? How have the impacts of the recession on immigrant workers themselves, and responses of publics and politicians, differed on both sides of the Atlantic? Speakers are: volume editors Demetrios Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption, and Aaron Terrazas, of MPI; Chad Stone, Chief Economist, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; and Gallya Lahav, Associate Professor of Political Science, State University of New York at Stony Brook.
June 13, 2011 Watch Event Video | Order the Book | View US Powerpoint | View EU Powerpoint
Immigration and Competitiveness: Responding to Global Challenges in the EU and US Showcasing joint research by MPI and the European University Institute and funded by the European Commission, this event featured discussion on some of the most promising reform proposals on both sides of the Atlantic. Speakers were: Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and former Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden; Antonio de Lecea, Principal Advisor for Economic and Financial Affairs, Delegation of the European Union to the United States; Pia Orrenius, Senior Economist, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; and Demetrios Papademetriou, MPI’s President and convener of the Transatlantic Council on Migration.
June 7, 2011 View the Powerpoint | Learn about the Project
Steps to Fix the US Immigration System: What Can the Administration Do? MPI report release with Donald Kerwin, Vice President for Programs, MPI; Margie McHugh, Co-Director, MPI National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy; Doris Meissner, Director of US Immigration Policy Program and Senior Fellow, MPI; Eva Millona, Executive Director, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition; and Juan P. Osuna, Acting Director, Executive Office for Immigration Review, US Department of Justice.
March 14, 2011 Read Report | Watch Event Video | Listen to Event Audio
MPI Leadership Visions Speakers Series
Watch the heads of the Department of Homeland Security’s three immigration agencies – US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton, US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas, and US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin – detail their agenda for their agencies during MPI’s Leadership Visions speakers series.
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MPI Initiatives
Improving US and European Migration Systems The Migration Policy Institute and European University Institute have launched a joint research project, funded by the European Commission, to identifyways in which European and US immigration systems can be substantially improved to address the major challenges policymakers confront on both sides of the Atlantic, in the context of the current economic turmoil and in the longer term. The first paper in the project, by MPI Nonresident Fellow Rey Koslowski, analyzes how the challenges in achieving effective US border control have increased dramatically within recent decades and particularly since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The author examines the programmatic and funding responses US policymakers have put in place – including the Secure Border Initiative, the Visa Waiver Program, US-VISIT, and registered-traveler programs – and traces their evolution and effectiveness. Download Report
MPI's Labor Markets Initiative
MPI recently launched its Labor Markets Initiative, which is a comprehensive, policy-focused review of the role of immigration in the labor market. The Initiative will produce detailed policy recommendations on how the United States should rethink its immigration policy in light of what is known about the economic impact of immigration – bearing in mind the current context of growing income inequality, concerns about the effect of globalization on US competitiveness, the competition for highly skilled migrants, and demographic and technological change. The Initiative is guided by a group of leading experts in labor economics, welfare policy, and immigration: the Labor Markets Advisory Group.
The Transatlantic Council on Migration
An MPI initiative launched in 2008, the Transatlantic Council on Migration is a unique deliberative body that examines vital policy issues and informs migration policymaking processes across the Atlantic community. The Council, which convenes high-level policymakers, immigration analysts, and opinion leaders from North America and Europe, aims to promote better-informed policymaking by proactively identifying critical policy issues affecting immigration and immigrant integration, analyzing them in light of the best research, and bringing them to public attention. Learn more about the Council.
Historical Immigration Trends Tool
The Trends Tool charts the immigration patterns and characteristics of the immigrant population in the United States through time, from the 1800s to now.
State-by-State Data on Immigrants in the United States Use this handy Data Hub tool – which uses 1990 and 2000 decennial Census data as well as 2009 American Community Survey (ACS) data – to see how the immigrant population in the United States has changed since 1990, with profiles by state and nationally. Click the desired state to generate fact sheets about demographic & social, language & education, workforce, and income & poverty characteristics for immigrants and the native born. And also get state and national rankings for number and percent of immigrants by state, and the percentage change over time.
DREAM vs. Reality: An Analysis of Potential DREAM Act Beneficiaries
The Demographic Impacts of Repealing Birthright Citizenship
This volume, edited by MPI Senior Vice President Michael Fix, rigorously assesses the 1996 welfare reform law, questions whether its immigrant provisions were ever really necessary, and examines its impact on legal immigrants' ability to integrate into American society. The book probes the politics behind the welfare reform law, its legal underpinnings, and what it may mean for integration policy. It also focuses on empirical research regarding immigrants' propensity to use benefits before the law passed, and immigrants' use and hardship levels afterwards.
The release event for MPI’s book, Migration and the Great Recession: The Transatlantic Experience, which reviews how the financial and economic crisis of the late 2000s marked a sudden and dramatic interruption in international migration trends, and the effects of the economic turmoil on immigrant workers in major immigrant-receiving countries in Europe as well as the United States. What will be the legacy of the crisis for immigrant workers and their families in coming years? How have the impacts of the recession on immigrant workers themselves, and responses of publics and politicians, differed on both sides of the Atlantic? Speakers are: volume editors Demetrios Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption, and Aaron Terrazas, of MPI; Chad Stone, Chief Economist, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; and Gallya Lahav, Associate Professor of Political Science, State University of New York at Stony Brook. 
Showcasing joint research by MPI and the European University Institute and funded by the European Commission, this event featured discussion on some of the most promising reform proposals on both sides of the Atlantic. Speakers were: Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and former Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden; Antonio de Lecea, Principal Advisor for Economic and Financial Affairs, Delegation of the European Union to the United States; Pia Orrenius, Senior Economist, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; and Demetrios Papademetriou, MPI’s President and convener of the Transatlantic Council on Migration. 
MPI report release with Donald Kerwin, Vice President for Programs, MPI; Margie McHugh, Co-Director, MPI National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy; Doris Meissner, Director of US Immigration Policy Program and Senior Fellow, MPI; Eva Millona, Executive Director, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition; and Juan P. Osuna, Acting Director, Executive Office for Immigration Review, US Department of Justice. 