Feature Articles

The growth of violent gangs such as MS-13, which operates in the United States and Central America, has caught the attention of the U.S. media and law enforcement. However, the role of migration policies in this growth deserves closer attention, finds MPI's Mary Helen Johnson.

Of the 5.7 million children of immigrants under age 10 in the United States, 37 percent of them are of Mexican origin. Recent data shed light on their prospects for integration and social and economic mobility, according to Roger Waldinger of the University of California Los Angeles.

In December, about 5,000 Australian youths gathered on one of Sydney’s major surf beaches and attacked men described as “Middle Easterners.” Christine Inglis of the University of Sydney looks at the violence and the government response, and assesses the integration of Lebanese-Australians.

At its most basic, citizenship refers to membership conferred by a state. Greta Gilbertson of Fordham University outlines the many citizenship models and looks at the recent growth of multiple, supranational, and quasi-citizenship.

The October 2005 GCIM report drew attention to problems in migration policymaking and stressed the importance of international cooperation. MPI's Kathleen Newland analyzes its findings and outlines what may happen next.

Schengen eliminated border controls between European countries, and established a common external border. MPI's Julia Gelatt explains the changes brought by Schengen and the effects Schengen has had on European border control, visa, and asylum policies.

Virtually no country is untouched by or immune to the effects of unauthorized migration. MPI President Demetrios G. Papademetriou analyzes global estimates, causes of such flows, approaches to control, and the connection to terrorism.

The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act made the knowing hiring or employment of unauthorized immigrants illegal in the U.S.. But as Peter Brownell of the University of California Berkeley details, the government has not devoted many resources to enforcing this provision.

Over the past 25 years, regularization programs have become more common. Amanda Levinson explains their challenges, their outcomes, and why governments choose such programs.

For years, Germany has been concerned about losing its top minds to the United States. While highly skilled individuals are leaving for the U.S., most of the increase is accounted for by temporary migrants, as Claudia Diehl of the German Federal Institute for Population Research and MPI's David Dixon reveal.