National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy

Policy Briefs

April 2024

Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families through Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Services

Young girl talks to a child psychologist

iStock.com/Lacheev

Infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) services can offer vital support for young children’s healthy development. Yet, young children in immigrant and refugee families often do not benefit, due in part to lower levels of health-care coverage and limited cultural responsiveness in the field. This issue brief explores the benefits and barriers to supporting these children via IECMH services, and some ways to close key gaps.

Reports

January 2024

Refining State Accountability Systems for English Learner Success

A high school student answers a math problem on a whiteboard

Allison Shelley/EDUimages

State accountability systems are designed to identify and close student achievement gaps. Yet most do not report and interpret English Learner (EL) outcomes in a way that paints a full picture of how different instructional services have contributed to academic development. This report sketches a vision for reimagined accountability systems that can support better understanding of ELs’ learning and inform school improvement strategies.

Reports

November 2023

The Unmet Potential of Community Consultations in U.S. Refugee Resettlement

Young woman speaks to other participants at a meeting

iStock.com/SDI Productions

As humanitarian migrant arrivals in the United States increase, via refugee resettlement and channels such as temporary parole, communication between the national, state, and local actors involved in supporting their reception and integration is critical. This report examines the goals and design of quarterly resettlement consultations, as well as opportunities to refine these processes to boost their impact and relevance in a changing policy landscape.

Fact Sheets

October 2023

Recent Immigrant Children: A Profile of New Arrivals to U.S. Schools

Allison Shelley/EDUimages

A significant increase in the number of immigrant children in U.S. schools over the last decade has challenged K-12 educators to expand their capacity to serve students with different backgrounds and educational needs. This fact sheet sketches a profile of recently arrived immigrant children, presenting data on top states of residence, national origins, household characteristics, and more.

Policy Briefs

October 2023

Leveraging Data to Ensure Equitable and Effective Adult Skills Programming for Immigrants

Adult immigrant students work together in an English class

iStock.com/shironosov

Immigrants make significant contributions to the U.S. economy and social fabric, but many also face barriers to integration. Adult education and workforce development programs offer services intended to help address such challenges yet can be mismatched to immigrants' needs. This issue brief sketches a profile of U.S.-born and immigrant adults, highlighting key similarities and differences relevant to the design of adult skills programs.

Policy Briefs

July 2023

ESSER: Moving the Needle on Equitable and Adequate Education Funding for English Learners

4th and 5th grade students working on posters

Allison Shelley/EDUimages

The pandemic and move to remote learning affected students across the United States, and certain groups—including the nation’s 5 million English Learners (ELs)—were hit particularly hard. At the same time, the federal government made unprecedented investments in public K-12 education to counter the pandemic’s adverse impacts. This issue brief explores the ways school districts have invested these funds to support ELs.

Featured

English Learners and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes a number of new requirements for the education of English Learners (ELs), including standardized criteria for identifying EL students and inclusion of English proficiency as a measurement of school quality. Resources on this page can help inform decisions such as how quickly schools must improve and how states can intervene with struggling districts.

Featured

ELL Information Center

The English Language Learner (ELL) Information Center provides informative fact sheets, maps, and state-level data resources that chronicle the demography and trends of immigrant families and their children.

Recent Activity

Multimedia May 9, 2019 A Mirror for the Nation? The Changing Profile of Mexican Immigrants in Texas	Fact Sheets May 2019 A Profile of Highly Skilled Mexican Immigrants in Texas and the United States By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee
Multimedia April 29, 2019 Do All High School Graduates Count? Unintended Consequences of State Accountability Policies for English Learner Students	Reports April 2019 The Unintended Consequences for English Learners of Using the Four-Year Graduation Rate for School Accountability By Julie Sugarman
Fact Sheets April 2019 How Many Unauthorized Immigrants Graduate from U.S. High Schools Annually? By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova	Reports April 2019 Immigrant Families and Child Welfare Systems: Emerging Needs and Promising Policies By Mark Greenberg, Randy Capps, Andrew Kalweit, Jennifer Grishkin and Ann Flagg
Multimedia April 3, 2019 Addressing Trauma in Young Children in Immigrant and Refugee Families through Early Childhood Programs	Policy Briefs April 2019 Mitigating the Effects of Trauma among Young Children of Immigrants and Refugees: The Role of Early Childhood Programs By Maki Park and Caitlin Katsiaficas

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Fact Sheets October 2015 Ten Facts About U.S. Refugee Resettlement By Randy Capps and Michael Fix	Reports October 2015 The Academic Engagement of Newly Arriving Somali Bantu Students in a U.S. Elementary School By Dina Birman and Nellie Tran
Policy Briefs October 2015 Unaccompanied Child Migrants in U.S. Communities, Immigration Court, and Schools By Sarah Pierce	Reports October 2015 The Educational and Mental Health Needs of Syrian Refugee Children By Selcuk R. Sirin and Lauren Rogers-Sirin
Reports September 2015 Implications of Immigration Enforcement Activities for the Well-Being of Children in Immigrant Families: A Review of the Literature By Randy Capps, Heather Koball, Andrea Campetella, Krista Perreira, Sarah Hooker and Juan Manuel Pedroza	Reports September 2015 Health and Social Service Needs of U.S.-Citizen Children with Detained or Deported Immigrant Parents By Heather Koball, Randy Capps, Sarah Hooker, Krista Perreira, Andrea Campetella, Juan Manuel Pedroza, William Monson and Sandra Huerta
Reports September 2015 Economic, Social, and Health Effects of Discrimination on Latino Immigrant Families By Cecilia Ayón	Reports September 2015 The Impact of Discrimination on the Early Schooling Experiences of Children from Immigrant Families By Jennifer Keys Adair

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EventPH 2015.3.12 Integration Challenges and Opportunities in the Economic Development and Refugee Resettlement Arenas NDC Ashama

Video, Audio

March 12, 2015

Integration Challenges and Opportunities in the Economic Development and Refugee Resettlement Arenas

This webinar, with perspectives from MPI, the WE Global Network, and Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service, examines the role of economic development initiatives and refugee resettlement programs/infrastructure in immigrant integration.

EventPH 2015.3.5 Adult Education, English and Skills Training Webinar Carlos Rosario ESL group work

Video, Audio

March 5, 2015

Adult Education, English and Skills Training: Opportunities for Action and Investment in the Most Vital Integration Services

This webinar, with perspectives from MPI, the National Partnership for New Americans, and the National Skills Coalition, looks at the role of adult education and English language and skills training in the immigrant integration process.

EventPH 2012.02.12 The Skills of Immigrants3

Video, Audio

February 12, 2015

The Skills of Immigrants: What PIAAC Tells Us

A report release examining PIAAC data on the skills of U.S. immigrant adults and whether there is a gap with native-born adults, and discussion of how these skills relate to key immigrant integration outcomes such as employment, income, access to training, and health.

EventPH 2015.1.15 The County Level View of Unauthorized Immigrants and Implications for Executive Action Implementation

Video, Audio

January 15, 2015

The County-Level View of Unauthorized Immigrants and Implications for Executive Action Implementation

A webinar showcasing MPI's data profiles of unauthorized immigrants in the 94 U.S. counties with the largest such populations, as well as the implications of the data for implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) programs.

EVENTPH 2015.1.05 Lessons from DACA Flickr Educators Training Connie Ma

Video, Audio

January 7, 2015

Lessons from DACA’s Implementation and its Impact on Education and Training

A webinar examining the outreach and initiatives by educational institutions and other community stakeholders seeking to support the education and training success of grantees of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs

June 2018

A Matter of Design: English Learner Program Models in K-12 Education

The programs U.S. schools use to support English Learners (EL) take many shapes and forms. At a time when parents and community members are encouraged to work with educators to close achievement gaps, this guide aims to help them understand the differences between EL program models, as well as why schools make different choices about which to use.

Video, Audio, Webinars

June 12, 2018

Chilling Effects: The Expected Public-Charge Rule and Its Impact on Immigrant Families

This webinar highlights findings from an MPI report examining the potential impacts of expected changes to the public charge rule by the Trump administration. Leaked draft versions suggest the rule could sharply expand the number of legally present noncitizens facing difficulty getting a green card or extending a visa as a result of their family's use of public benefits. The rule likely would discourage millions from accessing health, nutrition, and social services for which they or their U.S.-citizen dependents are eligible.

Reports

June 2018

Chilling Effects: The Expected Public Charge Rule and Its Impact on Legal Immigrant Families’ Public Benefits Use

According to leaked drafts, the Trump administration is considering a rule that could have sweeping effects on both legal immigration to the United States and the use of public benefits by legal immigrants and their families. This report examines the potential scale of the expected rule’s impact, including at national and state levels and among children, as well as Hispanic and Asian American/Pacific Islander immigrants.

Policy Briefs

May 2018

A Guide to Finding and Understanding English Learner Data

As states make more data about student outcomes and schools available online, it can be difficult to decide where to turn for information about English Learners (ELs). This guide breaks down common questions about finding and using student (and specifically EL) data. It also explores some common challenges data users may face.

Video, Audio, Webinars

April 12, 2018

Responding to Early Childhood Education and Care Needs of Children of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Europe and North America

On this webinar, authors discuss their findings, highlighting promising policies and practices for serving young children of refugees and asylum seekers in nine key host countries, as well as key areas in which ECEC services need to be strengthened. In particular, the webinar looks at innovative national and local policies in Sweden that support young refugee children in their early learning experiences.

Reports

April 2018

Responding to the ECEC Needs of Children of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Europe and North America

With many young children among the refugees and asylum seekers arriving in Europe and North America in recent years, policymakers and service providers are grappling with the task of designing and scaling up critical early childhood services. This report examines the approaches taken in nine key host countries, highlighting common challenges and promising practices.

Video, Audio, Webinars

March 21, 2018

Supporting DLLs in Superdiverse PreK-3 Programs: Findings from Two Studies

This webinar focuses on patterns of home language use across different early childhood education and care (ECEC) program types, and the potential of the Sobrato Early Academic Language model to improve instruction and outcomes for DLLs in superdiverse settings.

Reports

March 2018

The Language of the Classroom: Dual Language Learners in Head Start, Public Pre-K, and Private Preschool Programs

As preschools across the United States enroll Dual Language Learners who speak a wide variety of languages at home, it is crucial that early childhood education and care providers have the tools to effectively support this superdiverse population. This report examines how teachers in different preschool programs use English and their students’ home languages to support their development and future academic success.

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