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 November 5, 2021 Immigrant Integration: Essential to the Success of Immigration Policy	Commentaries November 2021 Narrowing the Skills Gap: Equipping Immigrant-Origin Workers with Postsecondary Credentials By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
Reports November 2021 The Impacts on English Learners of Key State High School Policies and Graduation Requirements By Julie Sugarman	Multimedia October 21, 2021 Translating Into Success: Key Features of U.S. State & Local Language Access Laws and Policies
Reports October 2021 A Framework for Language Access: Key Features of U.S. State and Local Language Access Laws and Policies By Jacob Hofstetter, Margie McHugh and Anna O’Toole	Policy Briefs September 2021 Immigrants’ U.S. Labor Market Disadvantage in the COVID-19 Economy: The Role of Geography and Industries of Employment By Randy Capps, Jeanne Batalova and Julia Gelatt
Commentaries September 2021 Different Statuses, Different Benefits: Determining Federal Assistance for Afghan Evacuees By Mark Greenberg, Celia Reynolds and Essey Workie	Policy Briefs June 2021 Immigrant and Other U.S. Workers a Year into the Pandemic: A Focus on Top Immigrant States By Julia Gelatt, Jeanne Batalova and Christopher Levesque

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Policy Briefs November 2019 Health Insurance Coverage of Immigrants and Latinos in the Kansas City Metro Area By Randy Capps and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto	Policy Briefs August 2019 Leveraging the Potential of Home Visiting Programs to Serve Immigrant and Dual Language Learner Families By Maki Park and Caitlin Katsiaficas
Policy Briefs June 2019 Legal Protections for K-12 English Learner and Immigrant-Background Students By Julie Sugarman	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
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	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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FLICKR Duane Reade food Stamps Benefits 419429614_f6c6bd7152_z

Video, Audio

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.

Video, Audio

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.

Flickr Alliance for Education 36502961545_c01bbbca2c_z Courtesy of Allison Shelley The Verbatim Agency for American Education Images of Teachers and Students in Action

Video, Audio

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.

EVENT PHOTO 2018.3.19 Immigration Data option 2a

Video, Audio

March 19, 2018

Immigration Data Matters: How to Find the Most Accurate Resources

With immigration increasingly visible in the news and the political space in the United States and internationally, getting access to accurate, high-quality data is essential to understand immigration’s demographic effects and impacts on the economy, education and labor systems, and communities. This event marks the release of the Immigration Data Matters guide.

2018.2.28 Immigration Enforcement and Education Wilson Center co sponsor

Video

February 28, 2018

The Impact of Immigration Enforcement Policies On Teaching and Learning in America’s Public Schools

In an era of stepped-up immigration enforcement, speakers at this event present their research on the impact of enforcement policies on children from immigrant families and U.S. public schools.

Recent Activity

Expert Q&A, Audio

November 5, 2021

Immigrant Integration: Essential to the Success of Immigration Policy

In this World of Migration podcast episode, Margie McHugh, director of MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, chats with Ivana Tú Nhi Giang about the important role of integration, for immigrants themselves and the broader society, and the varying degrees of intentionality in integration policy design around the world.

Commentaries

November 2021

Narrowing the Skills Gap: Equipping Immigrant-Origin Workers with Postsecondary Credentials

The number of U.S. adults who could benefit from efforts to boost postsecondary credential attainment is strikingly large. Nearly 96 million working-age adults lack a postsecondary credential, 28 million of them of immigrant origin, MPI estimates. This commentary examines how enabling immigrant-origin adults to attain credentials beyond a high school diploma is vital to both building a skilled workforce and closing equity gaps.

Reports

November 2021

The Impacts on English Learners of Key State High School Policies and Graduation Requirements

English Learners (ELs) in U.S. high schools often face unique challenges to navigating a path to graduation. This report examines the wide range of state policies that shape ELs’ education as they work toward high school completion—from the placement of newcomers to instructional design and graduation requirements. The report also presents opportunities for states to strengthen ELs’ access to a high-quality education.

Video, Audio, Webinars

October 21, 2021

Translating Into Success: Key Features of U.S. State & Local Language Access Laws and Policies

On this webinar, MPI researchers examine common features and notable areas of innovation they found in a scan of state and local language access laws and policies in more than 40 states, along with practical insights that local governments can employ as they face growing linguistic diversity in their communities.

Reports

October 2021

A Framework for Language Access: Key Features of U.S. State and Local Language Access Laws and Policies

Many states and localities have language access laws and policies to ensure people who are Limited English Proficient (LEP) have effective access to essential public services and institutions. This report explores a wide range of common and unique features of these language access laws, highlighting how different jurisdictions have approached issues such as translation, interpretation, agency oversight, technical assistance, and community involvement.

Policy Briefs

September 2021

Immigrants’ U.S. Labor Market Disadvantage in the COVID-19 Economy: The Role of Geography and Industries of Employment

Immigrants, who lost jobs at a much higher rate than U.S.-born workers early in the COVID-19 pandemic, have since seen their unemployment rate drop below that of the U.S. born. Still, they are not well poised to take advantage of the economic recovery. This issue brief examines the extent of job losses and employment shifts for U.S. workers from mid-2019 to mid-2021, with trends broken down by nativity, gender, industry, and geographic region.

Commentaries

September 2021

Different Statuses, Different Benefits: Determining Federal Assistance for Afghan Evacuees

Afghans evacuated to the United States are entering with a range of legal statuses, with important implications for their ability to access benefits and services that will help them settle into their new communities. This commentary outlines the different statuses and resulting consequences for eligibility for assistance, based on whether the arrivals are recognized as refugees, Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) recipients, or parolees.

Policy Briefs

June 2021

Immigrant and Other U.S. Workers a Year into the Pandemic: A Focus on Top Immigrant States

Immigrant workers have been hit hard by the pandemic-related economic crisis across the United States and in many states with the largest immigrant populations. This issue brief examines how workers in different states and different industries have fared, looking at how employment trends have been shaped by state-level factors such as the length and timing of stay-at-home orders and definitions of who is an “essential” worker.

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