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.
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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.
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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.
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Up for Grabs: The Gains and Prospects of First- and Second-Generation Young Adults
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Evolving Demographic and Human-Capital Trends in Mexico and Central America and Their Implications for Regional Migration
By Aaron Terrazas, Demetrios G. Papademetriou, and Marc R. Rosenblum
This report for the Regional Migration Study Group 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. Taken together, these changes mean that policymakers can no longer rely on the conventional wisdom about regional labor mobility that has guided their decisions in the past.
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Pay-to-Go Schemes and Other Noncoercive Return Programs: Is Scale Possible?
By Richard Black, Michael Collyer, and Will Somerville
For decades, some immigrant-receiving countries have experimented with policies designed to encourage unauthorized immigrants to leave without the cost, legal barriers, and political obstacles that result from removals or forced returns. These initiatives – known as pay-to-go, noncoercive, voluntary, assisted voluntary, or nonforced returns — generally offer paid travel and/or a financial incentive in order to persuade target populations to cooperate with immigration authorities. The authors examine the programs’ long history of failure on the ground, but conclude that such initiatives could be an important part of the policy toolkit to reduce illegal immigration with proper experimentation and evaluation.
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Immigrant Integration in a Time of Austerity
By Elizabeth Collett
With austerity at the forefront of European government policy debates and rising debt levels sure to catalyze additional difficult public spending decisions, immigrant integration programs have been an early place for budget cuts in some countries. In this report, MPI European Policy Fellow Elizabeth Collett offers fresh analysis of how immigrant integration programs are faring in a number of EU countries: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. While the economic and political climate offer some explanation for governments’ response, the report details how those factors alone are insufficient to explain countries’ differing approaches to immigrant integration programs.
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Prioritizing Integration
This fourth book of the Transatlantic Council on Migration, published by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, takes stock of the impact of the global economic crisis on immigrant integration in Europe and the United States. It assesses where immigrants have lost ground, using evidence such as employment rates, levels of funding for educational programs, trends toward protectionism, and public opinion, focusing on the case studies of five countries in particular: the United States, Germany, Ireland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. This systematic look at where and how immigrants have been affected by the recession's pinch permits examination of how governments can use the recovery period as an opportunity for more meaningful and targeted investments in integration – ones that will boost economic competitiveness and improve social cohesion. To order a copy, click here.

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.
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