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MPI Resources on US Immigration Reform

Please select a topic for more information on immigration to the United States.

The US Immigration System	US Immigration Reform: Setting the Agenda	Immigrants and the US Labor Market
The Foreign Born in the United States	Border Enforcement and Security	Immigrant Integration
The Unauthorized Population	Worksite Enforcement and Employment Verification	US-Mexico Migration Relationship

The US Immigration System
Remaking the US Green Card System: Legal Immigration under the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 By Madeleine Sumption and Claire Bergeron The legal immigration system proposed under the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform legislation would retain a strong emphasis on family unification while growing skills-based immigration more than fourfold, contrary to the perception that a new focus on employment-based immigration would come at the expense of family-based immigration. This issue brief examines how the Senate bill would reshape the legal immigration system through its admission policies, creation of a new merit-based visa stream and points-based system, and re-ordering of the balance between permanent and temporary visa programs. It also offers some estimates of future flows, where they can be determined. Download Brief \| Press Release Detailed Review of the 2013 Senate Legislation and Side-by-Side Comparison with 2006, 2007 Senate Bills This issue brief offers a detailed review of major provisions included in S.744, the immigration legislation introduced in the Senate by a bipartisan group of senators, and compares those provisions with bills considered by the Senate in 2006 and 2007. Topics reviewed include border security and enforcement; creation of Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status for unauthorized immigrants, the DREAM Act, agricultural workers program, and paths to lawful permanent residence; immigrant integration; creation of a new merit-based visa and adjustments to preference categories for family- and employment-based immigration; employment verification, detention and immigration court provisions, and more. Download Brief Side-by-Side Comparison of 2013 Senate Immigration Framework with 2006 and 2007 Senate Legislation The Migration Policy Institute has completed an analysis of the major provisions in the 2013 framework, comparing them to provisions of the legislation the Senate considered in 2006 and 2007. Download Brief Going to the Back of the Line: A Primer on Lines, Visa Categories, and Wait Times By Claire Bergeron Contrary to popular belief, there is not one “line” that leads to lawful permanent residence; current immigration law provides multiple paths to permanent residency. This brief, the first in a new series of issue briefs related to the ongoing comprehensive immigration reform debate, examines who is in the “line,” what are the various visa categories involved in family- and employment-based immigration, wait times, countries most affected by the backlogs, and more. The brief, and MPI’s extensive research and data offerings that are directly on point to the current debate, can be found at a new online resource: www.migrationpolicy.org/cir. Download Brief \| Press Release Immigration Enforcement in the United States: The Rise of a Formidable Machinery By Doris Meissner, Donald M. Kerwin, Muzaffar Chishti, and Claire Bergeron The US government spends more on federal immigration enforcement than on all other principal federal criminal law enforcement agencies combined, and has allocated nearly $187 billion for immigration enforcement since 1986. Deportations have reached record highs, border apprehensions 40-year lows, and more noncitizens than ever before are in immigration detention. The report traces the evolution of the immigration enforcement system, particularly in the post-9/11 era, in terms of budgets, personnel, enforcement actions, and technology – analyzing how individual programs and policies have resulted in a complex, interconnected, cross-agency system. Download Report \| Press Release \| Report-in-Brief Contested Ground: Immigration in the United States By Michael Jones-Correa Though historically a country of immigrants, the United States has seen its demographic landscape altered in new and important ways as a result of the changing nature of immigration flows. In recent decades, immigration has come increasingly from Latin America and significant numbers of immigrants are unauthorized. The spread of immigration beyond traditional immigrant destinations to communities with little prior experience of migration has sparked anxiety among the American public. This report, part of a Transatlantic Council on Migration series on national identity in the age of migration, traces public sentiment and immigration policy developments of recent decades. Download Report 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Aligning Temporary Immigration Visas with US Labor Market Needs: The Case for Provisional Visas By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Doris Meissner, Marc R. Rosenblum, and Madeleine Sumption Reform of a rigid employment-based visa system that is out of sync with the needs of employers, the US economy, US society, and immigrants alike must be part of effective comprehensive immigration reform legislation. In this report, MPI recommends creation of a new stream of visas known as provisional visas, which would bridge temporary and permanent admissions to the United States for work purposes in a predictable and transparent way. The authors make the case that the concept hits the sweet spot in balancing the two main goals of labor market immigration policy: It supports economic growth and competitiveness while protecting the wages and interests of US workers; and it facilitates the social and economic integration of immigrants. Download Report \| Press Release Harnessing the Advantages of Immigration for a 21st-Century Economy By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Doris Meissner, Marc R. Rosenblum, and Madeleine Sumption The US immigration system neither meets labor market needs efficiently nor minds the interests of US workers with particular success, and has yet to devise a way that uses immigration to promote US economic growth and competitiveness well. This paper proposes an institutional solution to address this systemic failure: Creating a permanent and independent body, situated within the executive branch, that is charged with recommending adjustments to immigration laws to the president and Congress: the Standing Commission on Labor Markets, Economic Competitiveness, and Immigration. The bipartisan panel would provide timely, evidence-based, and impartial analysis and recommendations to the president and Congress regarding employment-based immigration. Download Report \| Press Release Prospects for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Testimony of Doris Meissner, Director of MPI's US Immigration Policy Program, before the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Citizenship, at its hearing: "Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2009, Can We Do It and How?" April 30, 2009.	DHS and Immigration: Taking Stock and Correcting Course By Doris Meissner and Donald Kerwin Nearly six years after the federal immigration bureaucracy was dismantled and rebuilt to meet the heightened security imperatives of the post-9/11 era, the arrival of new executive branch leadership offers the singular opportunity to take stock and provide a clear-eyed assessment of the performance of the three immigration agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. In a new report, MPI offers policy recommendations for US Customs and Border Protection, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services, as well as overall DHS immigration policy direction and coordination, that could be accomplished by the new administration without need for legislation. Download Report \| Press Release The Redesigned Citizenship Test: High Stakes By Laureen Laglagaron and Bhavna Devani MPI Backgrounder No. 6, September 2008 More than a decade in the making, the redesigned citizenship test required for use after October 1, 2008 is supposed to provide a more meaningful opportunity for applicants to demonstrate knowledge about US history and civics, and allow the government more standardized test administration. This MPI Backgrounder details the redesign process, examines whether the government met its goals, and provides policy recommendations. Backgrounder \| Press Release Behind the Naturalization Backlog By Claire Bergeron and Jeremy Banks Fact Sheet No. 21, February 2008 The processing time for naturalization applications has risen dramatically since mid-2007, to an 18-month average, as the federal government has struggled to cope with a surge in applications driven in part by a substantial fee increase. More than 460,000 people filed naturalization applications in July 2007 right before the fee hike took effect — fully one-third of the nearly 1.4 million applications that were filed during the entire fiscal year. This MPI fact sheet examines the causes, context, and concerns surrounding the backlog. Fact Sheet \| Press Release Social Security “No Match” Letters: A Primer MPI Backgrounder No. 5, October 2007 A US District Court Judge has ruled that a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulation regarding Social Security Administration (SSA) “no match” letters cannot be implemented. This MPI Backgrounder shows that, based on 2006 information, the DHS procedures would have affected more than 1.5 million workers, with approximately 1 million concentrated in ten states. Annual Immigration to the United States: The Real Numbers By Julia Gelatt Fact Sheet No. 16, May 2007 While official figures show annual permanent immigration to the United States averaging about 1 million people a year, actual annual immigration to the United States is about 1.8 million people. True numbers of people who enter the United States each year and ultimately remain permanently include not only those coming through official permanent immigration channels, but also those entering through certain temporary immigration streams, and those entering or remaining in the United States without authorization. Immigration and America's Future: A New Chapter Final report of the Independent Task Force co-chaired by Spencer Abraham and Lee H. Hamilton The bipartisan group of public policy experts, immigration stakeholders, and elected officials undertook careful analysis of the economic, social, and demographic factors driving today’s large-scale immigration. The Task Force has concluded that immigration is essential to US national interests and will become even more so in the years ahead. However, the system is outdated, overly complex, and inflexible; it no longer serves the nation’s needs. The Task Force recommends that the United States fundamentally rethink its policies and overhaul how it manages immigration to better harness the benefits and minimize the disadvantages of immigration. Spotlight on Naturalization Trends Jeanne Batalova August 5, 2009 Over one million immigrants — one-third from Mexico, India, and the Philippines — became US citizens in 2008. MPI's Jeanne Batalova takes a detailed look at the latest naturalization trends in the United States. Legal Immigration to the United States Increased Substantially in FY 2005 Fact Sheet by Julia Gelatt and Deborah W. Meyers In Fiscal Year 2005, the most recent year for which data are available from the Department of Homeland Security: Lawful permanent immigration grew by 17 percent and naturalizations increased by almost 13 percent from FY 2004. The number of people who adjusted their status to lawful permanent residence increased 26 percent, explaining much of the overall growth. Refugee admissions rose slightly from FY 2004, but remained below pre-9/11 levels. The level of temporary visitors rebounded to near pre-9/11 levels. New Estimates of Unauthorized Youth Eligible for Legal Status under the DREAM Act Backgrounder by Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix October 2006 The DREAM Act, incorporated into the current Senate bill, would immediately make about 360,000 young people aged 18 to 24 who have graduated from high school or obtained a GED eligible for conditional legal status. Those who qualify and then attend college or join the military within six years would become eligible for permanent legal status – an arrangement unprecedented in US history. Spotlight on Legal Immigration to the United States Jeanne Batalova June 4, 2009 More than 1.1 million persons became legal permanent residents (LPRs) in the United States in 2008. Nearly two-thirds of new LPRs are immigrants with family ties in the United States, reports MPI's Jeanne Batalova in this updated look at the latest statistics on legal immigration. A New Century: Immigration and the US By MPI Staff, Updated by Kevin Jernegan Migration Information Source, February 2005 Spotlight on Temporary Admissions of Nonimmigrants to the United States Jeanne Batalova September 29, 2009 There were nearly 40 million temporary admissions to the United States in 2008, more than twice the number in 1990. MPI's Jeanne Batalova outlines the definition of nonimmigrants and takes a detailed look at admissions data and data limitations. Backlogs in Immigration Processing Persist By MPI Staff Fact Sheet, June 2005 Over the last fifteen years, the number of pending applications for immigration benefits in the United States has swollen by over 1,000 percent, growing from 540,688 in 1990 to a high of 6.08 million in 2003. Who Does What in US Immigration By Megan Davy, Deborah Meyers, and Jeanne Batalova Migration Information Source, December 1, 2005 An explanation of agencies' immigration-related responsibilities within the Department of Homeland Security
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Characteristics of the Foreign Born in the United States
Health Care for Immigrant Families: Current Policies and Issues By Leighton Ku and Mariellen Jewers Low-income immigrant children are less likely than their US-born counterparts to see a doctor — even when they are insured. Similarly, immigrant adults are less likely to use emergency rooms than low-income natives, according to analysis of Current Population Survey and Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data. The report, which examines health care coverage and usage among immigrants and the US born, finds that 44 percent of noncitizen immigrants in the United States are uninsured, compared to 13 percent of native-born citizens. Download Report \| Press Release Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States Jeanne Batalova and Alicia Lee March 2012 Interested in information on annual naturalization trends, illegal immigration, the geographical distribution of immigrants in the United States, current and historical shares, and a host of other topics? MPI's Jeanne Batalova and Alicia Lee have assembled the latest, most interesting data on immigrants and immigration into one easy-to-use resource. 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 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 MPI’s Data Hub: Information on the Foreign Born in the United States Who's Where in the United States This Migration Information Source Data Hub data tool has information on the foreign born by region or continent of origin, and state or region of destination. State-by-State Data on the Foreign Born in the United States This easy-to-use Migration Information Source Data Hub data tool shows state data on where the foreign born are from, how much of the population they represent, what languages they speak at home, and more. Migration Information Source Spotlights on the Foreign Born from Around the World in the United States Foreign born from Africa Foreign born from the Caribbean Foreign born from Central America Foreign born from China Foreign born from El Salvador Foreign born from Haiti Foreign-born Hmong Foreign born from India Foreign born from Iraq Foreign born from Korea Foreign born from Mexico Foreign born from the Philippines Foreign born from Taiwan Foreign born from Vietnam	Data on the Foreign Born in the United States Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States Emma Britz and Jeanne Batalova January 31, 2013 The US immigrant population — estimated at 40.4 million in 2011 — is the nation's historical numeric high, and it is also the largest in the world. About 20 percent of all international migrants reside in the United States, even as the country accounts for less than 5 percent of the world's population. Find out more top statistics on immigrants and immigration in the United States in this article which presents the latest, most interesting data in one easy-to-use resource. Characteristics of the Foreign-born Population Older Immigrants in the United States College-Educated Foreign Born Immigrant Workers in the US Labor Force United States Temporary Admissions of Nonimmigrants to the United States Green Card Holders and Legal Immigration to the United States Refugees and Asylees in the United States Foreign-Born Wage and Salary Workers in the US Labor Force and Unions More Spotlights on immigrants in the United States. A Profile of Immigrants in Arkansas By Randolph Capps, Everett Henderson, John D. Kasarda, James H. Johnson, Jr., Stephen J. Appold, Derrek L. Croney, Donald J. Hernandez, and Michael Fix Urban Institute, April 2007 Arkansas, which had the 4th fastest growing immigrant population and fastest growing Latino population of any state between 2000 and 2005, is the subject of this series of reports. Volume 1 provides detailed demographic information about the foreign-born in Arkansas and compares immigrants to natives on a wide variety of quality-of-life measures. It profiles immigrants' countries of birth, legal status, educational attainment, poverty, homeownership, employment, and the primary industries in which they are employed. Volume 2 assesses immigrants' impacts on the Arkansas economy, in terms of consumer spending, tax contributions, fiscal costs, and the savings that businesses and consumers realize by using immigrant labor. An executive summary is also listed below.
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The Unauthorized Population
A Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Health Coverage Profile of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States How to treat the estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States is a key component of the immigration debate underway in Congress. This brief provides new data on the characteristics of this population, including income levels, workforce participation rates, English language proficiency, and health care coverage. The brief draws on an innovative new methodology that uses data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and Survey of Income and Program Participation. Download Brief Relief from Deportation: Demographic Profile of the DREAMers Potentially Eligible under the Deferred Action Policy By Jeanne Batalova and Michelle Mittelstadt As many as 1.76 million unauthorized immigrants under age 31 who were brought to the United States as children, a population known as DREAMers, could gain a two-year reprieve from deportation, according to updated MPI estimates that reflect more detailed eligibility guidelines for the deferred action policy being implemented by the Department of Homeland Security. The Fact Sheet offers estimates on the age, educational attainment, state of residence, country and region of birth, workforce participation, and gender of prospective beneficiaries. Download Fact Sheet \| Press Release \| Watch Video \| Listen to Audio 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. Earned Legalization: Effects of Proposed Requirements on Unauthorized Men, Women, and Children By Marc R. Rosenblum, Randy Capps, and Serena Yi-Ying Lin Requirements for earned legalization (such as English proficiency, employment, continuous presence, and monetary fines) could have different effects on the ability of unauthorized men, women, and children to gain legal status. This Policy Brief examines requirements proposed in the five major legalization bills proposed by Congress since 2006. Analysis shows that language requirements, depending on how they are structured, could exclude the largest number of unauthorized immigrants, with between 3.3 million and 5.8 million unauthorized adults unable to pass the English language tests contemplated by two recent bills. Employment rules would exclude the next-largest share of unauthorized immigrants and would fall especially hard on women, who are less likely than unauthorized men to be in the workforce; followed by continuous presence requirements, which would exclude many children, who are likely to have lived in the country for less time than unauthorized adults. Download Report Immigrant Legalization in the United States and European Union: Policy Goals and Program Design By Marc R. Rosenblum Immigrant legalization, while highly controversial on both sides of the Atlantic, is a critical and widely used tool for managing illegal immigration. Lawmakers seeking to design effective legalization regimes must balance competing goals: inclusiveness versus avoidance of rewarding illegal behavior, and assuring a high rate of participation without admitting ineligible migrants or encouraging future illegal migration. This Policy Brief, the third in a series on legalization, examines the legalization debate and discusses policy parameters that characterize legalization programs, such as qualifications, requirements, benefits, and program design and implementation. Download Report More than IRCA: US Legalization Programs and the Current Policy Debate By Donald M. Kerwin Legalization is a policy option that has been used with some regularity by governments in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. Notwithstanding the commonly held perception that the United States has had only one legalization – in 1986 – legalization has been an enduring and necessary feature of US immigration law and policy since the 1920s. This Policy Brief, the second in a series on how to shape and administer an effective legalization program, provides an historical overview of US legalization programs, statistics, a primer on the different types of programs, and discussion of the current debate. Download Report Structuring and Implementing an Immigrant Legalization Program: Registration as the First Step By Donald M. Kerwin and Laureen Laglagaron While comprehensive immigration reform may have moved to the back burner, Congress and the administration eventually are likely to revisit legalization as a serious policy option. This report, the first in a series on how to shape and administer an effective legalization program, argues that a registration process that rapidly identifies, screens, and processes potential applicants should be an essential first step to any legalization. The Policy Brief proposes intensive applicant screening and documentation requirements, describes the application process, and addresses the role of community-based organizations and other stakeholders in helping administer a successful program. 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 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. Updated Estimates \| Download Report \| Press Release A Program in Flux: New Priorities and Implementation Challenges for 287(g) By Cristina Rodríguez, Muzaffar Chishti, Randy Capps, and Laura St. John State and local enforcement of federal immigration laws has generated considerable controversy in public policy circles in recent years, particularly with respect to the Section 287(g) program. The Obama administration is reforming the program, with a new standardized memorandum of agreement (MOA) that will govern all future Section 287(g) collaborations. In this report, the authors find that some aspects of the new standardized agreement may address criticisms of the program, while others could complicate implementation. The report also sets forth a research agenda for determining whether the 287(g) program generates greater benefits than costs and is worth maintaining. Download Report	The Economics and Policy of Illegal Immigration in the United States By Gordon H. Hanson Illegal immigration's overall impact on the US economy is negligible, despite clear benefits for employers and unauthorized immigrants and slightly depressed wages for low-skilled native workers, according to this report by University of California, San Diego Professor of Economics Gordon Hanson for MPI's Labor Markets Initiative. The largest economic gains from illegal immigration flow to unauthorized workers, who see very substantial income hikes after migrating, Hanson says, suggesting that policy changes could increase the positive contribution that low-skilled workers make to the US economy by converting illegal flows to legal ones. Download Report \| Press Release \| Watch Video \| Listen/Download Event Audio Immigrant Detention: Can ICE Meet its Legal Imperatives and Case Management Responsibilities? By Donald Kerwin and Serena Yi-Ying Lin As US Immigration and Customs Enforcement launches an initiative to move from a criminal incarceration model to a civil detention system, this report explores whether the agency is capable of meeting legal and case management responsibilities in light of its use of information systems that may not be collecting all the data necessary for compliance with legal, detention management and humanitarian standards. The report analyzes select data for all 32,000 detainees held in ICE custody on one night in January 2009 and examines the sufficiency of the agency's database and case tracking system. The authors provide a roadmap for meeting the data needs essential for the new detention initiative to succeed. Download Report \| Press Release Unauthorized Migrants: Numbers and Characteristics Report by Jeffrey S. Passel, prepared for the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future by the Pew Hispanic Center Jeffrey S. Passel offers a portrait of the unauthorized population in unprecedented detail. The report shows that most of the unauthorized population lives in families, a quarter has at least some college education, and illegal workers can be found in many sectors of the US economy. Lessons From The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 By Betsy Cooper and Kevin O'Neil Task Force Policy Brief No. 3, April 2005 The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was the first legislative attempt to comprehensively address the issue of unauthorized immigration. Although the concepts behind the legislation were sound, there were a number of problems with its design and implementation in each of its major goals. Migration Information Source SPECIAL ISSUE ON THE UNAUTHORIZED March 2005 Articles include: The Global Struggle with Illegal Migration: No End in Sight By Demetrios G. Papademetriou Unauthorized Migrants Living in the United States: A Mid-Decade Portrait By Jennifer Van Hook, Frank Bean, and Jeffrey Passell Solving the Unauthorized Migrant Problem: Proposed Legislation in the US By Eliot Turner and Marc R. Rosenblum Twilight Statuses: A Closer Examination of the Unauthorized Population By David A. Martin Task Force Policy Brief No. 2, June 2005 Approximately 1 to 1.5 million people hold current or eventual claims to legal status recognized by US law because they are caught in processing or admissions quota backlogs or have been granted temporary protected status (TPS). The "Regularization" Option in Managing Illegal Migration More Effectively: A Comparative Perspective By Demetrios G. Papademetriou Task Force Policy Brief No. 4, September 2005 This author argues that legalization (or "regularization" in Europe) of unauthorized migrants can not only prevent the illegally resident population from building to unacceptable levels, but can also make the management of migration more effective when used in concert with other policy initiatives. Observations on Regularization and the Labor Market Performance of Unauthorized and Regularized Immigrants By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Kevin O'Neil and Maia Jachimowicz Prepared for the European Commission, DG Employment and Social Affairs July 2004 IRCA: Lessons of the Last US Legalization Program By Mary G. Powers, Fordham University Ellen Percy Kraly, Colgate University William Seltzer, Fordham University Migration Information Source, July 2004
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US Immigration Reform: Setting the Agenda
Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration and Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America This final report by the Regional Migration Study Group outlines the powerful demographic, economic, and social forces reshaping Mexico and much of Central America and changing longstanding migration dynamics with the United States. The Study Group, co-chaired by former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, former US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, and former Guatemalan Vice President and Foreign Minister Eduardo Stein, offers a forward-looking, pragmatic agenda for the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras - focusing on new collaborative approaches on migration and human-capital development to strengthen regional competitiveness. Download Report \| Study Group Home \| Press Release \| Aviso de Prensa More than IRCA: US Legalization Programs and the Current Policy Debate By Donald M. Kerwin Legalization is a policy option that has been used with some regularity by governments in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. Notwithstanding the commonly held perception that the United States has had only one legalization – in 1986 – legalization has been an enduring and necessary feature of US immigration law and policy since the 1920s. This Policy Brief, the second in a series on how to shape and administer an effective legalization program, provides an historical overview of US legalization programs, statistics, a primer on the different types of programs, and discussion of the current debate. Download Report Structuring and Implementing an Immigrant Legalization Program: Registration as the First Step By Donald M. Kerwin and Laureen Laglagaron While comprehensive immigration reform may have moved to the back burner, Congress and the administration eventually are likely to revisit legalization as a serious policy option. This report, the first in a series on how to shape and administer an effective legalization program, argues that a registration process that rapidly identifies, screens, and processes potential applicants should be an essential first step to any legalization. The Policy Brief proposes intensive applicant screening and documentation requirements, describes the application process, and addresses the role of community-based organizations and other stakeholders in helping administer a successful program. Prospects for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Testimony of Doris Meissner, Director of MPI's US Immigration Policy Program, before the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Citizenship, at its hearing: "Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2009, Can We Do It and How?" April 30, 2009. How Changes to Family Immigration Could Affect Source Countries' Sending Patterns By Julia Gelatt Fact Sheet No. 18, June 2007 The proposed Senate bill would substantially revise the family-based permanent immigration system. The current system allocates about two-thirds of permanent visas to family members while the Senate bill, which includes changes to family categories and a new points-based system, would likely result in less than half of all visas going to family members. At the same time, using the points system, the share of visas going to employment-based immigrants would increase from less than one-fifth currently to about two-fifths. Proposed Points System and Its Likely Impact on Prospective Immigrants By Demetrios Papademetriou, Jeanne Batalova, and Julia Gelatt Backgrounder No. 4, May 2007 This MPI Backgrounder provides data on the foreign born in the United States related to the immigrant selection criteria expected to be part of the points-system proposal. These include age, educational attainment, occupation, English proficiency, and labor force participation -- factors that may be given more emphasis than extended family relationships.	Selecting Economic Stream Immigrants through Points Systems By Demetrios Papademetriou Migration Information Source, May 2007 MPI President Demetrios Papademetriou is a leading expert on the use of points systems internationally. His new article on the Migration Information Source outlines the basics of points systems, which countries have used them, their political benefits, and trends in points-system use. Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future: The Roadmap By Michael Fix, Doris Meissner and Demetrios Papademetriou Task Force Policy Brief No. 1, June 2005 The Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future is focusing on key policy questions in areas in which today's US immigration policy and practices are faltering. These include: upholding the rule of law; developing policies that meet immigration and national security needs; managing immigration in ways that increase the nation's economic competitiveness; and promoting the economic and social integration of newcomers. "Comprehensive" Legislation vs. Fundamental Reform: The Limits of Current Immigration Proposals By Visiting Scholar Marc Rosenblum Task Force Policy Brief No. 13, January 2006 The author evaluates the elements of current Administration and Congressional proposals for their potential to address the fundamental flaws characterizing the current immigration system. He finds that proposed reforms likely would fail to address the mismatch between visa supply and demand, the system's over-reliance on temporary nonimmigrant visas, inefficient immigrant labor regulations, and the challenges of responding to the roughly 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States. Side-by-side chart of legislative reform proposals (PDF) Reflections on Restoring Integrity to the United States Immigration System: A Personal Vision By Demetrios G. Papademetriou Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future Insight No. 5 September 2005 The author summarizes the lessons learned from implementing the Immigration and Control Act of 1986, including that: the robust and growing demand for work and family reunification visas must be incorporated into new policies; legalization should not be done halfway; reducing incentives for fraud should be a top policy goal; and migration must be managed in cooperation with neighboring countries. Migration Information Source Policy Beat By Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron Each month, the Policy Beat provides a snapshot of the latest policy trends and legislative developments at the local, state, and national level. Senate Debate Resumes and DHS Boosts Internal Enforcement May 2006 This month's update includes a report on the provisions of the Senate compromise immigration bill; new strategies for internal immigration enforcement; and Georgia's strict new controls regarding unauthorized immigrants, plus other immigration news.
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Border Enforcement and National Security
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 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 A New Architecture for Border Management By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Elizabeth Collett This report commissioned to inform the work of MPI’s Transatlantic Council on Migration for its meeting on “Restoring Trust in the Management of Migration and Borders” examines the emergence of a new border architecture resulting from the explosion in global travel and the dawning of the age of risk. This new border architecture must respond effectively to the seemingly competing demands of facilitating mobility while better managing the risks associated with cross-border travel (e.g. terrorism, the entry of unwanted migrants, and organized crime). The report examines the information-sharing agreements, technology innovations, and multilateral partnerships that have emerged as key components of the new architecture for border management, and discusses challenges and considerations for the future. Download Report Transatlantic Cooperation on Travelers’ Data Processing: From Sorting Countries to Sorting Individuals This report, the second in a joint project of MPI and the European University Institute examining US and European immigration systems, details the post-9/11 programs and agreements implemented by US and European governments to identify terrorists and serious transnational criminals through the collection and processing of increasing quantities of traveler data. The report analyzes how governments, which once focused their screening primarily on a traveler’s nationality (“sorting countries”), increasingly are examining personal characteristics (“sorting individuals”). Download Report The Evolution of Border Controls as a Mechanism to Prevent Illegal Immigration By Rey Koslowski This paper, the first in a joint project of the Migration Policy Institute and European University Institute examining US and European immigration systems, 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 Securing Human Mobility in the Age of Risk: New Challenges for Travel, Migration, and Borders This new book makes the case that the nation's post-9/11 approach to immigration and border security is off-kilter and not keeping pace with the scope and complexity of people's movement around the world, nor with expectations regarding freedom of movement. Author Susan Ginsburg, who served as senior counsel and team leader on the staff of the 9/11 Commission, proposes a new paradigm that seeks to secure mobility and promote the rule of law in global migration channels while moving away from a system that too often conflates border and immigration enforcement with counterterrorism. Order a Copy \| Press Release Transatlantic Information Sharing: At a Crossroads By Hiroyuki Tanaka, Rocco Bellanova, Susan Ginsburg, and Paul De Hert The attempted Christmas Day attack on a US airliner has refocused interest on the data collected by governments on international travelers, and how information sharing can be used to prevent terrorism and secure travel if properly shared and analyzed. In the wake of 9/11, the United States and European Union worked out agreements to expand the sharing of personal information about international travelers as a means to prevent acts of terrorism and fight international crime. However, as this report explores, negotiations on a binding US-EU agreement that will govern the sharing of personal information for law enforcement purposes – while high on the transatlantic policy agenda – face significant challenges. Download Report \| Press Release Collateral Damage: An Examination of ICE's Fugitive Operations Program By Margot Mendelson, Shayna Strom, and Michael Wishnie The federal fugitive operations program established to locate, apprehend, and remove fugitive aliens who pose a threat to the community has instead focused chiefly on arresting unauthorized immigrants without criminal convictions. In a new report, MPI finds that 73 percent of the nearly 97,000 people arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement fugitive operations teams between the program's inception in 2003 and early 2008 were unauthorized immigrants without criminal records. And arrests of fugitive aliens with criminal convictions have represented a steadily declining share of total arrests by the fugitive operations teams. Download Report \| Press Release Document Security Provisions: What's in the Cards? By Dawn Konet Fact Sheet No. 17, June 2007 This Fact Sheet provides a chart of the security features -- from photos and fingerprints to holograms and lamination -- of documents issued by government agencies and used by US residents to work, travel and verify their identities. Notably, there have been no significant security changes to the Social Security card, one of the most commonly used to show work eligibility.	US Border Enforcement: From Horseback to High-Tech By Deborah W. Meyers Task Force Policy Brief No. 7, November 2005 Border Patrol funding has grown more than 500 percent over the last two decades, as legislative and policy changes specified concentrated and enhanced personnel and technological resources. This review of border enforcement history raises a number of policy questions, with the primary one being whether border enforcement has been effective. Migration Information Source article Blurring the Lines: A Profile of State and Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Law Using the National Crime Information Center Database, 2002-2004 By Hannah Gladstein, Annie Lai, Jennifer Wagner and Michael Wishnie Report, December 2005 In almost 9,000 cases from 2002 to 2004, police officers checking the names of individuals stopped or detained against records in the nation's main criminal database received an initial "hit" for an immigration violation that, upon further investigation, the Department of Homeland Security could not confirm. The rate of false positives was 42 percent overall, and some individual law enforcement agencies had error rates as high as 90 percent. Spotlight on Immigration Enforcement in the United States Jeanne Batalova and Kristen McCabe November 10, 2010 While the number of people detained reached a five-year high of over 383,000, apprehensions hit a 34-year low of 613,000 in 2009. MPI's Jeanne Batalova and Kristen McCabe examine the latest immigration enforcement data in this updated Spotlight. Immigration Facts: Immigration Enforcement Spending Since IRCA By David Dixon and Julia Gelatt Task Force Fact Sheet No. 10, November 2005 This study of appropriations finds that from 1985 to 2002, funds for border control jumped from $700 million to $2.8 billion per year; funds for detention and removal skyrocketed from $192 million to $1.6 billion, while funds for interior investigations rose from $109 million to only $458 million. Real Challenges for Virtual Borders: The Implementation of US-VISIT By Rey Koslowski, Associate Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University-Newark Report, June 2005 The US-VISIT program may deter terrorists from attempting to enter the United States through legal channels but alone probably will not catch them, concludes a new report from MPI. The author finds that the program will need a clearer mandate and serious investments of political and economic capital to provide more than an illusion of national security. One Face at the Border: Behind the Slogan By Deborah Meyers Report, June 2005 In less than two years, the Department of Homeland Security’s ambitious One Face at the Border initiative has made strides toward creating a unified agency to inspect people and goods at US air, land and sea ports. However, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection must still address significant weaknesses that could undermine border security if they are not confronted squarely and soon. Full Report \| Press Release Secure Borders, Open Doors: Visa Procedures in the Post-September 11 Era By Stephen Yale-Loehr, Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Betsy Cooper September 2005 The US visa policy program has become a key tool in promoting national security, but vulnerabilities remain and government agencies must work together to ensure that security measures do not compromise US economic competitiveness and foreign policy goals. Full Report \| Executive Summary \| Press Release Evaluating Enhanced US Border Enforcement By Wayne Cornelius, Director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, University of California-San Diego Migration Information Source, May 2004 Documentation Provisions of the Real ID Act By Kevin Jernegan Task Force Backgrounder No. 11, November 2005 The Real ID Act seeks to meet the US security imperative to have a reliable system for confirming and individual’s identity, prevent fraud and capitalize on possible gains from information-sharing among law enforcement agencies. However, concerns range from cost issues to the difficulty of constructing safeguards against misuse of the data. Countering Terrorist Mobility: Shaping an Operational Strategy By Susan Ginsburg, formerly counsel for the 9/11 Commission Task Force Report, February 2006 The author provides a blueprint for an integrated strategy to thwart terrorists by focusing on terrorist mobility. She describes the elements of a terrorist mobility strategy that can use leads generated by terrorists’ need to travel to counter their ability to enter, live in, or move within the United States and like-minded countries. Full Report PDF \| Press Release Immigration Enforcement: Beyond the Border and the Workplace By David A. Martin, MPI nonresident fellow and professor of International Law at the University of Virginia Task Force Policy Brief No. 19, July 2006 In addition to effective border and workplace enforcement, other key enforcement improvements are necessary. The government must assure that removal orders are enforced through expansion of the use of fugitive operations teams; wider application of civil and criminal penalties to absconders; more strategic use of detention, including in connection with supervised release programs; and shortening hearing times while preserving due process, including testing the efficiency effects of government-provided counsel through a limited pilot project. Government reforms must also build better protections against fraud into the systems leading to a grant of benefits and mainstream immigration enforcement.
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Worksite Enforcement and Employment Verification
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 The Next Generation of E-Verify: Getting Employment Verification Right By Doris Meissner and Marc R. Rosenblum Effective employment verification must be the linchpin of comprehensive immigration reform legislation if new policies are to succeed in preventing future illegal immigration. While E-Verify, the government's voluntary electronic verification program, has been greatly improved, it most crucially still cannot detect identity fraud and requires further enhancement. This report examines the strengths and weaknesses of the current system and outlines recommendations to get to a stronger next-generation E-Verify, including by testing alternatives such as secure documents, PIN pre-verification, and biometric scanning. Download Report \| Press Release \| Video of briefing Mandatory Verification in the States: A Policy Research Agenda By Michael Fix, Doris Meissner, Randy Capps, Elizabeth Dennison, and Roberto Suro In this report, prepared for US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Office of Policy and Strategy, the authors examine the concept of mandatory employment verification, the devolution of immigration enforcement to state governments in recent years, and the E-Verify system. They sketch a research agenda comprised of employer surveys, case studies, polling, and data analysis to determine employer compliance, population movement, changes in public attitudes, and other issues surrounding mandatory employment verification. Download Report	An Idea Whose Time Has Finally Come? The Case for Employment Verification By Tamar Jacoby, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute Task Force Policy Brief No. 9, November 2005 Although the Immigration Reform and Control Act made it a crime to hire unauthorized immigrants, it failed to give employers the tools they need to determine who is authorized to work and who isn't -- a reliable, automated employment verification system. The author suggests that what is needed is a process not unlike credit-card verification that allows employers to swipe a card at the point of hire and receive a response in real time from the Social Security Administration. Immigration Enforcement at the Worksite: Making it Work By Visiting Scholar Marc R. Rosenblum Task Force Policy Brief No. 6, November 2005 The author lays out six critical reforms necessary to construct a coherent worksite enforcement system, including limits on documents proving identity and work authorization, changes to shift the burden of applicant screening from employers to the government, and more efficient use of employment databases to target non-compliant employers. Eligible to Work?: Experimentations in Verifying Work Authorization By Kevin Jernegan Task Force Insight No. 8, November 2005 The author describes the Basic Pilot program currently in use to verify employees' work eligibility. He notes that the successes and failures of the efforts undertaken to date can inform proposals for future employment authorization and verification initiatives. The Declining Enforcement of Employer Sanctions By Peter Brownell University of California, Berkeley Migration Information Source, September 2005
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Immigration and the US Labor Market
Credential Recognition in the United States for Foreign Professionals Foreign-trained professionals in the United States often encounter significant obstacles on their path to professional practice, among them difficulties in demonstrating the value of their past work experience and qualifications. This report examines the decentralized US credential recognition process, particularly with regards to recertification in the medical and engineering sectors and offers recommendations for improvement. Download Report \| Press Release Immigrants in a Changing Labor Market: Responding to Economic Needs Edited by Michael Fix, Demetrios G. Papademetriou, and Madeleine Sumption This volume, which brings together research by leading economists and labor market specialists, examines the role immigrants play in the U.S. workforce, how they fare in good and bad economic times, and the effects they have on native-born workers and the labor sectors in which they are engaged. The book traces the powerful economic forces at play in today’s globalized world and includes policy prescriptions for making the American immigration system more responsive to labor market needs. Purchase the book \| Press Release Ripe with Change: Evolving Farm Labor Markets in the United States, Mexico, and Central America By Philip Martin and J. Edward Taylor Mexico is in the transitional phase of being both farm labor exporter and importer: serving as the major supplier of hired labor to US farms but increasingly also relying on farm workers from Guatemala. This report examines the labor market dynamics of the region, focusing on changes in the volume and composition of production, the supermarket revolution in Latin America, training and education changes, and more. It assesses the implications of these changes on workers and migration. Download Report Manufacturing in the United States, Mexico, and Central America: Implications for Competitiveness and Migration By Peter A. Creticos and Eleanor Sohnen The manufacturing sector is a significant source of employment for workers from Mexico and Central America's Northern Triangle — with an estimated 17 percent employed in manufacturing in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, and immigrants from these countries making up 8 percent of the US manufacturing workforce. This report examines how aggressive manufacturing-attraction strategies have benefited the economies of Mexico, and to a lesser extent, the Northern Triangle. Yet the achievements of the maquiladora development strategy have masked important flaws that threaten to stymie the promise of even greater economic growth. The report outlines the need for the regional workforce to gain the skills to compete with counterparts in advanced manufacturing regions such as northern Europe and Japan, as well as for credentialing standards, training systems, and outcome measures that are comparable to those in industrialized economies. Download Report 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 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. Read Report \| Watch Video \| Listen to Podcast \| View Powerpoints 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 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 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 Immigration Policy and Less-Skilled Workers in the United States By Harry J. Holzer While broad consensus exists regarding the benefits of highly skilled immigration, the economic role of low-skilled immigrants remains in dispute. In this assessment of the research literature, the author makes an economics-based case for significant reform of the US immigration system. Among his suggestions for a more economically beneficial immigration system: Providing legal pathways for low-skilled workers, allowing less-skilled workers on employment-based visas to switch employers more easily and gain a path to citizenship, and setting employer visa fees at a level sufficient to offset some of the costs that low-skilled immigration imposes. Download Report \| Press Release Migration and Immigrants Two Years after the Financial Collapse: Where Do We Stand? By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption, and Aaron Terrazas with Carola Burkert, Stephen Loyal, and Ruth Ferrero-Turrión Immigrants, particularly men and youth, have been disproportionately hit by the global economic crisis that began in fall 2008 and now confront a reality of dwindling budgets for public services and immigrant integration programs, this report for BBC World Service reveals. The report, which has a particular focus on five North Atlantic countries -- Germany, Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom and United States – finds that the unemployment gap between immigrant and native workers has widened in many places. It offers analysis of a number of trends, including the fact that some immigrant-destination countries that historically have been countries of emigration, such as Ireland, Greece, and Portugal, may be reverting to earlier trends. Download Report \| Press Release Still an Hourglass? Immigrant Workers in Middle-Skilled Jobs By Randy Capps, Michael Fix, and Serena Yi-Ying Lin It has been conventional wisdom that the immigrant workforce is shaped like an hourglass — wide at the top and the bottom but narrow in the middle. In reality, immigrants are more evenly dispersed across the skills spectrum than has been widely recognized. Using an innovative new method of analysis, the authors found that the fastest growth in immigrant employment since 2000 has occurred in middle-skilled jobs. The study, which examines employment in the US workforce and in four key sectors (IT, health care, construction, and hospitality), finds that employment growth for immigrants far outpaced native growth rates between 1990 and 2006 in the total economy and the four industries surveyed. Report in Brief \| Full Report \| Press Release \| Listen/Download Event Audio The Impact of Immigrants in Recession and Economic Expansion By Giovanni Peri There is broad consensus among economists that immigration has a small but positive impact on the average income of Americans over the long term. But far less analysis has been done on the impact of immigrants on the labor market in the shorter term, particularly when viewed through the lens of the recession and its lingering labor market effects. This report finds that immigration unambiguously improves employment, productivity and income but that it also involves some short-term adjustments. These adjustments are more difficult during downturns, further underscoring the need for an immigration system that is more responsive to the economic cycle. Download Report \| Press Release \| Listen/Download Event Audio The Economics and Policy of Illegal Immigration in the United States By Gordon H. Hanson Illegal immigration's overall impact on the US economy is negligible, despite clear benefits for employers and unauthorized immigrants and slightly depressed wages for low-skilled native workers, according to this report by University of California, San Diego Professor of Economics Gordon Hanson for MPI's Labor Markets Initiative. The largest economic gains from illegal immigration flow to unauthorized workers, who see very substantial income hikes after migrating, Hanson says, suggesting that policy changes could increase the positive contribution that low-skilled workers make to the US economy by converting illegal flows to legal ones. Download Report \| Press Release	Legal Immigration Policies for Low-Skilled Foreign Workers The current US legal immigration system includes few visas for low-skilled workers, and employers have relied heavily on an unauthorized workforce in many low-skilled occupations. This issue brief explains the questions that policymakers must grapple with when designing programs for admission of low-skill workers, for temporary as well as permanent entry. The brief focuses in part on the recent agreement by the US Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO regarding admission of future low-skilled workers. Download Brief Tied to the Business Cycle: How Immigrants Fare in Good and Bad Economic Times By Pia M. Orrenius and Madeline Zavodny Immigrants surpassed native-born workers in several key labor market outcomes from the mid-1990s through 2007, recording higher employment and lower jobless rates — but the trend was reversed with the onset of the current recession. The report, which analyzes employment and unemployment patterns over the past 15 years and two recessions, shows that immigrant economic outcomes began deteriorating before the current recession officially began in December 2007, tracing immigrants' declining fortunes largely to the housing bust which began in spring 2006. Download Report \| Press Release Migration and the Global Recession By Michael Fix, Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Jeanne Batalova, Aaron Terrazas, Serena Yi-Ying Lin, and Michelle Mittelstadt The global financial crisis that began in September 2008 can be viewed as having a deeper and more global effect on the movement of people around the world than any other economic downturn in the post-World War II era of migration, finds a new MPI report commissioned by the BBC World Service. The report explores how the recession has affected the movement of some of the world's more than 195 million migrants and their remittances in locations around the globe. It provides data on migration, remittances, employment, and poverty rates for immigrants and the native-born alike; and examines the policy changes some countries have enacted to suppress migrant inflows, encourage departures (including through recent "pay-to-go" plans), and protect labor markets for native-born workers. Download Report \| Press Release Aligning Temporary Immigration Visas with US Labor Market Needs: The Case for Provisional Visas By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Doris Meissner, Marc R. Rosenblum, and Madeleine Sumption Reform of a rigid employment-based visa system that is out of sync with the needs of employers, the US economy, US society, and immigrants alike must be part of effective comprehensive immigration reform legislation. In this report, MPI recommends creation of a new stream of visas known as provisional visas, which would bridge temporary and permanent admissions to the United States for work purposes in a predictable and transparent way. The authors make the case that the concept hits the sweet spot in balancing the two main goals of labor market immigration policy: It supports economic growth and competitiveness while protecting the wages and interests of US workers; and it facilitates the social and economic integration of immigrants. Download Report \| Press Release Harnessing the Advantages of Immigration for a 21st-Century Economy By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Doris Meissner, Marc R. Rosenblum, and Madeleine Sumption The US immigration system neither meets labor market needs efficiently nor minds the interests of US workers with particular success, and has yet to devise a way that uses immigration to promote US economic growth and competitiveness well. This paper proposes an institutional solution to address this systemic failure: Creating a permanent and independent body, situated within the executive branch, that is charged with recommending adjustments to immigration laws to the president and Congress: the Standing Commission on Labor Markets, Economic Competitiveness, and Immigration. The bipartisan panel would provide timely, evidence-based, and impartial analysis and recommendations to the president and Congress regarding employment-based immigration. Download Report \| Press Release Immigrants and the Current Economic Crisis By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Aaron Terrazas As the nation sinks into a recession that may be the worst since the Great Depression, the economic crisis raises fundamental questions about future immigration flows to and from the United States and how current and prospective immigrants will fare. This report, a research product of MPI's new Labor Markets Initiative, examines how the number of immigrants has changed since the recession began; how legal and illegal immigration flows may change; and how immigrants fare in the labor market during downturns. Download Report \| Press Release More on the Labor Markets Initiative here Uneven Progress: The Employment Pathways of Skilled Immigrants in the United States By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix with Peter A. Creticos More than 1.3 million college-educated immigrants in the United States are unemployed or working in unskilled jobs because they are unable to make full use of their academic and professional credentials, MPI reports in the first assessment yet of the scope of the "brain waste" problem. The report analyzes and offers possible solutions for the credentialing and language-barrier hurdles that deprive the US economy of a rich source of human capital at a time of increasing competition globally for skilled talent. College-Educated Immigrant Workers in the United States By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix February 2008 Trends in the Low-Wage Immigrant Workforce By Randy Capps, Karina Fortuny, and Michael Fix Urban Institute, March 2007 In 2005, immigrants overall represented more than a fifth of low-wage workers and almost half of workers without a high school education. This report describes recent trends in the immigrant labor force and their implications for the US economy. US Employment-Based Admissions: Permanent and Temporary By Susan Martin, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University Task Force Policy Brief No. 15, January 2006 The pros and cons of existing temporary worker programs in the United States include giving employers a chance to test employees for their contributions to society and the economy, but in some cases, making temporary workers vulnerable to exploitation because they are dependent on specific employers or jobs for their legal status. The Growing Connection Between Temporary and Permanent Immigration Systems By Jeanne Batalova Task Force Insight No. 14, January 2006 The distinction between temporary and permanent migration, clearly demarcated in past decades, has become increasingly blurred. A new immigrant admissions system has emerged that is neith temporary nor permanent, but rather a transitional system that allows visa holders to prove their worth to employers and the broader economy. Immigrants and US Labor Unions By Elizabeth Grieco Fact Sheet, May 2004 Temporary Worker Programs: A Patchwork Policy Response By Deborah W. Meyers Task Force Insight No. 12, January 2006 In fiscal year 2004, the volume of admissions to the United States for temporary workers, trainees, and their dependants reached nearly 1.5 million people. Within these employment-based visa categories, temporary workers have dramatic variations of stay that range from three months to ten years, and many are transitioning to the permanent system. What Kind of Work Do Immigrants Do? Occupation and Industry of Foreign-Born Workers in the United States By Elizabeth Grieco Fact Sheet, January 2004 View Graphs US Temporary Worker Programs: Lessons Learned By Doris Meissner Migration Information Source, March 2004
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Immigrant Integration
The Economic Value of Citizenship for Immigrants in the United States By Madeleine Sumption and Sarah Flamm Beyond imparting political and social rights, naturalization appears to confer economic gains for immigrants in the United States, with a wage premium of at least 5 percent – even after accounting for the fact that naturalized immigrants have higher levels of education, better language skills, and more work experience in the United States than noncitizens. More than 8 million legal immigrants in the United States are eligible to apply for citizenship but have not done so. Naturalization rates in the United States are lower than most other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, the report notes. Download Report \| Press Release 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 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 Protection through Integration: The Mexican Government's Efforts to Aid Migrants in the United States By Laureen Laglagaron Immigrant integration remains largely an afterthought in US immigration policy discussions and the country's integration policies remain chronically underfunded and limited in scope. Local and informal actors such as families and community-based organizations have historically taken on this responsibility. However, as this report explores, new partners are emerging. Mexico's efforts to help its migrants succeed in the United States offer a new example of an immigrant-sending country looking to improve its emigrants' lives and connect with its diaspora. The report examines the evolution of Mexico's approach to its migrants and details the activities of Mexico's Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME) in a first-ever attempt to map the expanding range of IME educational, health care, financial, and civic engagement programs. Download Report \| Press Release \| Listen/Download Event Audio Gambling on the Future: Managing the Education Challenges of Rapid Growth in Nevada By Aaron Terrazas and Michael Fix Nevada, the fastest growing state in the United States, is experiencing a population boom – driven in part by immigration – that has key implications for its school system and labor market. Immigrants represent one in five Nevada residents and their children account for one in three Nevadans under age 18. Yet even as schools have experienced a surge in enrollment, federal and state investments in the state's failing education system haven't kept pace. Download Report \| Press Release Los Angeles on the Leading Edge: Immigrant Integration Indicators and Their Policy Implications By Michael Fix, Margie McHugh, Aaron Matteo Terrazas, and Laureen Laglagaron April 2008 As Los Angeles makes the transition from being a city of immigrants to one dominated by their US-born children, it can serve as a policy laboratory for other cities facing the need to better integrate immigrants into US classrooms, workplaces, and civic life. MPI’s report details the imperative for integration policies that will benefit immigrants and the broader US society alike. Download Report \| Press Release	Measures of Change: The Demography and Literacy of Adolescent English Learners By Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix, and Julie Murray March 2007 This new report provides a demographic profile of students in grades 6-12 who are English Language Learners (ELLs) and focuses on how these students are faring on standardized tests at the national level and in four states: California, Colorado, Illinois, and North Carolina. The authors find wide achievement gaps between ELL and other students at both national and state levels -- a finding with worrying implications for schools trying to meet requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act. Press Release \| Download the Report Immigration Fee Increases in Context By Julia Gelatt and Margie McHugh Fact Sheet No. 15, February 2007 US Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced plans for an 80 percent increase in naturalization application fees. The fact sheet details the increased fees' implications for US immigrants and provides background on USCIS' call for higher fees. Migration Information Source SPECIAL ISSUE ON INTEGRATION October 2003 Articles include: Policy Considerations for Immigrant Integration Demetrios G. Papademetriou maps out the policy issues involved in balancing the interests of immigrants with those of the host society during the process of integration. Leaving Too Much to Chance: A Roundtable on Immigrant Integration Policy By Michael Fix, Demetrios G. Papademetriou, and Betsy Cooper November 2005 Fifty of the nation's leading experts gathered at MPI to discuss three critical areas of integration policy: PreK - 12 education; work and work supports for immigrant families; and civic engagement and citizenship, with the aim of identifying major policy changes and opportunities and to begin mapping an agenda for policy change regarding immigrant integration. The New Demography of America's Schools By Randolph Capps, Michael Fix, Julie Murray, Jason Ost, Jeffrey S. Passel, and Shinta Hirontoro Urban Institute, September 2005 Immigrant Children, Urban Schools, and the No Child Left Behind Act By Michael Fix, Migration Policy Institute Randy Capps, The Urban Institute Migration Information Source, November 1, 2005 Building the New American Community Initiative A unique pilot project conducted in America's small and medium-sized cities shows that broad-based community coalitions can proactively integrate the newcomers who are increasingly transforming Main St., USA. In the first project of its kind, a consortium of leading organizations in three mid-sized metropolitan areas undertook inclusive community-building. The project's final report contains valuable findings for policymakers, funders and organizations collectively approaching the challenge of helping newcomers adapt to their new communities and local communities welcome newcomers. Full Report \| Executive Summary Local Integration: The Forgotten Solution Karen Jacobsen of Tufts University examines local integration as an alternative to "warehousing" refugees in camps. The Challenges of Integration for the EU The EU can use several unique levers to promote integration policy, according to Sarah Spencer of the University of Oxford. The Role of Cities in Immigrant Integration Brian Ray takes an in-depth look at the importance of cities in the process of immigrant integration. Immigrants and Homeownership in Urban America: An Examination of Nativity, Socio-economic Status and Place By Brian Ray, Demetrios Papademetriou and Maia Jachimowicz April 2004 This study focuses on the top 100 US metropolitan areas where immigrants live. The authors find key factors that influence homeownership among immigrants include availability of affordable housing, length of residence in the country, and English proficiency. While noting that immigrants are far from a homogenous group, the authors identify strategies that may increase immigrants' chances for homeownership.
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US-Mexico Migration Relationship
Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration and Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America This final report by the Regional Migration Study Group outlines the powerful demographic, economic, and social forces reshaping Mexico and much of Central America and changing longstanding migration dynamics with the United States. The Study Group, co-chaired by former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, former US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, and former Guatemalan Vice President and Foreign Minister Eduardo Stein, offers a forward-looking, pragmatic agenda for the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras - focusing on new collaborative approaches on migration and human-capital development to strengthen regional competitiveness. Download Report \| Study Group Home \| Press Release \| Aviso de Prensa Mexican Migration to the United States: Underlying Economic Factors and Possible Scenarios for Future Flows By Daniel Chiquiar and Alejandrina Salcedo The recent history of Mexican migration to the United States is one marked by high flows during the 1990s that reached a peak in 2000 and then dropped, plummeting sharply with softening of the US construction sector in 2007 and onset of the recession the following year. What will migration from Mexico to the United States look like in the future? This report by two economists examines economic factors that have influenced contemporary flows and offers scenarios on how such flows could evolve over the next several years. Download Report \| Spanish-Language Brief Strengthening Health Systems in North and Central America: What Role for Migration? By Allison Squires and Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez International nurse migration is a multibillion-dollar global phenomenon. Historically, Mexicans and Central Americans have not played a significant part in the migration of nurses to the United States. This report examines the health care sector in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the United States, reviewing their health care systems, demand for services, epidemiological profiles, and demographics. Using migration to meet health care demand is complex; it does, however, hold the potential for benefits to health care systems, economies, and patient outcomes. Download Report \| Spanish-Language Brief Crime and Violence in Mexico and Central America: An Evolving but Incomplete US Policy Response By Andrew Selee, Cynthia J. Arnson, and Eric L. Olson Amid dramatic increases in crime and violence in Mexico and Central America, the US government has significantly increased its attention to public security issues in the region since 2007, with the Merida Initiative and the Central American Regional Security Initiative. The US policy response has been hampered to an extent, however, by US and regional obstacles. The authors suggest the policy emphasis has begun to shift in important ways, with more attention paid to addressing the citizen security crisis — a move away from the earlier near-total focus on combating drug trafficking and transnational crime. Download Report New Approaches to Migration Management in Mexico and Central America By Francisco Alba and Manuel Ángel Castillo Migration has emerged as a critical policy issue for Mexico and Central America during the past three decades. This report traces the history of migration and transmigration trends and policy in Mexico and Central America, and examines Mexico’s sweeping 2011 immigration law and implementation challenges. Download Report 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 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 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. Download Report \| Press Release Obstacles and Opportunities for Regional Cooperation: The US-Mexico Case By Marc R. Rosenblum US-Mexico relations on migration, dating back to the 1890s, have gone through several distinct phases: from an era of laissez faire policies to the Bracero Program, from a more unilateral US policy approach to Mexico’s “policy of no policy” stance, and to the current post-9/11 enforcement focus. This report traces the evolution of bilateral migration relations and offers some lessons for the US-Mexico relationship going forward. The history suggests that cooperation, while difficult, is not impossible and can offer benefits for both countries. Download Report	Migration Information Source SPECIAL ISSUE ON US-MEXICO MIGRATION March 2004 Articles include: The Mexico Factor in US Immigration Reform Demetrios G. Papademetriou maps out the historic challenges and opportunities in US-Mexico relations in the wake of President Bush's immigration reform proposal. From Traitors to Heroes: 100 Years of Mexican Migration Policies Jorge Durand of the University of Guadalajara examines Mexico's long history of and ambivalent attitude toward migration to the US. Mexico-US Migration: A Long Way to Go Mexican negotiators seek shared responsibility for US-Mexico migration issues, according to Gustavo Mohar, former chief negotiator for migration affairs at the Mexican Embassy in the US. Mexican Immigration to the US: The Latest Estimates Jeffrey Passel of the Urban Institute provides a context for understanding the presence of roughly 5.3 million unauthorized Mexican immigrants in the United States. Mexico Country Resource Page Migration Information Source Does 'Smarter' Lead to Safer? An Assessment of the Border Accords with Canada and Mexico By Deborah Waller Meyers Insight No. 2, June 2003 PDF Version United States-Canada-Mexico Trade and Migration By Megan Davy and Deborah Meyers Fact Sheet No. 11, October 2005 Fact Sheet \| Press Release The Shifting Expectations of Free Trade and Migration By Demetrios Papademetriou NAFTA's Promise and Reality: Lessons from Mexico for the Hemisphere Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2003 A 10-year anniversary look at how economic and social forces eclipsed NAFTA's potential to curb illegal immigration, published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Security at US Borders: A Move Away from Unilateralism? By Deborah W. Meyers Migration Information Source, August 2003 The US-Mexico Immigration Relationship: Operating in a New Context Co-authored with Demetrios Papademetriou Foreign Affairs en Español, Spring 2002 (Read in Spanish) The US-Mexico Border By MPI Staff Migration Information Source, June 1, 2006 An updated guide to regional population numbers, border crossings, border enforcement, and the economic ties between the United States and Mexico
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