North America

Canada

Mexico

North America is a dynamic migration region, with the United States home to more immigrants than any other country in the world, the Mexico-U.S. corridor the globe's top migration corridor, and Canada a leading destination for migrants. Research collected here focuses on everything from visa policy and border management to immigrant integration, national identity, the demographics of immigrants in the region and their educational and workforce outcomes, and ways to more effectively use migration policy as a lever for national and regional competitiveness.

Graphic image of man's hand touching screen with word skills

Commentaries

Canada's New Tech Talent Strategy Takes Aim at High-Skilled Immigrants in the United States

Canada’s Tech Talent Strategy is highly unusual for its explicit targeting of visa holders in another country. Opening a dedicated stream specifically for high-skilled immigrants in the United States who hold an H-1B visa is the latest salvo in a growing global competition for talent—one in which some countries are racing ahead of the United States in terms of policy dynamism, as this commentary explores.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other leaders at the 2022 Summit of the Americas

Commentaries

The Los Angeles Declaration Could Represent a Big Step for Real Migration Cooperation across the Americas

The Los Angeles Agreement on Migration and Protection signed by leaders from 20 countries across the Western Hemisphere at the 2022 Summit of the Americas marks a significant step forward in creating a common language and a coherent set of ideas for more cooperatively managing migration movements across a region that has seen very significant mobility in recent years, as this commentary explains.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs May 2018 A Guide to Finding and Understanding English Learner Data By Julie Sugarman	Articles May 30, 2018 In Search of Safety, Growing Numbers of Women Flee Central America By Jeffrey Hallock, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, and Michael Fix
Articles May 24, 2018 Family Separation and “Zero-Tolerance” Policies Rolled Out to Stem Unwanted Migrants, But May Face Challenges By Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter	Articles May 9, 2018 International Students in the United States By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova
Multimedia May 8, 2018 The Changing Landscape of Interior Immigration Enforcement Under Trump	Articles May 2, 2018 Profiting from Enforcement: The Role of Private Prisons in U.S. Immigration Detention By Livia Luan
Reports May 2018 Revving Up the Deportation Machinery: Enforcement under Trump and the Pushback By Randy Capps, Muzaffar Chishti, Julia Gelatt, Jessica Bolter and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto	Articles April 25, 2018 National Guard Heads to Southern Border Amid Differing Reality from Earlier Deployments By Muzaffar Chishti, Sarah Pierce, and Austin Rose

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Fact Sheets October 2005 United States-Canada-Mexico Fact Sheet on Trade and Migration By Deborah W. Meyers	Reports September 2005 Education and Immigrant Integration in the United States and Canada By Philippa Strum and David Biette
Policy Briefs September 2005 Reflections on Restoring Integrity to the United States Immigration System: A Personal Vision By Demetrios G. Papademetriou	Reports September 2005 The New Demography of America's Schools By Randy Capps, Michael Fix, Julie Murray and Jeffrey S. Passel
Reports August 2005 Secure Borders, Open Doors: Visa Procedures in the Post-September 11 Era By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Betsy Cooper and Stephen Yale-Loehr	Policy Briefs August 2005 Lessons From The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 By Betsy Cooper and Kevin O'Neil
Reports June 2005 One Face at The Border: Behind the Slogan By Deborah W. Meyers	Reports June 2005 Real Challenges for Virtual Borders: The Implementation of US-VISIT By Rey Koslowski

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Policy Beat

September 12, 2013

State Access to Federal Immigration Data Stirs New Controversy in Debate over Voting Rights

Iowa has just become the third state to gain access to federal SAVE immigration data for the purpose of removing noncitizens from its voter lists. This practice, which signifies a major departure from the system's intended purposes, comes amid renewed focus over voting rights. This article explores the recent surge in state activism regarding the possibility of noncitizen voting and also examines the current leadership vacuum in the Department of Homeland Security, new guidance for immigration benefits for same-sex couples, and more.

Feature

September 4, 2013

Integrating Immigrant Youth: Transatlantic Perspectives

This article examines common challenges and factors influencing the development of local labor-market integration initiatives targeting immigrant youth, based on four city case studies conducted in the United States and the European Union.

Spotlight

August 21, 2013

Indian Immigrants in the United States

In 2011, India was the third largest country of origin for immigrants in the United States, after Mexico and China. The close to 1.9 million Indian immigrants in the United States accounted for almost 5 percent of the country’s total foreign-born population of 40.4 million. This article examines the latest data on Indian immigrants in the United States, including population size, geographic distribution, admission categories, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

Spotlight

July 25, 2013

Limited English Proficient Population of the United States in 2011

In 2011, there were 25.3 million Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals residing in the United States, or roughly 9 percent of the nation's population ages 5 and older. Although most LEP individuals were foreign born, nearly one-fifth of this population was native born, about three-quarters of whom were children ages 5 to 17. This article provides a demographic and socioeconomic profile of LEP individuals residing in the United States, including the population's size, geographic distribution, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

Policy Beat

July 3, 2013

Now that the Senate Has Passed Landmark Immigration Legislation, All Eyes Are on the House

On June 27, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to overhaul the U.S. immigration system on a scale not seen in decades. Despite this major breakthrough, it is clear that immigration reform faces an uphill battle in the House of Representatives, where the dynamics are much different than in the Senate. This article assesses the prospects for immigration reform in the House, explores provisions of the Senate bill, the implications for U.S. immigration policy of the Supreme Court's recent ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act, and more.

Recent Activity

Video, Audio

February 27, 2014

A Treacherous Journey: Child Migrants Navigating the U.S. Immigration System

This panel discussion on unaccompanied minors focuses on a report by Kids in Need of Defense and the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies at UC Hastings College of the Law, whose primary conclusion is that children face a U.S. immigration system created for adults that is not required to consider the child’s best interests.

Video, Audio

February 19, 2014

A Transatlantic Conversation: Managing Migration in the Era of Mobility

This discussion explores how the 2014 Greek Presidency of the European Union and the United States can work to address the challenges of managing migration while meeting humanitarian obligations and nurturing economic growth.

Articles

February 13, 2014

Republican Congressional Leaders Shelve Immigration Reform for 2014

The small window for enactment of a major U.S. immigration overhaul during 2014 seems to have closed. A trial balloon testing House Republicans’ willingness to proceed this year was quickly floated and dropped. Amid a focus on politics and timing, less noted was the reality that for the first time, House Republican leaders have affirmed support for a policy that would move the party closer to compromise over the most vexing question holding up immigration reform: what to do with the nation’s unauthorized immigrants.

Video, Audio

February 7, 2014

Managing Borders in North America: Charting the Future

This panel discussion offers perspectives on border policy management from leading officials in the Canadian, Mexican, and U.S. governments, and showcases the MPI book, "Managing Borders in an Increasingly Borderless World."

Video

February 5, 2014

Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally- A presentation in Guatemala on the Regional Migration Study Group

During this public briefing in Guatemala City (conducted in both English and Spanish), the Co-Directors of the Migration Policy Institute-convened Regional Migration Study Group, MPI President Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Senior Fellow Doris Meissner, presented the Study Group’s final report, Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration and Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America.

Articles

February 3, 2014

Refugees and Asylees in the United States

In 2012, the United States granted humanitarian protection to more than 87,000 people, with grants of asylum up 19 percent and refugee admissions up 3 percent from a year earlier. This article provides a detailed look at the most recent refugee and asylum data in the United States, including country of origin, top states of settlement, and more.

Articles

January 9, 2014

U.S. Immigration Reform Didn't Happen in 2013; Will 2014 Be the Year?

While some argue that the clock has run out on immigration reform in the 113th Congress, which runs through 2014, others counter that the finish line remains in sight.

Policy Briefs

January 2014

IRCA in Retrospect: Guideposts for Today’s Immigration Reform

This policy brief traces the successes and failures of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which represented the first and most comprehensive legislation to take on the issue of illegal immigration to the United States. The brief makes the case that IRCA's major flaws were rooted in statutory design more than regulatory challenges and implementation by the administrative agencies.

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