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

Reports February 2020 Bienvenidas asimétricas: Respuestas de América Latina y el Caribe a la migración venezolana y nicaragüense By Andrew Selee and Jessica Bolter	Articles February 5, 2020 Ally or Exploiter? The Smuggler-Migrant Relationship Is a Complex One By Jasper Gilardi
Reports February 2020 An Uneven Welcome: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration By Andrew Selee and Jessica Bolter	Articles January 29, 2020 Despite Trump Invitation to Stop Taking Refugees, Red and Blue States Alike Endorse Resettlement By Muzaffar Chishti and Sarah Pierce
Multimedia January 23, 2020 Employment Services for Refugees: Leveraging Mainstream U.S. Systems and Funding	Articles January 15, 2020 Chinese Immigrants in the United States By Carlos Echeverria-Estrada and Jeanne Batalova
Reports January 2020 Rebuilding Community after Crisis: Striking a New Social Contract for Diverse Societies (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Meghan Benton	Reports January 2020 Beyond Work: Reducing Social Isolation for Refugee Women and Other Marginalized Newcomers By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan

Pages

Reports September 2011 Climate Change and Migration Dynamics By Kathleen Newland	Reports August 2011 U.S. Immigration Policy and Mexican/Central American Migration Flows: Then and Now By Marc R. Rosenblum and Kate Brick
Fact Sheets August 2011 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	Reports August 2011 U.S. Immigration Policy since 9/11: Understanding the Stalemate over Comprehensive Immigration Reform By Marc R. Rosenblum
Reports July 2011 Scientists, Managers, and Tourists: The Changing Shape of European Mobility to the United States By Xiaochu Hu and Madeleine Sumption	Reports July 2011 The Economic Integration of Immigrants in the United States: Long- and Short-Term Perspectives By Aaron Terrazas
Reports July 2011 Labor Standards Enforcement and Low-Wage Immigrants: Creating an Effective Enforcement System By Donald M. Kerwin and Kristen McCabe	Books June 2011 Migration and the Great Recession: The Transatlantic Experience

Pages

Policy Beat

December 1, 2016

Despite Hard-Line Immigration Campaign Pledges, Trump Policy Remains in Flux

Donald Trump has made a series of postelection statements suggesting he may backtrack on several campaign pledges on immigration, including building a wall across the entire U.S.-Mexico border and deporting all 11 million unauthorized immigrants. Still, his choice of top advisors points to a hard-line agenda. This Policy Beat article examines what some of the better known elements of Trump's immigration policy might look like.

Feature

November 16, 2016

The Impact of Mexican Maternal Migration on Children’s Future Ambitions

While Mexican women account for a significant share of migration flows to the United States, there has been little focus on their movement and effects on children in Mexico. This article, based on survey data of children in Puebla, Mexico, explores the impact of maternal Mexican migration on educational experiences and aspirations of the children left behind.

Students and Reading _JMH5036 (1) US Dept of Ed Flickr

Spotlight

November 11, 2016

Language Diversity and English Proficiency in the United States

Although the number of U.S. residents who speak a language other than English has grown in recent decades, the share of those who are Limited English Proficient (LEP) has fallen: 40 percent in 2015, compared to 44 percent in 1980—even as immigration rose rapidly. This article examines growing linguistic diversity in the country and sketches a profile of the LEP population, including size, location, and socioeconomic characteristics.

Feature

November 3, 2016

Stepping into the Vacuum: State and Cities Act on Immigration, But Do Restrictions Work?

Over the past decade, state and local policymakers have increasingly stepped into the void left by Washington over legislative reform of the immigration system and have enacted their own policies, particularly in regard to illegal immigration. This article explores this trend of increased activism and examines whether restrictive state immigration laws have had an effect on the size of immigrant populations at the state level.

Policy Beat

October 26, 2016

United States Abandons its Harder Line on Haitian Migrants in the Face of Latest Natural Disaster

In the wake of a hurricane that has once again devastated Haiti, the United States quickly reversed its toughened policy toward the thousands of Haitian nationals arriving at the California-Mexico border without prior authorization. This Policy Beat examines the shifts in U.S. admission and deportation policy toward Haitian migrants since the 2010 earthquake, and other national and state developments on immigration.

Pages

Video, Audio

January 31, 2011

Delegation and Divergence: 287(g) State and Local Immigration Enforcement

287(g) programs have surged into the public consciousness in recent years. Now operating in 72 jurisdictions, the 287(g) program authorizes state and local law enforcement officers to screen people for immigration status, issue detainers to hold unauthorized immigrants on immigration violations, and begin the process of their removal from the United States.

Video, Audio

January 13, 2011

Does Low-Skilled Immigration Hurt the U.S. Economy? Assessing the Evidence

In a report by MPI's Labor Markets Initiative, noted economist and Georgetown University Public Policy Institute Professor Harry J. Holzer examines the economic reasoning and research on these questions and looks at the policy options that shape the impact of less-skilled immigration on the economy. The discussion is on what policy reform would best serve native-born American workers, consumers, and employers, as well as the overall U.S. economy.

Video

November 30, 2010

Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy

Over the past year, MPI has partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to examine how diasporas contribute to – or detract from - development efforts in their countries of origin. MPI and USAID have published an edited volume of the research. Please join us for the release of the book where speakers will discuss new thinking on the role of diaspora engagement in U.S. foreign and development policy.

Video, Audio

October 14, 2010

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin Discusses His Vision for CBP

CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin details his agenda for his agency and discusses border enforcement, the Secure Border Initiative, drug trafficking, and other topics in this wide-ranging conversation with MPI Senior Fellow Doris Meissner.

Video, Audio

September 20, 2010

Still an Hourglass?: Immigrant Workers in Middle-Skilled Jobs

This important MPI report challenges the conventional wisdom about the immigrant workforce, using a sophisticated new method of analysis that permits deeper examination of how workers – immigrant and native-born – fare by economic sector, the skill level of their jobs, and educational attainment.

Recent Activity

Reports

February 2020

Bienvenidas asimétricas: Respuestas de América Latina y el Caribe a la migración venezolana y nicaragüense

El gran desplazamiento forzado de personas en Venezuela y Nicaragua está transformando el panorama migratorio en gran parte de América Latina y el Caribe. Este informe examina las respuestas de las políticas de inmigración e integración de once países, incluyendo vías de regularización y medidas para integrar a los recién llegados en las escuelas y mercados laborales. Este informe acompaña el lanzamiento de un Portal Sobre Migración que ofrece investigación y análisis actualizados sobre tendencias y políticas de inmigración en la región.

Articles

February 5, 2020

Ally or Exploiter? The Smuggler-Migrant Relationship Is a Complex One

As highly industrialized countries ramp up their border controls, human smugglers are playing a central role in moving migrants through key migration corridors around the world. Despite the illicit nature of their work and being cast as villains in the public eye, smugglers have complex, multifaceted relationships with their clients. At times, the relationship can be mutually beneficial or even lifesaving; at others, it can be predatory and dangerous, as this article explores.

Reports

February 2020

An Uneven Welcome: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration

Large-scale displacement from Venezuela and Nicaragua is reshaping the migration landscape in much of Latin America and the Caribbean. This report, accompanied by the launch of a new Migration Portal offering research and analysis on the region, examines the immigration and integration policy responses of 11 countries, including pathways to legal status and measures to integrate newcomers into schools, health-care systems, and labor markets.

Articles

January 29, 2020

Despite Trump Invitation to Stop Taking Refugees, Red and Blue States Alike Endorse Resettlement

Forty-two governors, Republican and Democrat alike, have affirmed their consent for continued refugee resettlement, bypassing an invitation from the Trump administration to stop accepting refugees. These actions, which reportedly surprised the White House, suggest there may be limits to the Trump immigration agenda when it comes to refugees, as this Policy Beat explores.

Video, Audio, Webinars

January 23, 2020

Employment Services for Refugees: Leveraging Mainstream U.S. Systems and Funding

On this webinar, experts and state refugee resettlement program leaders discuss activities that can be key parts of a broader strategy for sustaining and improving employment services for refugees, including partnerships with experts in workforce development strategies, access to federal workforce development funding, and other policies and resources.

Articles

January 15, 2020

Chinese Immigrants in the United States

Nearly 2.5 million Chinese immigrants lived in the United States in 2018—the third largest foreign-born population in the country. Chinese immigration has grown nearly seven-fold since 1980, and China became the top sending country of immigrants in the United States in 2018, replacing Mexico. Chinese immigrants tend to be highly educated and employed in management positions, as this Spotlight article explores.

Reports

January 2020

Rebuilding Community after Crisis: Striking a New Social Contract for Diverse Societies (Transatlantic Council Statement)

Addressing the deep-rooted integration challenges unearthed by large-scale migration and rapid social change will require a combination of strategies. Governments in Europe and North America must create a new social contract for increasingly diverse societies that are confronting cycles of disruption. This report sketches a blueprint for an adaptive process oriented by skill needs rather than national origins.

Reports

January 2020

Beyond Work: Reducing Social Isolation for Refugee Women and Other Marginalized Newcomers

As migrant- and refugee-receiving countries in Europe, North America, and beyond prioritize services that are focused on employment, language instruction, and civic integration, newcomers who are not in the workplace are at high risk for social isolation. As a result, societies should reconsider what successful integration looks like for vulnerable newcomers who will never find traditional employment or who need a longer-than-average timeline to get there.

Programs

Topics see all >

Regions see all >

Data

Featured Publication

Programs

You are here

North America

Recent Activity

Pages

Pages

Pages

Pages

Recent Activity

Pages