E.g., 04/16/2024
E.g., 04/16/2024
North America

North America

United States
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

ShrimpProcessing PaulGoyette Flickr
Articles
April 23, 2015
Recent Court Decisions Put a Sharp Spotlight on U.S. H-2B Temporary Worker Visa Program
By Muzaffar Chishti, Faye Hipsman, and Sarah Pierce
EVENTPH 2014.17 The New National Integration Plan Cecilia Munoz
Multimedia
April 17, 2015
The New National Integration Plan: Making the Most of a Historic Opportunity
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Reports
April 2015
Unaccompanied Child Migration to the United States: The Tension between Protection and Prevention
By  Marc R. Rosenblum
90milestoCuba dragonflyajt Flickr
Articles
April 7, 2015
Cuban Immigrants in the United States
By Sylvia Rusin, Jie Zong, and Jeanne Batalova
EventPH 2015.3.31 Unaccompanied Child Migration to the United States Flickr CBP Processing Unaccompanied Children
Multimedia
March 31, 2015
Child and Family Migration to the United States: Continuing Flows and Evolving Responses
EventPH 2015.3.18 Cross Cutting Needs and Opportunities flickrNewYorkPublicLibrary
Multimedia
March 18, 2015
Cross-Cutting Needs and Opportunities: Language Access, Funding, Multi-Level Partnerships, and Planning for the Long Term
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Articles
March 20, 2015
Immigrant Women in the United States in 2013
By Ariel G. Ruiz, Jie Zong, and Jeanne Batalova
EventPH 2015.3.12 Integration Challenges and Opportunities in the Economic Development and Refugee Resettlement Arenas NDC Ashama
Multimedia
March 12, 2015
Integration Challenges and Opportunities in the Economic Development and Refugee Resettlement Arenas

Pages

Spotlight
February 10, 2009
African Immigrants in the United States in 2007

The 1.4 million African immigrants residing in the United States in 2007 accounted for 3.7 percent of all U.S. immigrants. MPI's Aaron Terrazas examines their socioeconomic characteristics, where they live, and the category of admission of the African-born immigrant population.

Policy Beat
January 15, 2009
Impending Deadlines on a Number of Immigration Decisions Await Obama

MPI's Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron report on immigration policy decisions facing the Obama administration, permanent residence for trafficking victims, US-VISIT's extension to U.S. permanent residents, and more.

Spotlight
January 5, 2009
Korean Immigrants in the United States in 2007

The 1.0 million Korean immigrants residing in the United States in 2007 accounted for 2.7 percent of all U.S. immigrants. MPI's Aaron Terrazas examines their socioeconomic characteristics, where they live, and the size of the Korean-born unauthorized population.

Policy Beat
December 15, 2008
Obama's Homeland Security Selection Viewed as Focused on Immigration

MPI's Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron report on Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano's nomination to head homeland security, changes to the H-2A program, suspension of a refugee family-reunification program, and more.

Top Ten
December 4, 2008
The Recession-Proof Race for Highly Skilled Migrants

Gloomy economic forecasts do not seem to have slowed the hunt for highly skilled migrants or foreign students — the best near-term solution to fill shortages and enhance competitiveness.

Pages

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Recent Activity

Articles
April 23, 2015

Recent Court Decisions Put a Sharp Spotlight on U.S. H-2B Temporary Worker Visa Program

The H-2B visa allows U.S. employers to bring in foreign workers to temporarily fill low-skill nonagricultural jobs across a wide range of states and industries. A series of recent legal challenges has exposed the presence of fraud and abuse, while stripping the program of its regulations and raising uncertainty about its future. This Policy Beat examines the implications in the debate surrounding temporary worker programs.
Video, Audio
April 17, 2015

The New National Integration Plan: Making the Most of a Historic Opportunity

A discussion with the Director of The White House Domestic Policy Council on the content of the new National Integration Plan delivered to the President by the recently created White House Task Force on New Americans, along with the plan for implementation.

Reports
April 2015

Unaccompanied Child Migration to the United States: The Tension between Protection and Prevention

Policymakers, the public, and the media were seemingly caught off-guard in spring 2014 when a surge of child migrants from Central America reached the U.S.-Mexico border in unprecedented numbers. Yet the uptick began in 2011. This report examines the causes of this surge and recommends policy solutions to advance both critical protection and enforcement goals in situations of complex, mixed flows.

Articles
April 7, 2015

Cuban Immigrants in the United States

Cuban immigrants are afforded a special place in U.S. immigration law, with most able to gain permanent residency after one year in the country. Following a history of surges in maritime migration, more than 1.1 million Cuban immigrants resided in the United States in 2013, accounting for about 3 percent of the total foreign-born population. This article explores key characteristics of Cubans in the United States, including educational attainment, income, and more.

Video, Audio, Webinars
March 31, 2015

Child and Family Migration to the United States: Continuing Flows and Evolving Responses

A webinar examining the shifting pattern of Central American child and family migration between 2011 and 2014 and expectations for 2015, the policy challenges presented by the rising inflow, and how states, localities, the U.S. government, and other countries in the region are responding to this recent trend.

Video, Audio, Webinars
March 18, 2015

Cross-Cutting Needs and Opportunities: Language Access, Funding, Multi-Level Partnerships, and Planning for the Long Term

Part of a series exploring issues likely to be addressed by the new National Integration Plan, this webinar, with perspectives from the cities of New York and Seattle and others examines possible recommendations on federal coordination of local government immigrant integration initiatives, including language access. 

Articles
March 20, 2015

Immigrant Women in the United States in 2013

Immigrant women constitute a varied and dynamic population in the United States with 51 percent or 21.2 million of the country's total foreign-born population. Examining key gender-based socioeconomic indicators from origin and fertility to educational attainment and immigration status, this Spotlight raises implications for sending and receiving countries, with respect to labor opportunities, family structure, gender roles, and more.

Video, Audio, Webinars
March 12, 2015

Integration Challenges and Opportunities in the Economic Development and Refugee Resettlement Arenas

This webinar, with perspectives from MPI, the WE Global Network, and Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service, examines the role of economic development initiatives and refugee resettlement programs/infrastructure in immigrant integration.

Pages