E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
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

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Multimedia
May 23, 2012
The Role of National Governments in Promoting Immigrant Integration
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Articles
May 16, 2012
Long-Term Impact of the Supreme Court Ruling on Key Provision of Arizona's SB 1070 May Hinge on Political Calculus
By Muzaffar Chishti, Faye Hipsman, Claire Bergeron
Articles
May 9, 2012
Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States and Europe: The Use of Legalization/Regularization as a Policy Tool
By Donald Kerwin, Kate Brick, Rebecca Kilberg
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Multimedia
May 8, 2012
Federal Update: A Conversation on Language Access with the U.S. Department of Justice
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Reports
May 2012
Profile of Immigrants in Napa County
By  Randy Capps, Kristen McCabe and Michael Fix
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Reports
May 2012
The Relationship Between Immigration and Nativism in Europe and North America
By  Cas Mudde
Articles
April 26, 2012
The 2012 Mexican Presidential Election and Mexican Immigrants of Voting Age in the United States
By David Gutierrez, Jeanne Batalova, Aaron Terrazas
10 year anniversary
Multimedia
April 19, 2012
MPI's 10th Anniversary Celebration

Pages

Policy Beat
March 1, 2005
Presidential Budget, State of the Union Address Immigration Issues
MPI's Jennifer Yau and Betsy Cooper report on the immigration provisions in the President's budget proposal, the State of the Union address, and more.
Feature
March 1, 2005
Biometrics, Migrants, and Human Rights

Rebekah Alys Lowri Thomas of the Global Commission on International Migration examines how the use of biometrics at borders may violate migrants' privacy rights.

Spotlight
February 1, 2005
Characteristics of the European Born in the United States in 2000

The European born are more likely to be proficient in English, work in higher-level occupations, and have higher earnings than the overall foreign-born population. MPI's David Dixon examines the social and economic profiles of the foreign born from Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Europe.

Policy Beat
February 1, 2005
Supreme Court Addresses Deportation Cases, DHS Undergoes Leadership and Oversight Changes
MPI’s Jennifer Yau and Betsy Cooper report on Supreme Court rulings, DHS leadership and oversight, and immigrant workers.
Spotlight
February 1, 2005
College-Educated Foreign Born in the U.S. Labor Force in 2000

The importance of knowledge, skills, and technologies in post-industrial economies has beckoned well-educated migrants to the United States. MPI's Jeanne Batalova takes a detailed look at the foreign born with a bachelor's degree or higher.

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Recent Activity

Expert Q&A, Audio
November 12, 2021

Leveraging the Benefits That Immigration Can Bring

In this World of Migration podcast episode, MPI Senior Fellow Michael Fix speaks with Senior Policy Analyst Julia Gelatt about the fiscal impacts of immigration, the importance of immigrant integration, how a greater focus on credential recognition could allow immigrants to more fully utilize the academic and professional skills they bring with them, and much more.

Articles
November 10, 2021

Naturalized Citizens in the United States

More than half of all immigrants in the United States are naturalized citizens. The number of new naturalizations has fluctuated from year to year, hitting a decade-long low in fiscal year 2020, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising processing times. This article provides information on naturalized citizens in the United States, including historical trends and socioeconomic characteristics.

Video, Audio, Webinars
November 2, 2021

Effects of the Pandemic on High School English Learners and Ways to Help Them Recover

This webinar examines how the pandemic upended school life, the challenges for high school English Learners (ELs), state- and district-level efforts that can help ELs recover academically and address mental health needs, and the results of new research on the postsecondary aspirations of immigrant-background Latina/o students following the pandemic. 

Expert Q&A, Audio
November 5, 2021

Immigrant Integration: Essential to the Success of Immigration Policy

In this World of Migration podcast episode, Margie McHugh, director of MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, chats with Ivana Tú Nhi Giang about the important role of integration, for immigrants themselves and the broader society, and the varying degrees of intentionality in integration policy design around the world.

Policy Briefs
November 2021

Invertir en alternativas a la migración irregular desde Centroamérica: Opciones para expandir las vías de empleo en Estados Unidos

Es cada vez más claro que Estados Unidos, México y los países de origen de migrantes en Centroamérica tendrán que trabajar juntos para abordar el gran movimiento irregular de personas a través de la región. Este informe propone que además de mejorar la protección humanitaria para quienes la necesitan, ampliar las oportunidades legales para acceder a un empleo en el extranjero es otra parte de la ecuación.

Policy Briefs
November 2021

Investing in Alternatives to Irregular Migration from Central America: Options to Expand U.S. Employment Pathways

There is increasing recognition that the United States, Mexico, and migrant-origin countries in Central America will need to work together to address the large-scale, irregular movement of people through the region. While it is critical to improve humanitarian protection for those in need, expanding legal opportunities to take up employment abroad is another part of this equation, as this policy brief explores.

Commentaries
November 2021

Narrowing the Skills Gap: Equipping Immigrant-Origin Workers with Postsecondary Credentials

The number of U.S. adults who could benefit from efforts to boost postsecondary credential attainment is strikingly large. Nearly 96 million working-age adults lack a postsecondary credential, 28 million of them of immigrant origin, MPI estimates. This commentary examines how enabling immigrant-origin adults to attain credentials beyond a high school diploma is vital to both building a skilled workforce and closing equity gaps.

Reports
November 2021

The Impacts on English Learners of Key State High School Policies and Graduation Requirements

English Learners (ELs) in U.S. high schools often face unique challenges to navigating a path to graduation. This report examines the wide range of state policies that shape ELs’ education as they work toward high school completion—from the placement of newcomers to instructional design and graduation requirements. The report also presents opportunities for states to strengthen ELs’ access to a high-quality education.

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