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

EVENT PH 2016.7.7 BREXIT WEBINAR
Multimedia
July 14, 2016
Beyond Brexit: The Policy and Political Lessons for Immigration-Anxious Countries
tcm truststatement
Reports
July 2016
Understanding and Addressing Public Anxiety About Immigration (Transatlantic Council Statement)
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
LittleBrazil DiegoTorresSilvestre Flickr
Articles
July 13, 2016
Brazilian Immigrants in the United States
By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova
coverthumb 1990act
Policy Briefs
July 2016
The Immigration Act of 1990: Unfinished Business a Quarter-Century Later
By  Muzaffar Chishti and Stephen Yale-Loehr
Zika PAHO Flickr
Articles
July 7, 2016
When Outbreaks Go Global: Migration and Public Health in a Time of Zika
By Eric D. Carter
DAPASCOTUS VictoriaPickering Flickr
Articles
June 29, 2016
Supreme Court DAPA Ruling a Blow to Obama Administration, Moves Immigration Back to Political Realm
By Muzaffar Chishti and Faye Hipsman
_BoyStudying
Multimedia
June 23, 2016
Using Supplementary School Funding to Improve the Educational Outcomes of Migrant-Background Students: A Transatlantic Comparison
coverthumb svrint
Reports
June 2016
Improving Education for Migrant-Background Students: A Transatlantic Comparison of School Funding
By  Julie Sugarman, Simon Morris-Lange and Margie McHugh

Pages

Feature
December 21, 2010
Senate Blocks Passage of DREAM Act by Five Votes

As an update to this month's Policy Beat, MPI's Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron report on the DREAM Act's failure in the Senate.

Policy Beat
December 15, 2010
DREAM Act Passes in the House during Lame-Duck Session, But Faces Uphill Battle in Senate

MPI's Muzaffar Chishti, Claire Bergeron, and Kristen McCabe report on the passage of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act in the House, Supreme Court oral arguments on the Legal Arizona Workers Act, the record number of diversity visa applicants, and more.

Spotlight
December 9, 2010
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

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 Aaron Terrazas have assembled the latest, most interesting data on immigrants and immigration into one easy-to-use resource.

Top Ten
December 2, 2010
Natural Disasters in Haiti and Pakistan Highlight Diaspora Response

Haiti and Pakistan were an unlikely pair until 2010, when horrific natural disasters made it impossible for the world to ignore their devastation.

Top Ten
December 2, 2010
United States Still Stalled on Immigration Reform, Republican Victories in Midterm Elections Change Landscape

Anyone who expected 2010 would bring comprehensive immigration reform did not account for the Obama administration's priorities of passing health-care reform and improving the economy—essentially the same issues that guided the president in 2009.

Pages

archive >

Recent Activity

Audio, Webinars
July 14, 2016

Beyond Brexit: The Policy and Political Lessons for Immigration-Anxious Countries

The UK vote to exit the European Union has given new momentum to euroskeptic, anti-immigration movements elsewhere. Experts discuss the political and policy lessons that can be learned from Brexit and applied to debates in Europe and North America, including how to address public anxiety over immigration and identity while managing migration in a globalized economy.

Reports
July 2016

Understanding and Addressing Public Anxiety About Immigration (Transatlantic Council Statement)

What factors are fueling rising public anxiety over immigration seen in Europe and North America? This Transatlantic Council report outlines and analyzes the factors that can set the stage for such public unease—some of which have their roots outside of immigration policy per se, and are instead deeply embedded in the global, national, and local contexts within which migration occurs—and offers policymakers strategies to respond.

Articles
July 13, 2016

Brazilian Immigrants in the United States

The Brazilian immigrant population in the United States doubled during the 1980s and almost tripled in the 1990s, but stabilized following the Great Recession. While this population has long included a significant share of unauthorized immigrants, Brazilians are increasingly coming to the United States through family, employment, and study channels. Learn more about Brazilian immigrants with this Spotlight.

Policy Briefs
July 2016

The Immigration Act of 1990: Unfinished Business a Quarter-Century Later

Twenty-five years after enactment of the Immigration Act of 1990, the law remains the framework for the current U.S. legal immigration system. This issue brief examines the legislation, which sought to admit more immigrants based on their skills and education, finding it has only modestly increased the employment-based immigration share. The law also created the diversity visa program and Temporary Protected Status.

Articles
July 7, 2016

When Outbreaks Go Global: Migration and Public Health in a Time of Zika

News of the Zika virus outbreak in Latin America has raised alarm bells, resulting in scattered calls for tighter restrictions on international entries to the United States. Evidence shows, however, that closing borders and restrictions on international travel tend to have little impact on the spread of infectious diseases. This feature article explores the linkages between public health and migration in the Americas.

Articles
June 29, 2016

Supreme Court DAPA Ruling a Blow to Obama Administration, Moves Immigration Back to Political Realm

A split ruling by the Supreme Court in United States v. Texas has dealt a hard blow to the Obama administration's signature deferred action programs. While the decision makes it unlikely the DAPA program and DACA expansion will be implemented in their current form, the outcome at the high court may have opened a path for renewed movement on immigration policy changes in Congress, as this article explores.

Video, Audio, Webinars
June 23, 2016

Using Supplementary School Funding to Improve the Educational Outcomes of Migrant-Background Students: A Transatlantic Comparison

Report authors and an ELL professional discuss the mechanics of school funding and the specialized services provided for migrant-background students in the United States, Canada, France, and Germany. Speakers also highlight the choices facing policymakers who seek to use supplementary funding to better support effective, high-quality education for children from immigrant and refugee families.

Reports
June 2016

Improving Education for Migrant-Background Students: A Transatlantic Comparison of School Funding

This report sheds light on supplementary funding mechanisms targeted to migrant-background students in four countries—Canada, France, Germany, and the United States—and some of the key challenges and strategies decisionmakers face as they attempt to ensure that additional resources are used effectively to remedy the achievement gaps that immigrant and refugee students often confront.

Pages