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.

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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 November 2020 At the Starting Gate: The Incoming Biden Administration’s Immigration Plans By Doris Meissner and Michelle Mittelstadt	Articles November 5, 2020 Mexican Immigrants in the United States By Emma Israel and Jeanne Batalova
Articles October 29, 2020 Trump's Promise of Millions of Deportations Is Yet to Be Fulfilled By Muzaffar Chishti and Sarah Pierce	Policy Briefs October 2020 Rethinking the U.S.-Mexico Border Immigration Enforcement System: A Policy Road Map By Doris Meissner
Reports October 2020 Navigating the Future of Work: The Role of Immigrant-Origin Workers in the Changing U.S. Economy By Julia Gelatt, Jeanne Batalova and Randy Capps	Multimedia October 21, 2020 Lessons from the Pandemic: Weaknesses in K-12 Teacher Education Policies Fuel Inequities Facing English Learners
Articles October 23, 2020 Climate Impacts as Drivers of Migration By Alex de Sherbinin	Articles October 16, 2020 Indian Immigrants in the United States By Mary Hanna and Jeanne Batalova

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Reports July 2013 Is the United States Bad for Children’s Health? Risk and Resilience among Young Children of Immigrants By Jennifer Van Hook, Nancy Landale and Marianne Hillemeier	Reports July 2013 Recognizing Foreign Qualifications: Emerging Global Trends By Lesleyanne Hawthorne
Books July 2013 How Can Talent Abroad Induce Development at Home? Towards a Pragmatic Diaspora Agenda	Reports July 2013 Tackling Brain Waste: Strategies to Improve the Recognition of Immigrants’ Foreign Qualifications By Madeleine Sumption
Reports July 2013 Migración Mexicana a los EE.UU.: Factores Económicos Subyacentes y Posibles Escenarios de Flujos Futuros By Daniel Chiquiar and Alejandrina Salcedo	Reports July 2013 Preparing the Children of Immigrants for Early Academic Success By Robert Crosnoe
Reports July 2013 Skills, Professional Regulation, and International Mobility in the Engineering Workforce By Matthew Dixon	Reports June 2013 Shaping Our Futures: The Educational and Career Success of Washington State’s Immigrant Youth By Sarah Hooker, Margie McHugh, Michael Fix and Randy Capps

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Spotlight

February 8, 2018

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

The United States is by far the world's top migration destination, home to roughly one-fifth of all global migrants. In 2016, nearly 44 million immigrants lived in the United States, comprising 13.5 percent of the country's population. Get the most sought-after data available on immigrants and immigration trends, including top countries of origin, legal immigration pathways, enforcement actions, health-care coverage, and much more.

Policy Beat

January 24, 2018

Shifting Gears, Trump Administration Launches High-Profile Worksite Enforcement Operations

An unannounced sweep of 98 convenience stores by U.S. immigration authorities—resulting in the arrest of 21 unauthorized workers—may signal a new approach to worksite enforcement under the Trump administration, moving away from a strategy of paper-based audits that resulted in higher employer fines and fewer worker arrests. This article explores worksite enforcement over recent decades.

Spotlight

January 10, 2018

Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants in the United States

In 2016, nearly 1.2 million immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region lived in the United States. MENA immigration has picked up in recent decades, owing to war and worsening economic prospects. This article offers the latest data on the MENA population in the United States, which is more likely to come via humanitarian routes and less likely via family reunification than the foreign-born population overall.

Top Ten

December 20, 2017

Under Trump Administration, United States Takes Steps to Narrow Legal Immigration

During its first year, the Trump administration methodically put in place a series of bureaucratic barriers that could significantly reduce opportunities for foreigners to come to the United States legally. Among the actions taken during 2017: Imposition of a much-challenged travel ban suspending the entry of nationals from certain Muslim-majority countries, cuts to refugee admissions, and increased scrutiny for visa applicants.

Top Ten

December 15, 2017

Trump Administration Makes Down Payment on Campaign Pledges to Address Illegal Immigration

In its first year, the Trump administration moved to deliver on some of Donald Trump’s campaign promises on immigration, including ramping up enforcement in the U.S. interior and ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The administration also announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of some countries. This article explores some of the top policy changes.

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Video, Audio

August 14, 2013

A Year In: A Review of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

During this online chat, MPI researchers discuss their findings in an MPI brief, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals at the One-Year Mark: A Profile of Currently Eligible Youth and Applicants, that provides the most up-to-date estimates of the current and prospective DACA population by educational attainment, English proficiency, state of residence, country of origin, age, gender, labor force participation, poverty, and parental status.

Video, Audio

August 7, 2013

A House Divided: Divergent Views in Congress Over Immigration Reform - A Video Chat

MPI experts participate in a video chat shortly after the Migration Policy Institute released an analysis comparing the major provisions of the Senate bill to those of the individual House bills considered to date in House committees.

Video

August 2, 2013

Doris Meissner Testimony Video: Border Security

Testimony of Doris Meissner, Senior Fellow and Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program, before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate.

Video

July 23, 2013

Margie McHugh Testimony Video: Illegal Immigration and Children

Testimony of Margie McHugh, Co-Director of MPI's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, U.S. House of Representatives.

Four panelists sitting with Chicago Council banner in background

Audio

July 16, 2013

Immigration and U.S. Economic Competitiveness: A View from the Midwest

At this release event in Washington, DC, co-sponsored by MPI, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and ImmigrationWorks USA, the Chicago Council's independent task force on immigration released its report, U.S. Economic Competitiveness at Risk: A Midwest Call to Action on Immigration Reform.

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars

January 21, 2016

Taking Stock of ESSA’s Potential Impact on Immigrant and English-Learner Students

Experts Delia Pompa and Margie McHugh examine provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) related to the success of immigrant and English-learner students during this webinar, answering questions about the new law's implementation and possible impacts.

Articles

January 20, 2016

With Little Debate, Congress Enacts Broad Range of Immigration Changes in Spending Bill

Passed with minimal controversy and public debate, the 2016 spending bill included some of the most substantial immigration policy changes enacted by Congress in the last decade. The changes touched on aspects including temporary worker visas, visa security, and the immigration courts, and could signal a new strategy for legislative change to the immigration system.

Reports

January 2016

Border Metrics: How to Effectively Measure Border Security and Immigration Control

The absence of timely, reliable indicators of immigration control represents a fundamental challenge to resolving the public and political debate over the degree of effectiveness of enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border. This report examines ways to provide a comprehensive accounting of illegal immigration, both flows and stock, and calls on the federal government to do more to measure and report on border enforcement effectiveness.

Video, Audio, Webinars

January 13, 2016

A Profile of Children with Unauthorized Immigrant Parents in the United States

This webinar offers a discussion of the economic, linguistic and educational disadvantage experienced by U.S. children with unauthorized immigrant parents. The MPI researchers discuss their finding that 86 percent of the 5.1 million such children in the United States have a parent who could potentially benefit from the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program.

Fact Sheets

January 2016

A Profile of U.S. Children with Unauthorized Immigrant Parents

Growing up with unauthorized immigrant parents puts children—nearly 80 percent of whom were born in the United States—at a disadvantage, with lower preschool enrollment, reduced socioeconomic progress, and higher rates of linguistic isolation and poverty. This fact sheet examines the number, characteristics, and socioeconomic status of children, both U.S.-citizen and noncitizen, who have unauthorized immigrant parents.

Fact Sheets

January 2016

Trends in Unaccompanied Child and Family Migration from Central America

This fact sheet uses U.S. and Mexican apprehensions data to trace the evolving trends in unaccompanied child and family migration from Central America through Mexico and to the United States, and discusses the push factors and pull factors responsible for the increase in flows seen in recent years, as well as the growing role of smuggling organizations.

Articles

January 6, 2016

Immigrants from Asia in the United States

The number of Asian immigrants in the United States has increased exponentially over the last 50 years, and Asia is now the second-largest region of birth of U.S. immigrants. The growth of this population dates to the abolition in 1965 of national-origin quotas that barred immigration from Asia. This article delves into key data on Asian immigrants, from settlement and employment patterns to immigration pathways, and more.

Video, Audio, Webinars

December 17, 2015

Using Data to Improve Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Services for Immigrants and Refugees

A webinar discussing fact sheets that compare the characteristics of immigrant and native-born residents that are relevant to understanding needs for adult education and workforce training services in the United States and the ten states with the largest immigrant populations.

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