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

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

Pages

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

Pages

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.

Pages

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

October 15, 2015

Unaccompanied Child Migrants in the United States: How Are They Faring?

Marking the release of an MPI brief, this webinar examines data on where unaccompanied child migrants are being placed in the United States, how they are faring in immigration courts, what services are available to them, and how U.S. communities are adapting to their arrival.

Articles

October 15, 2015

Fifty Years On, the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act Continues to Reshape the United States

Signed into law 50 years ago, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 had several unintended consequences that have had a profound effect on the flow of immigrants to the United States and contributed to the transformation of the U.S. demographic profile. This Policy Beat explores the law's lasting impact and lessons for policymaking today.

Policy Briefs

October 2015

Unaccompanied Child Migrants in U.S. Communities, Immigration Court, and Schools

More than 77,000 unaccompanied minors from Central America were released to communities throughout the United States between October 1, 2013 and August 31, 2015. This issue brief examines where these children have been placed in the United States, how they are faring in the immigration court system, and how schools are adapting to their arrival.

Video, Audio, Webinars

October 8, 2015

Variations in In-State Tuition, Financial Aid, and Scholarship Policies for Unauthorized Youth

This webinar discusses the different policies that states have on unauthorized immigrants and in-state tuition, financial aid and other benefits, and the implications for unauthorized immigrant youth seeking two- and four-year college degrees.

Commentaries

October 2015

Mapping the Patchwork of State ‘DREAM Acts’ and Postsecondary Education Policies for Unauthorized Immigrant Youth

Since 2001, 17 states have enacted measures to allow qualified unauthorized immigrant youth to pay resident tuition rates at their postsecondary institutions. Other states, meanwhile, have moved in the opposite direction. This commentary explores the different state approaches and requirements that have resulted in an unsettling policy patchwork.

Commentaries

October 2015

It is Time for Federal Agencies to Do More to Improve the Provision of Language Access Services

Whether driven by pragmatism, local laws, or federal civil-rights provisions, state and local governments and agencies across the United States increasingly have designed and implemented language access services (i.e. translation and interpretation) in response to growing Limited English Proficient populations. This commentary argues it is time for the federal government to follow suit.

Commentaries

October 2015

The U.S. Record Shows Refugees Are Not a Threat

As Congress and others react to the Obama administration’s announcement that the refugee resettlement program will increase from the current 70,000 level to 85,000 next year and 100,000 in 2017, some are objecting on national security grounds. This commentary makes the case that the resettlement program is the least likely avenue for a terrorist to choose.

Video

September 30, 2015

The Immigration Act of 1965: Then and Now

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of passage of the Immigration Act of 1965, this symposium focuses on the political and policy dynamics that came together to make the law possible and how it changed the U.S. legal immigration system, the country's demographics, and future.

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