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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Fact Sheets
December 2010
Updated Estimates of the 2010 DREAM Act
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Fact Sheets
December 2010
Top Languages Spoken by English Language Learners Nationally and by State, 2009
By  Jeanne Batalova and Margie McHugh
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Multimedia
November 30, 2010
Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy
Articles
November 15, 2010
Elections Alter the Political Landscape for Immigration Policy Debate
By Muzaffar Chishti, Claire Bergeron
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Articles
November 10, 2010
Immigration Enforcement in the United States
By Jeanne Batalova, Kristen McCabe
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Books
November 2010
Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy
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Books
November 2010
Prioritizing Integration
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Policy Briefs
November 2010
Structuring and Implementing an Immigrant Legalization Program: Registration as the First Step
By  Donald M. Kerwin and Laureen Laglagaron

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Policy Beat
January 1, 2003
Ridge Tapped to Head Homeland Security Department
Details Emerge Regarding Homeland Security Department... Justice Department Expands Expedited Removal Policy... Citizenship Requirement for Airport Screeners On Hold... Study Highlights Role of Immigrants in 1990s Boom...
January 1, 2003
The New Immigrant Survey in the U.S.: The Experience over Time
Large gaps exist in the social science and public policy research on immigration. Guillermina Jasso of New York University, Douglas S. Massey of the University of Pennsylvania, Mark R. Rosenzweig of Harvard University, and James P. Smith of RAND take an in-depth look at the New Immigrant Survey, which aims to bridge the chasm between information needs and existing data.
Spotlight
December 1, 2002
Characteristics of the Foreign Born in the United States: Results from Census 2000
This Spotlight by Elizabeth Grieco, MPI Data Manager, examines some of the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the foreign-born population in the United States.
Policy Beat
December 1, 2002
Homeland Security Department Gets Green Light
Department of Homeland Security Bill Clears House and Senate... Registration of Foreigners to Expand... Bishops Advocate on Behalf of Migrants... President Signs Border Commuter Bill... Recent Caribbean Arrivals Highlight Inequities in U.S. Policy...
Doris Meissner
Feature
December 1, 2002
Interview with Doris Meissner

MPI Senior Fellow Doris Meissner, former head of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, shares her perspective on changes in U.S. migration policy since September 11, the prospects for an immigration agreement with Mexico, and the Department of Homeland Security.

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Recent Activity

Video, Audio
July 23, 2015

Targeted Enforcement: Projecting the Effects of Executive Action on Deportations

Marking the release of an MPI report, this briefing explores the effects of recent revisions in DHS immigration enforcement priorities on deportations within the U.S. interior.

Articles
July 29, 2015

Americans Abroad: A Disillusioned Diaspora?

While many countries are increasing engagement with their diasporas, U.S. policy has chiefly focused on U.S.-based diasporas from other countries, despite its own estimated overseas population of 7.6 million. This feature explores results from a survey of more than 1,400 U.S. citizens and 140 former citizens living abroad, many of whom are critical of limited U.S. government engagement with them even as restrictive financial reporting regulations have been imposed.
Articles
July 21, 2015

Filipino Immigrants in the United States

With more than 1.8 million immigrants living in the United States, the Philippines was the fourth largest country of origin in 2013. Filipino immigrants stand out from other top immigrant groups with their unique historical experience as former nationals due to U.S. annexation of the Philippines in 1899, close historic ties to the U.S. military, and prevalence in health-care professions.

Commentaries
July 2015

Federal-Local Cooperation on Immigration Enforcement Frayed; Chance for Improvement Exists

Long-simmering tensions over federal-local cooperation in immigration enforcement were exposed in the days after the shooting death of a young woman in San Francisco by an unauthorized immigrant who had been deported five times from the United States. This commentary explores the rift over Secure Communities, with more than 360 jurisdictions limiting their cooperation, and the possibility of a reset in federal-local relations.
Reports
July 2015

Understanding the Potential Impact of Executive Action on Immigration Enforcement

This report analyzes how many unauthorized immigrants fall within Department of Homeland Security priority enforcement categories unveiled in November 2014 and how implementation of these priorities could affect the number of deportations from within the United States. The report also examines the replacement of the controversial Secure Communities with a new Priority Enforcement Program, and what PEP could mean for immigration enforcement.

Articles
July 8, 2015

The Limited English Proficient Population in the United States in 2013

In 2013, more than 25 million people in the United States reported limited English proficiency (LEP), an 80 percent increase since 1990. The LEP population, the majority of which is immigrant, is generally less educated and more likely to live in poverty than the English-proficient population. This Spotlight explores key indicators of the LEP population, both U.S. and foreign born, including geographic distribution, language diversity, and employment.

Video, Audio
June 26, 2015

Resettling Increasingly Diverse Refugee Populations in the United States: Integration Challenges and Successes

A discussion of the findings of a new MPI report examining refugee characteristics at arrival for the ten largest national-origin groups resettled between 2002-2013, as well as their integration outcomes with respect to employment and incomes, English proficiency and education levels, and public benefit use.

Articles
June 25, 2015

Quick Resolution of Challenge over Obama Administration Deportation Relief Programs Is Ever Less Likely

As legal challenges continue to impede President Obama's deferred action programs to protect millions of unauthorized immigrants from deportation, it is becoming increasingly clear that the window of opportunity for implementation before the 2016 election is growing ever narrower. Even as advocates continue mobilizing immigrants to apply, attention is shifting to other new policies announced by the president last November.

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