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

North America

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.

Recent Activity

Pages

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Reports
February 2012
By  Will Kymlicka
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Fact Sheets
December 2011
By  Chhandasi Pandya, Margie McHugh and Jeanne Batalova
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Reports
November 2011
By  Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
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Reports
October 2011
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption

Pages

ScienceLab MichaelTipton Flickr

More than 1 million international students were in the United States in 2015-16, a significant share of them in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields. While countries increasingly are vying for this population, these individuals face a complex choice upon graduation: to stay or leave? This article examines international STEM students in the United States and the motivations underlying their postgraduation plans.

Trump GageSkidmore Flickr

With the incoming Trump administration pledging a crackdown on illegal immigration, construction of border walls, reductions in refugee and immigrant admissions, and greater screening of newcomers, U.S. immigration policy is likely to significant change. With Republicans holding the White House and both chambers of Congress at least through 2018, conditions may be favorable for a major transformation of the U.S. immigration system, as this Top 10 article explores.

MarineLePen BlandineLeCain Flickr

The success of populist movements on both sides of the Atlantic in 2016, including Donald Trump's victory in the United States and the United Kingdom's vote to quit the European Union, have sparked an identity crisis in the West. Campaigns effectively tapped into the anxieties of voters who feel left behind by societal change and out-of-touch elites, while normalizing anti-immigrant rhetoric in mainstream discourse, as this Top 10 article explores.

SyrianRefugees JoshZakary Flickr

While Europe and the United States saw terror attacks in 2016 carried out by radicalized immigrants or members of the second generation, policy responses varied on either side of the Atlantic. The perceived security threat posed by refugees was the main concern in the United States. Meanwhile, European debates centered more on concerns over loss of control of migration flows and lack of social cohesion.

OntheRoad MathiasDepardon UNHCR

Smugglers and migrants adapted their paths in light of changing conditions in 2016, including the construction of walls and closure of borders. Cuban and Haitian migrants increasingly chose to make their way to the United States through South and Central America rather than by sea. Meanwhile, migrant flows to Europe have splintered into a wider range of routes, seeking new openings through the Western Balkans.

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Video
May 18, 2011
This awards ceremony, honoring the 2011 recipients of the E Pluribus Unum Prizes — a national awards program for exceptional immigrant integration initiatives — featured panel discussions with the awardees and federal officials and remarks by White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz and Assistant Secretary of Education Brenda Dann-Messier.
multimedia 8thLAPC
Video
April 26, 2011
The conference offered law and policy analysis and discussion on cutting-edge immigration issues. Featured panelists included high-ranking government officials, academics, advocates, and other immigration experts.
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Video
March 30, 2011

Doris Meissner, Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at MPI, offers her knowledge and expertise regarding border security in this testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Audio
March 23, 2011

Please join us for this discussion on the situation of Colombian refugees in Panama and Ecuador; their living situations; legal status; their access to employment, health care, or education; and the treatment of groups of particular concern, like Afro-Colombian refugees, unaccompanied Colombian minors, and refugee women.

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Video, Audio
March 14, 2011

This discussion focuses on the MPI report, "Executive Action on Immigration: Six Ways to Make the System Work Better," which outlines administrative actions that can be implemented to improve the immigration system.

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Recent Activity

Video, Audio
July 23, 2015

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
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

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
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

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

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

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
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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