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United States

United States

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Historically a nation of immigrants, the United States is home to nearly 45 million immigrants, who represent 13.7 percent of the total population and play a key role in the economic, civic, and cultural life of the country. The research collected here covers many facets of immigration to the United States, by the numbers and how immigrants fare in the country's classrooms and workplaces, the policies and regulations that shape the admission of new immigrants, the enforcement programs and polices in place at U.S. borders and within the interior, and integration policies and efforts taking place in local communities, in states, and at the federal level.

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Reports

How Immigrants and Their U.S.-Born Children Fit into the Future U.S. Labor Market

The level of education and training expected of workers in the United States has increased considerably in recent decades, and this trend looks set to continue. This report explores the forces driving this change and how the education levels of immigrant-origin and other workers compare to those likely to be needed in the future U.S. workforce, overall and in key occupational groups.

A naturalization ceremony at the White House.
Articles

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

Immigration touches on many facets of life in the United States. Get the facts with this useful resource, which compiles in one place answers to some of the most often-asked questions about immigration and immigrants in the United States now and historically. This article contains essential data on the immigrant population, immigration levels, trends in immigration enforcement, and much more.

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Policy Briefs

A New Way Forward for Employment-Based Immigration: The Bridge Visa

U.S. employment-based visa policies, last updated in 1990, are not aligned with the country’s current and future labor market needs. This policy brief outlines MPI’s proposal for a new visa pathway that could help the United States better leverage immigration to meet its labor market needs, boost protections for both U.S.- and foreign-born workers, and flexibly adapt to future economic and demographic changes.

President Joe Biden signs an executive order.
Articles

Biden at the Three-Year Mark: The Most Active Immigration Presidency Yet Is Mired in Border Crisis Narrative

In three years, President Joe Biden has surpassed the number of immigration-focused executive actions taken by the Trump administration throughout its entire four-year term, making his the most active U.S. presidency ever on immigration. Yet the Biden administration has been repeatedly accused of inaction at the U.S.-Mexico border, where record levels of migrant encounters have occurred. This article reviews the Biden track record on immigration.

Recent Activity

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Multimedia
August 11, 2015
DACA at Three: New Data on Potential Applicants and Analysis of the Renewal Process
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Policy Briefs
August 2015
DACA at the Three-Year Mark: High Pace of Renewals, But Processing Difficulties Evident
By  Angelo Mathay and Margie McHugh
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Reports
August 2015
In-Country Processing in Central America: A Piece of the Puzzle
By  Faye Hipsman and Doris Meissner
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Multimedia
July 23, 2015
Targeted Enforcement: Projecting the Effects of Executive Action on Deportations
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Articles
July 29, 2015
Americans Abroad: A Disillusioned Diaspora?
By Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels
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Articles
July 21, 2015
Filipino Immigrants in the United States
By Keith McNamara and Jeanne Batalova
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Commentaries
July 2015
Federal-Local Cooperation on Immigration Enforcement Frayed; Chance for Improvement Exists
By  Marc R. Rosenblum
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Reports
July 2015
Understanding the Potential Impact of Executive Action on Immigration Enforcement
By  Marc R. Rosenblum

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Spotlight
May 13, 2009
Older Immigrants in the United States in 2007

The 4.5 million older immigrants residing in the United States in 2007 accounted for 12 percent of all senior citizens age 65 and older. MPI's Aaron Terrazas examines the socioeconomic characteristics, where they live, their health and disability status, and their sources of income.

Feature
April 30, 2009
The Basics of E-Verify, the U.S. Employer Verification System

Just a fraction of all U.S. employers use E-Verify, a federal system that checks potential employees' immigration status and their eligibility to work. MPI's Marc Rosenblum explores E-Verify's history, how it works, and the arguments for and against making it mandatory.

Spotlight
April 15, 2009
Middle-Class Immigrant Households in the United States in 2007

The middle class has received considerable attention during the current economic crisis. About 15 million people resided in middle-class immigrant households in 2007, and three-quarters of all children in such households were native-born U.S. citizens. MPI's Aaron Terrazas examines where the heads of middle-class immigrant households are from, when they arrived in the United States, their occupations, and other characteristics.

Policy Beat
April 15, 2009
Push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Grows, But Several Obstacles Remain

MPI's Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron report on the Obama administration and immigration reform, the shift in enforcement policy, additional resources for the U.S.-Mexico border, fewer requests for H-1B visas, and more.

Feature
April 1, 2009
Immigrants in the United States and the Current Economic Crisis

Immigration flows to the United States have noticeably slowed in the last year, raising fundamental questions for policymakers and analysts about the effect the economic crisis is having on inflows and return migration. MPI's Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Aaron Terrazas assess the potential impacts by examining recent data, the likely behavior of immigrants, and immigration history.

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Recent Activity

Reports
November 2018

In Search of a New Equilibrium: Immigration Policymaking in the Newest Era of Nativist Populism

In many recent European and U.S. elections, candidates touting nativist populist and anti-immigrant platforms have enjoyed rising support. As populism moves from the fringes into the mainstream, this report takes stock of the economic and social forces driving its rise, the diverse ways populists are influencing immigration policymaking, and what it will take to build a new center around immigration and integration issues.

Articles
November 7, 2018

South American Immigrants in the United States

South Americans represent a small, but growing share of immigrants in the United States, composing 7 percent of country’s total foreign-born population. Recent growth has been marked by an uptick in arrivals from increasingly failing Venezuela, with an increase of 61,000 Venezuelan immigrants from 2016 to 2017. This article offers an interesting data snapshot of South American immigrants in the United States.

Commentaries
November 2018

Asylum Reform, Not Troops, Is the Solution to Current Border Reality

Asylum reform, not the "shock-and-awe" deployment of thousands of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to deal with the migrant caravan, represents the real path to addressing the current realities of mixed economic and humanitarian migration flows, as the person who presided over the last reform of the U.S. asylum system in the mid-1990s explains in this commentary.

Video, Audio, Webinars
October 30, 2018

Surviving vs. Thriving: The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Adult Education for Immigrants and Refugees

Taking stock of weaknesses in the WIOA-driven design of most adult basic education programming, MPI analysts draw on research from the integration, adult education, and postsecondary success fields in arguing for the adoption of an “English Plus Integration” (EPI) adult education program model, and discuss strategies for implementation. 

Policy Briefs
October 2018

English Plus Integration: Shifting the Instructional Paradigm for Immigrant Adult Learners to Support Integration Success

To successfully integrate, immigrants and refugees need a variety of skills and knowledge—from English proficiency to understanding how school systems and local services work. Yet the adult education programs in place to support them have narrowed in scope. This policy brief proposes a new instructional model, English Plus Integration, to help states more comprehensively meet the diverse needs of their adult immigrant learners.

Video, Audio
October 1, 2018

15th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

At the 15th annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference, held in October 2018, leading experts and government officials discussed the role that immigration is playing in the mid-term elections; how the courts are handling key immigration questions; and recent changes in the U.S. asylum system, border and interior enforcement, and regulations surrounding legal immigration.   

Articles
October 24, 2018

Census Citizenship Question Triggers Legal and Political Fallout

Legal and political controversy surrounds the Trump administration's decision to include a question on citizenship status in the 2020 decennial census, the first such inclusion since the 1950 census. This article examines the administration's conflicting statements about the genesis of the plan, concerns that the decision could affect the accuracy of the census, and legal challenges pending in a number of states.

Video, Audio, Webinars
October 16, 2018

The Next Frontier in Immigrant Integration Policy? Using Behavioral Insights to Foster Social Cohesion

Can people be 'nudged' into support for immigrant integration? On this webinar, speakers explored what untapped potential behavioral insights may hold for integration policy and how policymakers can start fitting this approach, which has been used in areas from tax compliance to organ donation, into their work. The webinar marked the release of the report, Applying Behavioral Insights to Support Immigrant Integration and Social Cohesion. 

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