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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

FE TPS July2014 Haiti
Articles
July 2, 2014
Temporary Protected Status in the United States: A Grant of Humanitarian Relief that Is Less than Permanent
By Madeline Messick, Claire Bergeron
UAC Webinar Train UNHCR
Multimedia
June 25, 2014
Unaccompanied Minors: A Crisis with Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions
EventPH 2014.06.24 Detained or Deported
Multimedia
June 24, 2014
Detained or Deported: How Parents in the Immigration Enforcement System Can Protect their Children
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Multimedia
June 18, 2014
Improving the Educational Outcomes of California's Immigrant Youth: A National Imperative
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Reports
June 2014
Critical Choices in Post-Recession California: Investing in the Educational and Career Success of Immigrant Youth
By  Sarah Hooker, Margie McHugh and Michael Fix
PB June2014 CentAm Migrants
Articles
June 13, 2014
Dramatic Surge in the Arrival of Unaccompanied Children Has Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions
By Muzaffar Chishti, Faye Hipsman
UnaccompaniedMinors Commentary June2014 PeterHaden
Commentaries
June 2014
What Is the Right Policy Toward Unaccompanied Children at U.S. Borders?
By  Kathleen Newland
EventPH 2014.5.20 Addressing Barriers to Successful Engagement of Immigrant and Refugee Parents of Young Children
Multimedia
June 2, 2014
Addressing Barriers to Successful Engagement of Immigrant and Refugee Parents of Young Children

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Policy Beat
September 17, 2007
Federal Court Halts Sending of "No-Match" Letters

MPI's Aaron Matteo Terrazas reports on ongoing litigation around immigration enforcement rules, immigration enforcement and the decennial census, new estimates of the unauthorized population, and more.

Feature
September 11, 2007
Unauthorized Youths and Higher Education: The Ongoing Debate

Dawn Konet provides an overview of the arguments for and against granting in-state tuition rates to the unauthorized in the United States, and looks at relevant legislation at the state and federal levels.

Spotlight
August 28, 2007
Foreign-Born Wage and Salary Workers in the U.S. Labor Force and Unions

Of the 15.36 million union members in 2006, 12 percent were foreign born. MPI's Chuncui Velma Fan and Jeanne Batalova examine the data on immigrants and labor unions from 1996 to 2006.

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Policy Beat
August 15, 2007
Alternative Immigration Reforms Follow Failed Legislation
MPI's Aaron Matteo Terrazas reports on the decision to increase enforcement of existing immigration law, the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, employment-based green cards, and more.
Policy Beat
July 16, 2007
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Eludes Senate, Again

MPI's Aaron Matteo Terrazas reports on the death of the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform bill, employment visa suspension, delays to land and sea border entry passport requirements, and more.

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Recent Activity

Video, Audio
February 7, 2014

Managing Borders in North America: Charting the Future

This panel discussion offers perspectives on border policy management from leading officials in the Canadian, Mexican, and U.S. governments, and showcases the MPI book, "Managing Borders in an Increasingly Borderless World."

Video
February 5, 2014

Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally- A presentation in Guatemala on the Regional Migration Study Group

During this public briefing in Guatemala City (conducted in both English and Spanish), the Co-Directors of the Migration Policy Institute-convened Regional Migration Study Group, MPI President Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Senior Fellow Doris Meissner, presented the Study Group’s final report, Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration and Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America.

Articles
February 3, 2014

Refugees and Asylees in the United States

In 2012, the United States granted humanitarian protection to more than 87,000 people, with grants of asylum up 19 percent and refugee admissions up 3 percent from a year earlier. This article provides a detailed look at the most recent refugee and asylum data in the United States, including country of origin, top states of settlement, and more.

Articles
January 9, 2014

U.S. Immigration Reform Didn't Happen in 2013; Will 2014 Be the Year?

While some argue that the clock has run out on immigration reform in the 113th Congress, which runs through 2014, others counter that the finish line remains in sight.
Policy Briefs
January 2014

IRCA in Retrospect: Guideposts for Today’s Immigration Reform

This policy brief traces the successes and failures of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which represented the first and most comprehensive legislation to take on the issue of illegal immigration to the United States. The brief makes the case that IRCA's major flaws were rooted in statutory design more than regulatory challenges and implementation by the administrative agencies.
Reports
January 2014

Securing Borders: The Intended, Unintended, and Perverse Consequences

This report outlines the security-related challenges that borders are intended to address—including terrorism, human smuggling and trafficking, illegal migration, and drug trafficking—and, in turn, the perverse consequences that tighter border enforcement can generate. As states implement extensive border controls and deterrence measures to prevent illegal migration, they indirectly push unauthorized migrants into the hands of smugglers and traffickers.
Video, Audio
December 12, 2013

Tackling Brain Waste among Immigrant Professionals: Initiatives to Improve the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications

This panel discussion focuses on the circulation of skilled immigrant professionals and the recognition of foreign qualifications in the United States and Europe.

Articles
December 10, 2013

As Bill to Overhaul U.S. Immigration System Stalls in Congress, Immigration Reform Movement Broadens, Ups the Ante

2013 proved a year of significant highs and lows in the quest to reform the U.S. immigration system, with enough political and legislative twists to keep even veteran observers of Congress guessing and leave politicians and pundits confused about the prospects for enacting reform in 2014.

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