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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

Video, Audio, Webinars
August 26, 2020

Excluding Millions: How Trump Administration Changes to the Decennial Census Could Leave Out U.S. Citizens and Immigrants

This conversation, featuring a former U.S. Census Bureau director and other top experts, examines how the many challenges facing the 2020 Census could affect the count and representation of immigrant communities, the difficulties inherent in data matching to determine legal status, and the legal and constitutional issues surrounding the administration’s actions.

Articles
August 12, 2020

Haitian Immigrants in the United States

The United States is the top global destination for Haitian migrants, who left Haiti in the wake of political instability and a series of natural disasters, including a 2010 earthquake that devastated the country. Haitian immigrants in the United States contribute an important flow of remittances to their country of origin, which is the second largest in the world as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). Remittances to Haiti have increased nearly sixfold since 2000.

Reports
July 2020

Dismantling and Reconstructing the U.S. Immigration System: A Catalog of Changes under the Trump Presidency

Now into its fourth year, the Trump administration has reshaped the U.S. immigration system in ways big and small via presidential proclamations, policy guidance, and regulatory change. This report offers a catalog of the more than 400 administrative changes undertaken in areas such as immigration enforcement, humanitarian admissions, DACA, and visa processing—including a look at measures put in places since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Articles
July 28, 2020

Impending USCIS Furloughs Will Contribute to a Historic Drop in U.S. Immigration Levels

A looming furlough of 70 percent of staff at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services could halt processing for tens of thousands of green cards, citizenship applications, and other immigrant benefits each month it is in effect. Alongside the long list of Trump administration policies slowing immigration to the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, this could contribute to a precipitous—and likely historic—decline in new arrivals to the United States.

Commentaries
July 2020

Millions of U.S. Citizens Could Be Excluded under Trump Plan to Remove Unauthorized Immigrants from Census Data

The Trump administration's plan to exclude unauthorized immigrants from the 2020 Census data used to reapportion 435 congressional seats among the 50 states could misclassify as many as 20 million U.S. citizens, as the result of expected data-matching errors. The effects of this exclusion could be most pronounced in low-income urban and rural communities, reducing their voting power relative to more affluent ones, as this commentary explains.

Articles
June 25, 2020

Mientras Crece el Movimiento para Desfinanciar a la Policía en EUA, el Gasto y las Prácticas de las Autoridades de Inmigración también se Someten a Escrutinio

Los llamados de los activistas a "desbancar a la policía", a raíz de una serie de encuentros mortales para los miembros de la comunidad negra, hacen eco de las demandas anteriores de "abolir el ICE" y reflejar una crítica más amplia de los sistemas de aplicación percibidos como demasiado agresivo.

Fact Sheets
July 2020

Brain Waste among U.S. Immigrants with Health Degrees: A Multi-State Profile

Across the United States, the skills of an estimated 263,000 immigrants and refugees with health-related degrees are going underutilized during a time of pandemic, with these health professionals either in low-skilled jobs or out of work. This fact sheet offers the first-ever state profiles of this population, including the states in which they live, the languages they speak, their fields of study, and legal statuses.

Video, Audio, Webinars
July 16, 2020

A Bumpy Path to U.S. Citizenship: A Survey of Changing USCIS Practices

Marking the launch of a report on changed USCIS procedures that appear to be adding hurdles to the citizenship process, this discussion featuring a former USCIS Director also examines the effects that the pandemic-related shutdown and a possible furlough of two-thirds of USCIS staff could have on the ability of would-be Americans to take the oath of citizenship.

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