Children & Family Policy

Children of immigrants are the fastest growing component of the U.S. child population, representing 24 percent of all U.S. children. Immigrant families in the United States are concentrated at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum. Thus, policies that advantage or disadvantage families in general and low-income families with children in particular, such as early schooling, family literacy, and day care will have far-reaching impacts. At the same time, policies affecting families will increasingly be judged by their effects on the health, well-being, and school readiness and success of immigrant children.

Recent Activity

Reports March 2023 Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean: A Policy Review By Valerie Lacarte, Jordi Amaral, Diego Chaves-González, Ana María Sáiz and Jeremy Harris	Policy Briefs March 2023 SNAP Access and Participation in U.S.-Born and Immigrant Households: A Data Profile By Valerie Lacarte, Lillie Hinkle and Briana L. Broberg
Policy Briefs December 2022 Four Strategies to Improve Community Services for Unaccompanied Children in the United States By Jonathan Beier, Lauren Farwell, Rhonda Fleischer and Essey Workie	Commentaries November 2022 Apprenticeship Programs Are a Promising Solution to Bring More Multilingual Workers into Early Childhood Field By Jacob Hofstetter, Alexis Fintland and Maki Park
Multimedia October 12, 2022 Ensuring Effective Language Access Services and Policies in Early Childhood Programs	Fact Sheets October 2022 Dual Language Learners: Key Characteristics and Considerations for Early Childhood Programs By Ivana Tú Nhi Giang and Maki Park
Policy Briefs October 2022 Overlooked but Essential: Language Access in Early Childhood Programs By Maki Park, Jacob Hofstetter and Ivana Tú Nhi Giang	Policy Briefs June 2022 Immigrant Children’s Medicaid and CHIP Access and Participation: A Data Profile By Valerie Lacarte

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Policy Briefs October 2022 Overlooked but Essential: Language Access in Early Childhood Programs By Maki Park, Jacob Hofstetter and Ivana Tú Nhi Giang	Policy Briefs June 2022 Immigrant Children’s Medicaid and CHIP Access and Participation: A Data Profile By Valerie Lacarte
Policy Briefs May 2022 Cultural Competency Secrets to Success with Immigrant and Refugee Families: Spreading and Adapting 2Gen Working Practices By Chris Estes, Devin Deaton, Aparna Jayashankar and Margie McHugh	Policy Briefs May 2022 Growing Language Skills with Immigrant and Refugee Families: Spreading and Adapting 2Gen Working Practices By Chris Estes, Devin Deaton, Aparna Jayashankar and Margie McHugh
Policy Briefs May 2022 Better Responses to Differing Immigration Statuses: Spreading and Adapting 2Gen Working Practices By Chris Estes, Devin Deaton, Aparna Jayashankar and Margie McHugh	Policy Briefs May 2022 Building Trust with Immigrant and Refugee Families: Spreading and Adapting 2Gen Working Practices By Chris Estes, Devin Deaton, Aparna Jayashankar and Margie McHugh
Reports February 2022 Advancing Digital Equity among Immigrant-Origin Youth By Essey Workie, Lillie Hinkle, Anna deDufour and Valerie Lacarte	Fact Sheets February 2022 Una guía para padres sobre las evaluaciones de estudiantes de inglés By Delia Pompa and Jazmin Flores Peña

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Profile

May 1, 2019

Migration in the Netherlands: Rhetoric and Perceived Reality Challenge Dutch Tolerance

The Netherlands has witnessed a rise in far-right populism, challenging its reputation as a humanitarian haven. Yet, public fears equating immigration with a rise in religious extremism do not necessarily reflect the facts. This profile explores historical and contemporary migration in a country where population growth relies largely on immigration, and analyzes to what extent policymaking has been shaped by rising populism.

Feature

July 25, 2018

For Vulnerable Immigrant Children, A Longstanding Path to Protection Narrows

Since fiscal year 2010, more than 70,000 immigrant children have applied for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status, a pathway to a green card for youth who have been abused or neglected by their parents. Based on interviews with SIJ applicants, judges, and attorneys, this article provides an overview of the SIJ program and identifies limitations on access.

A boy peers through fencing at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Policy Beat

May 24, 2018

Family Separation and “Zero-Tolerance” Policies Rolled Out to Stem Unwanted Migrants, But May Face Challenges

Frustrated by an uptick in migrant apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months, the Trump administration unveiled a set of sweeping changes, aiming to prosecute for federal immigration crimes every migrant apprehended crossing illegally. The policy will likely be hindered by legal challenges and capacity limitations, as this article explores.

Feature

September 7, 2017

Gender-Based Violence against Women: Both Cause for Migration and Risk along the Journey

The changing nature of conflict has brought an uptick in gender-based violence in war-torn countries, with instances of rape particularly common in conflict zones. While many women leave their countries to escape such violence, setting off on the journey is no guarantee of safety, as they are vulnerable to further gender-based abuse in transit and at destination. This article explores the rates of gender violence among refugee, asylee, and migrant women, and examines supports available to survivors in the United States.

A Syrian refugee woman uses a special e-card to purchase food at a grocery store in Turkey.

Feature

August 9, 2017

Thinking Outside the Camp: Syrian Refugees in Istanbul

Turkey has been on the frontlines of the Syrian refugee crisis from the beginning. The vast majority of Turkey's nearly 3.2 million Syrian asylum seekers live in cities, putting pressure on the limited resources and legal authority of local governments to serve them. This article examines Istanbul's creative approaches to meeting the needs of this vulnerable population while balancing the concerns of local citizens.

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Video, Audio

January 19, 2022

Biden at One: Assessing the Administration’s Immigration Record

This MPI discussion with leading experts, advocates, and a top official from the administration examines the Biden track record on immigration and what lays ahead

Video, Audio

December 1, 2021

The Importance of Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care for Immigrant and Dual Language Learner Families

In this webinar, speakers examine the critical role of child care provided by family, friends, and neighbors (FFN) for immigrant families and program and policy approaches to more equitably serve and support FFN caregivers.

Expert Q&A, Audio

November 5, 2021

Immigrant Integration: Essential to the Success of Immigration Policy

In this World of Migration podcast episode, Margie McHugh, director of MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, chats with Ivana Tú Nhi Giang about the important role of integration, for immigrants themselves and the broader society, and the varying degrees of intentionality in integration policy design around the world.

Video, Audio

November 2, 2021

Effects of the Pandemic on High School English Learners and Ways to Help Them Recover

This webinar examines how the pandemic upended school life, the challenges for high school English Learners (ELs), state- and district-level efforts that can help ELs recover academically and address mental health needs, and the results of new research on the postsecondary aspirations of immigrant-background Latina/o students following the pandemic.

Video, Audio

July 21, 2021

Supporting Unaccompanied Children in the U.S. Communities Where They Live

Featuring findings from a recent MPI report, speakers examined the process of releasing unaccompanied children to sponsors, the current structure of federal post-release services, and the most significant needs these children and their U.S. sponsors experience.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs

April 2024

Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families through Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Services

Infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) services can offer vital support for young children’s healthy development. Yet, young children in immigrant and refugee families often do not benefit, due in part to lower levels of health-care coverage and limited cultural responsiveness in the field. This issue brief explores the benefits and barriers to supporting these children via IECMH services, and some ways to close key gaps.

Articles

March 13, 2024

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.

Reports

January 2024

Immigrants’ Eligibility for U.S. Public Benefits: A Primer

Immigrants’ eligibility for public benefits in the United States is governed by a complex patchwork of rules that make many groups of noncitizens eligible for some benefits but not others, while other noncitizens are excluded completely. This report provides an overview of immigrants’ eligibility for programs related to general assistance, health and nutrition, employment and income, education, housing, driver’s licenses, and more.

Video

September 18, 2023

20th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

The 20th annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference, organized by MPI, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., and Georgetown University Law Center, features fresh, thoughtful policy and legal analysis, and discussion of some of the top immigration issues by leading government officials, attorneys, researchers, advocates, and other experts.

Video, Audio, Webinars

October 11, 2023

Improving Language Access in Federal Programs: What Is the State of Play?

White House and Department of Health and Human Services officials join a leading language access advocate and MPI's Margie McHugh in a conversation exploring executive-branch efforts related to language access provision, upcoming actions, and opportunities to improve the provision of information and services in languages other than English in federal programs.

Policy Briefs

May 2023

Understanding Poverty Declines among Immigrants and Their Children in the United States

The United States has seen notable declines in overall and child poverty since 2009, continuing even into the period of pandemic-driven economic upheaval. This issue brief takes a closer look at how these trends have played out for immigrants and their children, by citizenship status and race/ethnicity. It also explores factors that have contributed to these poverty declines.

Video, Audio, Webinars

April 24, 2023

Strengthening Medical and Mental Health Services for Unaccompanied Children in U.S. Communities

Marking the launch of a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and MPI, this event examines unaccompanied children’s access to medical and mental health services post-release and offering recommendations for improvements.

Reports

April 2023

A Path to Meeting the Medical and Mental Health Needs of Unaccompanied Children in U.S. Communities

As the number of unaccompanied children entering U.S. communities has increased, many have faced barriers to accessing critical medical and mental health services. This report explores common barriers to care, promising practices for overcoming them, and strategies for strengthening services. It draws on interviews and focus groups with clinicians, social workers, and others working with this population as well as one-time unaccompanied children themselves.

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