E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
DREAM Act/Deferred Action

DREAM Act/Deferred Action

Conferring legal status on young unauthorized immigrants brought to the U.S. as children—a group referred to as DREAMers—has been the subject of legislation in Congress since 2001. In 2012, the Obama administration launched the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative to provide a temporary reprieve from deportation to qualified unauthorized immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. In 2017, the Trump administration announced the program's termination. The research here offers a demographic portrait of the DACA and broader DREAMer populations. Check out our DACA data tools, with state-level and national-origin data, here.

Recent Activity

Articles
August 11, 2021
Central American Immigrants in the United States
By Erin Babich and Jeanne Batalova
President Joe Biden speaks to journalists at the White House.
Articles
April 26, 2021
Border Challenges Dominate, But Biden’s First 100 Days Mark Notable Under-the-Radar Immigration Accomplishments
By Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter
Commentaries
February 2021
A Deeper Look at the DREAMers Who Could Feature in the Legalization Debate in Congress
By  Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
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Articles
February 11, 2021
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
By Jeanne Batalova, Mary Hanna, and Christopher Levesque
FLICKR BREAD FOR THE WORLD Bread for the World Groups gathered from all across the U.S. to demonstrate support for DACA and DAPA
Multimedia
February 4, 2021
Prospects for a U.S. Legalization Program and the Unauthorized Immigrant Groups that Could Factor in the Debate
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Reports
February 2021
Back on the Table: U.S. Legalization and the Unauthorized Immigrant Groups that Could Factor in the Debate
By  Jessica Bolter, Muzaffar Chishti and Doris Meissner
Joe Biden attends a pre-election event in Nevada.
Articles
January 27, 2021
Biden Sets the Stage for a Remarkably Active First 100 Days on Immigration
By Muzaffar Chishti and Sarah Pierce
Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States: Stable Numbers, Changing Origins
Fact Sheets
December 2020
Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States: Stable Numbers, Changing Origins
By  Randy Capps, Julia Gelatt, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Jennifer Van Hook

Pages

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Reports
March 2014
Education Reform in a Changing Georgia: Promoting High School and College Success for Immigrant Youth
By  Sarah Hooker, Michael Fix and Margie McHugh
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Reports
September 2013
Newcomers to the Aloha State: Challenges and Prospects for Mexicans in Hawai'i
By  Jeanne Batalova, Monisha Das Gupta and Sue Patricia Haglund
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Fact Sheets
August 2013
Side-by-Side Comparison of 2013 Senate Immigration Bill with Individual 2013 House Bills
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Policy Briefs
August 2013
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals at the One-Year Mark: A Profile of Currently Eligible Youth and Applicants
By  Jeanne Batalova, Sarah Hooker and Randy Capps
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Fact Sheets
April 2013
Side-by-Side Comparison of 2013 Senate Immigration Bill with 2006 and 2007 Senate Legislation
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Fact Sheets
April 2013
Side-by-Side Comparison of the 2013 Senate Immigration Framework with 2006 and 2007 Senate Legislation
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Fact Sheets
August 2012
Relief from Deportation: Demographic Profile of the DREAMers Potentially Eligible under the Deferred Action Policy
By  Jeanne Batalova and Michelle Mittelstadt
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Reports
November 2011
Up for Grabs: The Gains and Prospects of First- and Second-Generation Young Adults
By  Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix

Pages

Image of band playing music at a concert in Athens, GA.
Spotlight
August 4, 2022
Brazilian Immigrants in the United States

Persistent economic turmoil and civil and political insecurity have been drivers of emigration from Brazil, including to the United States. Although the number of Brazilian immigrants in the United States has been on the rise since the 1980s, the magnitude of these flows has made the past decade unique. Read a useful profile of Brazilians immigrants, including U.S. destinations, modes of entry, and educational and work characteristics.

Image of marchers at Dominican Day parade in New York City
Spotlight
July 7, 2022
Caribbean Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants from the Caribbean living in the United States come from a diverse set of countries and territories, with Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago the top origins. This article offers a sociodemographic profile of Caribbean immigrants, who represent 10 percent of the U.S. foreign-born population and nearly half of all Black immigrants in the United States.

Image of aspiring pastor and DACA recipient speaking at DACA event in Minneapolis
Policy Beat
June 9, 2022
At Its 10th Anniversary, DACA Faces a Tenuous Future Despite Societal Benefits

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program reached its 10th anniversary in June 2022. This article reviews the evidence on DACA’s impacts for Dreamers and the broader society, looks at the increased reliance on similar limited legal statuses to help segments of the unauthorized immigrant population, and examines the legal challenges the program has and is continuing to face.

An image of an immigration boarding line.
Spotlight
March 17, 2022
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

Need information about U.S. immigration trends or the makeup of the country's immigrant population? This useful, stats-rich article answers the most common questions about the size, shape, and changing nature of the U.S. foreign-born population. It also offers data on immigration enforcement actions, backlogs, and other elements of the U.S. immigration system.

A pile of documents on a desk.
Policy Beat
February 23, 2022
Mounting Backlogs Undermine U.S. Immigration System and Impede Biden Policy Changes

President Joe Biden has made efforts to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, but could see his administration's agenda slowed by massive backlogs across the immigration system. Case application wait times and immigration court queues have swelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, slowing legal arrivals to the United States and undermining the entire immigration system.

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EventPH 2015.08.11 DACAat3 flickr steverhodes dacafordreamers
Video, Audio
August 11, 2015

DACA at Three: New Data on Potential Applicants and Analysis of the Renewal Process

On this webinar, MPI experts provide data on characteristics of the potential applicant pool for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and examine the rates of DACA renewals and adjudications. The webinar also focuses on some of the issues impacting the rate of renewals.

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Video, Audio
July 23, 2015

Targeted Enforcement: Projecting the Effects of Executive Action on Deportations

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.

EventPH 2015.3.5 Adult Education, English and Skills Training Webinar Carlos Rosario ESL group work
Video, Audio
March 5, 2015

Adult Education, English and Skills Training: Opportunities for Action and Investment in the Most Vital Integration Services

This webinar, with perspectives from MPI, the National Partnership for New Americans, and the National Skills Coalition, looks at the role of adult education and English language and skills training in the immigrant integration process.

EventPH 2015.1.15 The County Level View of Unauthorized Immigrants and Implications for Executive Action Implementation
Video, Audio
January 15, 2015

The County-Level View of Unauthorized Immigrants and Implications for Executive Action Implementation

A webinar showcasing MPI's data profiles of unauthorized immigrants in the 94 U.S. counties with the largest such populations, as well as the implications of the data for implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) programs.

EVENTPH 2015.1.05 Lessons from DACA Flickr Educators Training Connie Ma
Video, Audio
January 7, 2015

Lessons from DACA’s Implementation and its Impact on Education and Training

A webinar examining the outreach and initiatives by educational institutions and other community stakeholders seeking to support the education and training success of grantees of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Pages

Recent Activity

Articles
June 9, 2022

At Its 10th Anniversary, DACA Faces a Tenuous Future Despite Societal Benefits

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program reached its 10th anniversary in June 2022. This article reviews the evidence on DACA’s impacts for Dreamers and the broader society, looks at the increased reliance on similar limited legal statuses to help segments of the unauthorized immigrant population, and examines the legal challenges the program has and is continuing to face.

Articles
March 17, 2022

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

Need information about U.S. immigration trends or the makeup of the country's immigrant population? This useful, stats-rich article answers the most common questions about the size, shape, and changing nature of the U.S. foreign-born population. It also offers data on immigration enforcement actions, backlogs, and other elements of the U.S. immigration system.

Articles
February 23, 2022

Mounting Backlogs Undermine U.S. Immigration System and Impede Biden Policy Changes

President Joe Biden has made efforts to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, but could see his administration's agenda slowed by massive backlogs across the immigration system. Case application wait times and immigration court queues have swelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, slowing legal arrivals to the United States and undermining the entire immigration system.

Reports
February 2022

Four Years of Profound Change: Immigration Policy during the Trump Presidency

The Trump administration set an unprecedented pace for executive action on immigration, reshaping many aspects of the U.S. immigration system through changes large and small. This report chronicles the 472 administrative changes enacted during this four-year period—ranging from COVID-19 response measures and immigration enforcement, to humanitarian protection, travel bans, legal immigration and DACA changes, and more.

Video, Audio, Webinars
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

Articles
January 19, 2022

Biden at the One-Year Mark: A Greater Change in Direction on Immigration Than Is Recognized

While Donald Trump’s presidency is perceived as being the most active on immigration, touching nearly every aspect of the U.S. immigration system, President Joe Biden’s administration has far outpaced his predecessor in the number of executive actions taken during his first year in office—even as the pace of change has gone largely unnoticed, as this article explores.

Articles
January 6, 2022

Immigration Has Been a Defining, Often Contentious, Element Throughout U.S. History

As host to more immigrants than any other country, the United States has been shaped and reshaped by immigration over the centuries, with the issue at times becoming a flashpoint. This article covers the history of U.S. immigration and the major laws governing immigration, and provides a comprehensive overview of the present-day immigrant population.

Articles
October 15, 2021

Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States

Vietnamese immigrants are among the largest foreign-born groups from Asia in the United States. The first significant arrivals came at the end of the Vietnam War; more recent immigrants from Vietnam have been more likely to come through family sponsorship programs. This article examines different dimensions of this immigrant population.

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