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As workers and consumers, immigrants play a role in the labor markets and economies of the countries in which they settle. The research collected here examines how immigrants fare in the labor market, whether they are affected differently than native-born workers during cycles of boom and bust, the role of migration policymaking as a lever of competitiveness, employment of the foreign born by sector and skill, and the fiscal impacts of immigration. MPI's research also assesses the role of temporary workers and the labor recruitment process.

Recent Activity

Multimedia November 16, 2023 Migration, Integration, and Development in Secondary Cities	Policy Briefs December 2023 Consolidating Gains: Lessons and Priorities for Promoting Fair and Ethical Recruitment By Kate Hooper
Articles November 29, 2023 Antiquated U.S. Immigration System Ambles into the Digital World By Muzaffar Chishti and Julia Gelatt	Reports November 2023 Migration and Displacement in Secondary Cities: Insights from Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda By Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Camille Le Coz
Articles November 16, 2023 Climate Migration 101: An Explainer By Lawrence Huang	Reports November 2023 Immigration and Integration in the Ever More Diverse Houston Area By Valerie Lacarte, Michael Fix and Jeanne Batalova
Articles November 8, 2023 Haitian Immigrants in the United States By Beatrice Dain and Jeanne Batalova	Articles November 1, 2023 The World’s Leading Refugee Host, Turkey Has a Complex Migration History By Ayhan Kaya

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Reports May 2023 Displaced Ukrainians in European Labor Markets: Leveraging Innovations for More Inclusive Integration By Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Kate Hooper	Policy Briefs April 2023 What Role Can Immigration Play in Addressing Current and Future Labor Shortages? By Kate Hooper
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 February 2023 Unblocking the U.S. Immigration System: Executive Actions to Facilitate the Migration of Needed Workers By Julia Gelatt
Fact Sheets December 2022 The Skills and Economic Outcomes of Immigrant and U.S.-Born College Graduates By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix	Policy Briefs November 2022 Reassessing Recruitment Costs in a Changing World of Labor Migration By Kate Hooper
Fact Sheets November 2022 A Profile of Low-Income Immigrants in the United States By Julia Gelatt, Valerie Lacarte and Joshua Rodriguez	Policy Briefs October 2022 Diverging Pathways: Immigrants’ Legal Status and Access to Postsecondary Credentials By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix

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Feature

November 16, 2023

Climate Migration 101: An Explainer

Is climate change a major driver of migration and displacement? From where are people leaving, and where are they going? This informative primer, a Climate Migration 101 of sorts, provides answers to basic questions about climate change and migration, starting with how and where climate change triggers human movement.

A Haitian-American book fair in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood

Spotlight

November 8, 2023

Haitian Immigrants in the United States

The United States is the world’s top destination for Haitian migrants, who in recent years have fled an array of disasters and crises. Compared to other immigrant groups in the United States, the nearly 731,000 Haitians are more likely to be naturalized citizens, arrive through family-based pathways, and work in the service industry, as this data-rich article details.

Profile

November 1, 2023

The World’s Leading Refugee Host, Turkey Has a Complex Migration History

Turkey is home to the world’s largest refugee population, a fact that has been a source of pride, a geopolitical tool, and a logistical challenge. This article shows how the millions of Syrians who have arrived since 2011 comprise just one aspect of Turkey’s rich and complex migration history. The country has been a significant host, a transit point for individuals heading to Europe, and a source of migrant laborers.

Profile

October 18, 2023

Ecuador hace malabares con la creciente emigración y los desafíos para acomodar la llegada de venezolanos

Ecuador se ha convertido en un destino importante para los migrantes sudamericanos, un país de tránsito para quienes se dirigen al norte y una fuente renovada de emigración. El pequeño país andino se ha visto enredado en las tendencias cambiantes de movilidad de la región y ha respondido a las circunstancias cambiantes con una combinación de políticas que ha producido algunos resultados imprevistos.

Profile

October 18, 2023

Ecuador Juggles Rising Emigration and Challenges Accommodating Venezuelan Arrivals

Ecuador has emerged as a significant destination for Venezuelan migrants, and is also a sizable origin for people heading to the United States and Spain. The Andean nation has found itself enmeshed in the Americas' evolving mobility trends and has responded with a mix of policies that have produced some unforeseen outcomes. This country profile evaluates recent trends and puts them in historical context.

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closed until further notice in window due to the COVID 19 coronavirus pandemic,

Video, Audio

June 30, 2022

Migrant Integration Governance After the Pandemic: Lasting Adaptations?

On this webinar, speakers examine how government strategies, practices, and instruments of integration policymaking have adapted during the pandemic both in Europe and North America, and what lessons there are for the future.

Video

June 21, 2022

Labor Migration and Development in Central America

On this webinar, speakers discuss the main challenges faced by countries of origin and destination in ensuring mutual benefits through labor migration and strategies moving forward related to migration and development in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Video, Audio

June 14, 2022

Alternativas a la migración irregular: Ampliación de los programas de trabajo temporal en Canadá, México y Costa Rica

Este seminario web, que presenta el lanzamiento de un informe, examina el potencial de Canadá, México y Costa Rica para expandir los programas de trabajadores temporales para los centroamericanos, ofreciendo un medio importante para convertir algunos flujos irregulares en flujos legales.

Image of Central American worker checking corn in cornfield.

Video, Audio

June 14, 2022

Promising Alternatives to Irregular Migration: Expanding Temporary Worker Programs in Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica

This webcast presents research findings on temporary employment pathways for Central American migrants in Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

The border area of Haquillas is home to several Venezuelans waiting of their documentation to be formally processed in order to enter in Peru regularly.

Video

June 9, 2022

Towards Regional Governance on Migration and Forced Displacement: A Side Event of the Ninth Summit of the Americas

On the sidelines of the Ninth Summit of the Americas, this event co-sponsored by MPI examines tools and concrete actions taken on regional migration governance, best practices and lessons learned, and the role of regional mechanisms to respond to migration and forced displacement.

Recent Activity

Expert Q&A, Audio

October 6, 2020

Is Airport COVID-19 Testing Ready for Takeoff?

Austria’s Vienna airport was an early adopter for in-airport COVID-19 tests, with results turned around within a few hours, sparing those with medical certificates from a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Can this serve as a model for restarting business travel and tourism? In this episode of our Moving Beyond Pandemic podcast, we talk to Vienna airport official Peter Kleemann to learn more.

Articles

October 1, 2020

The U.S. Presidential Campaign Cements Political Parties’ Deepening Schism on Immigration

In the United States, Republicans and Democrats are deeply divided on immigration. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have offered sharply diverging policy positions, and the outcome of the election is sure to have profound consequences for the U.S. immigration system. Yet this partisan divide is relatively new. Just two decades ago, the parties were much more united on immigrants’ role in the U.S. economy and society.

Reports

September 2020

Driving Migrant Inclusion through Social Innovation: Lessons for Cities in a Pandemic

Since COVID-19 hit cities across Europe, many have struggled with how to sustain support for migrant inclusion in a time of social-distancing orders and likely budget cuts. This report explores how municipalities and their partners used social innovation to meet the challenges of the 2015–16 spike in arrivals of asylum seekers and migrants, and how those experiences can help localities weather the pandemic and put communities at the center of recovery efforts.

Policy Briefs

September 2020

Brexit on the Backburner: Citizens’ Rights and the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement in a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic hit just weeks after the United Kingdom formally left the European Union, delaying plans to implement the withdrawal agreement’s provisions on citizens’ rights. This policy brief assesses the progress countries have made in setting up systems to adjust the status of mobile EU and UK nationals, as well as steps countries can take to make up for lost time.

Articles

September 16, 2020

College-Educated Immigrants in the United States

Nearly 13 million immigrants have a four-year college degree or better. But these highly educated immigrants are not spread evenly throughout the labor market. They make up disproportionate shares of certain jobs, especially in the science and technology fields, accounting for 45 percent of software developers, 42 percent of physical scientists, and 29 percent of physicians. Yet there are signs that the trends of this population might be changing, as this article explores.

Policy Briefs

September 2020

Inmigrantes venezolanos, crimen y percepciones falsas: Un análisis de los datos en Colombia, Perú y Chile

Más de 4 millones de venezolanos han migrado a otros países de América Latina y el Caribe, lo que ha generado preocupación sobre cómo estas llegadas están afectando a las comunidades receptoras. Algunos políticos y expertos han afirmado que la migración está provocando un incremento en la delincuencia, un argumento que este informe examina a través de un análisis detallado de los datos de Chile, Colombia y Perú.

Policy Briefs

September 2020

Venezuelan Migration, Crime, and Misperceptions: A Review of Data from Colombia, Peru, and Chile

More than 4 million Venezuelans have moved to other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, raising concerns about how these arrivals are affecting receiving communities. Some politicians and pundits have asserted that migration is leading to an increase in crime—a claim this issue brief finds misplaced based on examination of official data from Chile, Colombia, and Peru.

Articles

September 10, 2020

Gaps in India’s Treatment of Refugees and Vulnerable Internal Migrants Are Exposed by the Pandemic

India has no refugee law and has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, leaving many of its estimated 250,000 recognized refugees in a legal gray area. Meanwhile, more than 450 million internal migrants form the foundation of the country's economy, yet often have trouble accessing government benefits, identity cards, and other services. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought these shared vulnerabilities into stark relief.

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