Immigrant Integration

Immigrant integration is the process of economic mobility and social inclusion for newcomers and their children. As such, integration touches upon the institutions and mechanisms that promote development and growth within society, including early childhood care; elementary, postsecondary, and adult education systems; workforce development; health care; provision of government services to communities with linguistic diversity; and more. Successful integration builds communities that are stronger economically and more inclusive socially and culturally.

Recent Activity

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	Articles November 10, 2022 Millionaire Migration Rises and Heads to New Destinations By Elizabeth Shaw
Articles November 2, 2022 Living in Limbo: Displaced Ukrainians in Poland By Tamar Jacoby	Articles October 19, 2022 Spain’s Decentralized Immigration System Allows Local Integration Policies to Lead the Way By Jenna Mazza
Multimedia October 12, 2022 Ensuring Effective Language Access Services and Policies in Early Childhood Programs	Multimedia October 11, 2022 Migrant Integration: Learning from What Works in Times of Uncertainty
Articles October 13, 2022 Mexican Immigrants in the United States By Raquel Rosenbloom and Jeanne Batalova	Fact Sheets October 2022 Dual Language Learners: Key Characteristics and Considerations for Early Childhood Programs By Ivana Tú Nhi Giang and Maki Park

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Reports November 2020 Managing the Pandemic and Its Aftermath: Economies, Jobs, and International Migration in the Age of COVID-19 By Demetrios G. Papademetriou	Reports November 2020 Immigration Data Matters By Jeanne Batalova, Andriy Shymonyak and Michelle Mittelstadt
Policy Briefs October 2020 Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families through Home Visiting: Innovative State and Local Approaches By Caitlin Katsiaficas	Reports September 2020 Driving Migrant Inclusion through Social Innovation: Lessons for Cities in a Pandemic By Liam Patuzzi
Policy Briefs September 2020 Educating English Learners during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Policy Ideas for States and School Districts By Julie Sugarman and Melissa Lazarin	Policy Briefs September 2020 Brexit on the Backburner: Citizens’ Rights and the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement in a Pandemic By Aliyyah Ahad and Monica Andriescu
Policy Briefs September 2020 Inmigrantes venezolanos, crimen y percepciones falsas: Un análisis de los datos en Colombia, Perú y Chile By Dany Bahar, Meagan Dooley and Andrew Selee	Policy Briefs September 2020 Venezuelan Migration, Crime, and Misperceptions: A Review of Data from Colombia, Peru, and Chile By Dany Bahar, Meagan Dooley and Andrew Selee

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Mother and daughter from Middle Eastern background

Spotlight

January 13, 2022

Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants in the United States

Migration from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to the United States doubled between 2000 and 2019, yet these immigrants represented less than 3 percent of the overall U.S. foreign-born population as of 2019. MENA immigrants are more likely than other immigrants to be English proficient, have a college degree, and work in management, business, science, and arts occupations.

A Dutch family at Ellis Island between 1915 and 1920.

Profile

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.

New U.S. citizens take an oath during a naturalization ceremony.

Spotlight

November 10, 2021

Naturalized Citizens in the United States

More than half of all immigrants in the United States are naturalized citizens. The number of new naturalizations has fluctuated from year to year, hitting a decade-long low in fiscal year 2020, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising processing times. This article provides information on naturalized citizens in the United States, including historical trends and socioeconomic characteristics.

Merchants sell items on a busy street in San José, Costa Rica.

Feature

November 5, 2021

Costa Rica Has Welcoming Policies for Migrants, but Nicaraguans Face Subtle Barriers

Tens of thousands of Nicaraguans have fled their country since 2018, amid repression and a renewed government crackdown. In neighboring Costa Rica, many migrants have encountered a robust system for protection and integration, yet they still face stigma and discrimination in their daily lives. This article explores this dynamic along one of Central America's most important migratory routes.

A woman stands onboard the U.S. Navy vessel on which she was born.

Spotlight

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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Felipe Munoz at Migration Policy Institute Event

Video, Audio

September 27, 2019

The Colombian Response to the Venezuelan Migration Crisis: A Dialogue with Colombia’s Migration Czar

Felipe Muñoz, Advisor to the President of Colombia for the Colombian-Venezuelan Border, discusses how Colombia is coping with the influx of Venezuelan migrants, plans for future policy decisions surrounding this migration, and developments in regional and international cooperation.

Flickr SweetwaterISDCowen Early Childhood CenterNationalTeddyBearDay

Video, Audio

August 28, 2019

Effectively Serving Immigrant and Dual Language Learner Families through Home Visiting Programs

Marking a policy brief's release, this webinar explores the promise of home visiting services that support new parents alongside their infants and toddlers, plus strategies for improving how these programs work with immigrant and linguistically diverse families.

Video, Audio

August 20, 2019

Chronicling Migration in the 21st Century Through One Family’s Journey

Marking the launch of New York Times reporter Jason DeParle's book tracing the arc of migration and its impacts through the life of an extended family of Filipino migrants over a three-decade period, from Manila and through Dubai to the Houston area, this conversation with MPI's Andrew Selee and the World Bank's Dilip Ratha explores migration at both a global and very personal level.

Video, Audio

August 12, 2019

Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy: Building a Responsive, Effective Immigration System

This discussion marked the launch of MPI's Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy Initiative, which aims to generate a big-picture, evidence-driven vision of the role immigration should play in America’s future, as well as to build a bipartisan center so needed reforms can be enacted.

Video, Audio

May 17, 2019

"Merit-Based" Immigration: Designing Successful Selection Systems

With the U.S. administration calling for the United States to adopt a more “merit-based” immigrant selection system, this conversation focused on what policymakers should consider in designing—and managing—immigrant selection systems in a time of intense labor-market and demographic change.

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars

April 20, 2022

With Millions of Unfilled U.S. Jobs, What Role Is There for Immigration?

Experts on this webinar examined the scope and reality of skills shortages and the role of immigrants in the U.S. labor market, ways to address the underemployment of highly skilled immigrants, and how immigrants and immigration policy can be used to fulfil needs in the education sector, STEM occupations, and other skills needs. The webinar also marked the launch of Leveraging the Skills of Immigrant Health-Care Professionals in Illinois and Chicago,

Reports

April 2022

Digital Health Credentials and COVID-19: Can Vaccine and Testing Requirements Restart Global Mobility?

Digital health credentials that verify a person’s COVID-19 vaccination, testing, or recovery status are a central part of efforts to restart international travel and migration. This report explores these credentials’ use to date and persistent challenges, including those related to international coordination and technical compatibility between systems. It also recommends strategies to more fully leverage their potential and make them more inclusive.

Articles

April 19, 2022

Persistent COVID-19 Vaccine Inequity Has Significant Implications for Refugees and Other Vulnerable Migrants

Most of the world's refugees live in low-income countries where rates of COVID-19 vaccination remain low. Although refugees have been formally included in many governments’ vaccination plans, a combination of factors has made access to jabs difficult, as this article explains.

Policy Briefs

April 2022

Leveraging the Skills of Immigrant Health-Care Professionals in Illinois and Chicago

Immigrants play important roles across the U.S. health-care workforce, but not all of those with in-demand health and medical degrees are able to put their skills to work. Addressing this skill underutilization, or “brain waste,” has only become more important during the pandemic. This brief examines the extent of skill underutilization among immigrants with health degrees in Illinois, a state with a long history of immigration, and efforts to better leverage these skills.

Articles

April 14, 2022

Korean Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants from the Korean peninsula are one of the ten largest foreign-born groups in the United States, but their numbers have actually shrunk in recent years. Immigrants from Korea tend to be older, better educated, and earn higher incomes than the overall immigrant and native-born populations.

Commentaries

March 2022

Opportunities Exist to Better Reach Dual Language Learner and Immigrant Families through Home Visiting Programs

Home visiting programs can offer critical integration-related supports, yet many Dual Language Learner (DLL) and immigrant families are known to be underserved. With reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Child Home Visiting (MIECHV) program looming, Congress has an important opportunity to support families with young children—many of whom are still struggling with challenges exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

Commentaries

March 2022

Straight Path to Legal Permanent Residence for Afghan Evacuees Would Build on Strong U.S. Precedent

Dating to the 1950s, Congress on multiple occasions has provided a direct path to permanent residence for Hungarians, Vietnamese, Cubans, and others fleeing upheaval in their countries. Given this precedent, this commentary suggests Congress should act to provide a more secure future for the more than 72,000 Afghans who were airlifted to the United States under an uncertain immigration status known as parole.

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