E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
Immigrant Integration

Immigrant Integration

Brain Waste & Credential Recognition
Children & Family Policy
Citizenship & Civic Engagement
Health Care & Welfare Benefits
Language Access
Social Cohesion & Identity
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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

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Commentaries
June 2020
COVID-19 Spotlights the Inequities Facing English Learner Students, as Nonprofit Organizations Seek to Mitigate Challenges
By  Melissa Lazarin
Using Evidence to Improve Refugee Resettlement: A Monitoring and Evaluation Road Map
Reports
June 2020
Using Evidence to Improve Refugee Resettlement: A Monitoring and Evaluation Road Map
By  Aliyyah Ahad, Camille Le Coz and Hanne Beirens
A gathering in Tel Aviv for asylum seeker rights
Articles
June 5, 2020
A Warm Welcome for Some: Israel Embraces Immigration of Jewish Diaspora, Sharply Restricts Labor Migrants and Asylum Seekers
By Rebeca Raijman
European Cities on the Front Line: New and Emerging Governance Models for Migrant Inclusion
Reports
May 2020
European Cities on the Front Line: New and Emerging Governance Models for Migrant Inclusion
By  Liam Patuzzi
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Articles
May 14, 2020
Immigrant Health-Care Workers in the United States
By Jeanne Batalova
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Fact Sheets
May 2020
Barriers to COVID-19 Testing and Treatment: Immigrants without Health Coverage in the United States
By  Randy Capps and Julia Gelatt
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Articles
April 24, 2020
Vulnerable to COVID-19 and in Frontline Jobs, Immigrants Are Mostly Shut Out of U.S. Relief
By Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter
Photo of India gate in Delhi, India featuring names of protestors killed in anti-Citizenship Act demonstrations
Articles
April 16, 2020
A Proxy War on Minorities? India Crafts Citizenship and Refugee Policies through the Lens of Religion
By Neeraj Kaushal

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Reports
October 2014
Benign Neglect? Policies to Support Upward Mobility for Immigrants in the United Kingdom
By  Rachel Marangozov
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Reports
October 2014
Selling Visas and Citizenship: Policy Questions from the Global Boom in Investor Immigration
By  Madeleine Sumption and Kate Hooper
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Reports
October 2014
Building an Integration System: Policies to Support Immigrants’ Progression in the Czech Labor Market
By  Dušan Drbohlav and Ondřej Valenta
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Reports
September 2014
Rotterdam: A Long-Time Port of Call and Home to Immigrants
By  Han Entzinger and Godfried Engbersen
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Reports
September 2014
Diploma, Please: Promoting Educational Attainment for DACA- and Potential DREAM Act-Eligible Youth
By  Margie McHugh
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Reports
September 2014
Smart Inclusive Cities: How New Apps, Big Data, and Collaborative Technologies Are Transforming Immigrant Integration
By  Meghan Benton
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Reports
September 2014
Fostering an Inclusive Identity Where It Matters Most: At the Local Level (Transatlantic Council Statement)
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou
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Reports
September 2014
Decentralising Immigrant Integration: Denmark’s Mainstreaming Initiatives in Employment, Education, and Social Affairs
By  Martin Bak Jørgensen

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Feature
January 16, 2014
Assessing Immigrant Integration in Sweden after the May 2013 Riots
This article explores the underlying causes of the May 2013 riots across several Stockholm suburbs that have high proportions of foreign-born residents, and asks whether rapid increases in the size of Sweden's immigrant population or the government's integration efforts played a central role.
Feature
September 4, 2013
Integrating Immigrant Youth: Transatlantic Perspectives

This article examines common challenges and factors influencing the development of local labor-market integration initiatives targeting immigrant youth, based on four city case studies conducted in the United States and the European Union.

Feature
May 10, 2013
Integrating Europe's Muslim Minorities: Public Anxieties, Policy Responses

Muslim integration is one of the most contentious issues in the immigration debate in Europe, and one that gets to the heart of public anxieties about immigration. This article explores public perception toward Muslims in Western Europe and the array of integration policies that countries in the region have adopted during the past several years.

Feature
April 2, 2013
Health Outcomes of Mexican Immigrant Women in the United States

This article provides a comparative analysis of health outcomes of Mexican immigrant women in the United States, assessing the results against what is known as the immigrant paradox—the idea that these women enjoy a better state of health overall than might be expected, given their socioeconomic status and very limited health insurance coverage.

Feature
August 2, 2012
Shaping Citizenship Policies to Strengthen Immigrant Integration

In recent years, many governments have tightened their citizenship requirements as a way to promote better immigrant integration. In examining citizenship policy in the United States, Canada, and countries in the European Union, this article considers the balance policymakers face between requirements that may be too difficult for immigrants to meet and ones that will better help them find success in their new countries of residence.

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Video, Audio
August 7, 2012

The New Deferred Action Program: Strategies for Success

Join MPI as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas discusses the application process and policies that the agency has announced to implement the administration’s deferred action program.

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Video, Audio
July 30, 2012

Unaccompanied Minors and Their Journey through the U.S. Immigration System

MPI is pleased to host a discussion with experts from both KIND and the Women’s Refugee Commission, focusing on the causes of the increase in unaccompanied minor migrants, the situation these minors face once detained or apprehended, and the challenges confronting both nongovernmental organizations trying to provide aid and the U.S. government agencies responsible for processing minors through the system. 

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Video, Audio
May 23, 2012

The Role of National Governments in Promoting Immigrant Integration

A discussion with Rosario Farmhouse, Alejandro Mayorkas, Jasenko Selimovic, Peter Sylvester, and Demetrios G. Papademetriou, MPI President.

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Audio
May 8, 2012

Federal Update: A Conversation on Language Access with the U.S. Department of Justice

This MPI webinar features U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials discussing the department’s efforts to improve communications with Limited English Proficient (LEP) communities in federal and federally-funded programs and activities.

10 year anniversary
Video, Audio
April 19, 2012

MPI's 10th Anniversary Celebration

The Migration Policy Institute celebrated its first decade as the authoritative, unimpeachable resource on immigration and immigrant integration analysis and policy design in the United States and internationally.

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Recent Activity

Audio, Webinars
June 24, 2021

Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States: A Persistent Problem with Increasing Costs

During this webcast, experts discuss findings from a report examining at U.S. and state levels the underemployment of college graduates by nativity and by race and ethnicity, in the process revealing patterns of economic inequality. The conversation includes immigrant and employer voices who explore the promising strategies that exist to mitigate this brain waste for the benefit of the U.S. economy, local communities, and the workers themselves.

Video, Audio, Webinars
June 16, 2021

A First Step Towards Equity for Dual Language Learners in Early Childhood Systems: Identifying Their Language Needs and Characteristics

MPI experts discuss a framework describing the most critical elements that should be included in standardized, comprehensive DLL identification and tracking processes for early childhood systems, based on program and policy needs.

Commentaries
June 2021

A Solvable Challenge: Improving Asylee Access to Health and Other Benefits

While asylees are eligible for many of the same public benefits and services as resettled refugees, including health care and employment assistance, there is no system to inform them of their eligibility and to help connect them to resources. MPI estimates that fewer than 20 percent of those granted asylum in recent years received Office of Refugee Resettlement benefits during their first year. The U.S. government could address this gap with a few simple measures.

Commentaries
June 2021

Rebuilding the U.S. Education System for the Nation’s English Learners

The $122 billion investment that K-12 schools across the United States are receiving from the federal government to address the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on the nation's most vulnerable students represents a key opportunity to help reset the trajectory of education for English Learners (ELs). As states submit their plans for using the funds, community based organizations can be key partners, as this commentary explains.

Reports
June 2021

Leaving Money on the Table: The Persistence of Brain Waste among College-Educated Immigrants

While the educational credentials of recent immigrants to the United States have steadily risen, licensing and other barriers continue to prevent many college-educated immigrants from working at their skill level. This underutilization is particularly acute for Black and Latino college graduates, even after controlling for sociodemographic and educational characteristics. This report offers a U.S. and state profile of underemployment, and possible policy remedies.

Reports
June 2021

Strengthening Services for Unaccompanied Children in U.S. Communities

While record monthly arrivals of unaccompanied minors in early 2021 have drawn considerable attention, important questions surround what happens once the children are released from federal custody to parents or other sponsors. This report examines federal post-release services, support needs among children and sponsors, how service providers are meeting these needs, and ways to improve services—to the benefit of the children and the communities in which they live.

Video, Audio, Webinars
May 19, 2021

EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration: Switching Perspectives?

In April 2021, the European Commission took a step toward the creation of a common EU return system, releasing its first Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration. This MPI Europe event, marking the release of EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration: Crafting a Road Map to Better Cooperation with Migrants’ Countries of Origin, examines origin- and destination-country policy priorities surrounding return, opportunities for cooperation, and possible next steps in policy development. 

Policy Briefs
May 2021

Ending the Invisibility of Dual Language Learners in Early Childhood Systems: A Framework for DLL Identification

A large and growing number of young children in the United States have at least one parent who speaks a language other than English at home. These Dual Language Learners (DLLs) have been shown to benefit considerably from high-quality early childhood programs, but better data are needed to make sure these services are responsive to the experiences and learning needs of these preschoolers. This issue brief sets out a framework for comprehensive DLL identification.

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