Immigration Policy & Law

Immigration legislative and administrative policies, legal statutes and court decisions, and regulations collectively shape nations' immigration systems—from visa allotments and immigrant-selection mechanisms to immigrant integration programs, border controls, and more. As international migration has increased in size and spread and as a number of nations are more flexibly adjusting their immigration systems, the research offered here examines the many permutations of immigration policy and law, often with a comparative lens.

Recent Activity

Reports September 2021 Refugee Resettlement and Complementary Pathways: Opportunities for Growth By Susan Fratzke, Maria Belen Zanzuchi, Kate Hooper, Hanne Beirens, Lena Kainz, Nathan Benson, Eliza Bateman and Jessica Bolter	Reports August 2021 Taking the Long View: Options for Inclusive Post-Pandemic Labor Markets By Liam Patuzzi
Reports August 2021 From Jailers to Case Managers: Redesigning the U.S. Immigration Detention System to Be Effective and Fair By Randy Capps and Doris Meissner	Articles August 19, 2021 United Kingdom’s Decades-Long Immigration Shift Interrupted by Brexit and the Pandemic By Will Somerville and Peter William Walsh
Articles August 11, 2021 Central American Immigrants in the United States By Erin Babich and Jeanne Batalova	Reports July 2021 Integración socioeconómica de los migrantes y refugiados venezolanos: Los casos de Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador y Perú By Diego Chaves-González, Jordi Amaral and María Jesús Mora
Reports July 2021 Socioeconomic Integration of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees: The Cases of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru By Diego Chaves-González, Jordi Amaral and María Jesús Mora	Articles July 27, 2021 U.S. Government Rush to Evacuate Afghan Allies and Allocate Sufficient Special Visas Comes at Eleventh Hour By Muzaffar Chishti and Julia Gelatt

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Fact Sheets October 2016 Immigration to the Heartland: A Profile of Immigrants in the Kansas City Region By Randy Capps and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto	Reports October 2016 Moving Beyond Crisis: Germany’s New Approaches to Integrating Refugees into the Labor Market By Victoria Rietig
Books October 2016 All at Sea: The Policy Challenges of Rescue, Interception, and Long-Term Response to Maritime Migration By Kathleen Newland, Elizabeth Collett, Kate Hooper and Sarah Flamm	Reports October 2016 Integrating Refugees into Host Country Labor Markets: Challenges and Policy Options By Maria Vincenza Desiderio
Reports October 2016 Protection through Mobility: Opening Labor and Study Migration Channels to Refugees By Katy Long and Sarah Rosengaertner	Reports September 2016 Resolving Policy Conundrums: Enhancing Humanitarian Protection in Southeast Asia By Marie McAuliffe
Reports September 2016 The Evolving Approach to Refugee Protection in Turkey: Assessing the Practical and Political Needs By Metin Çorabatır	Policy Briefs August 2016 DACA at Four: Participation in the Deferred Action Program and Impacts on Recipients By Faye Hipsman, Bárbara Gómez-Aguiñaga and Randy Capps

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Spotlight

October 11, 2018

Mexican Immigrants in the United States

For decades, Mexicans have been the largest immigrant group in the United States. While this is still the case, the Mexican immigrant population is no longer growing at the rate it once was. In fact, between 2010 and 2017, the number of Mexicans in the country first leveled off and then began to decline. This article explores the latest data on Mexican immigrants in the United States.

Image of families belong together event banner in Houston

Policy Beat

September 26, 2018

Trump Administration’s New Indefinite Family Detention Policy: Deterrence Not Guaranteed

As the Trump administration moves to be able to indefinitely detain parents and children intercepted at the U.S.-Mexico border, whether illegal border crossers or asylum seekers, recent apprehension trends and history suggest hardline policies might not be a slam-dunk deterrent with a Central American population often driven by the desire to escape gang or other violence, as this Policy Beat explores.

Profile

August 29, 2018

El Salvador: Civil War, Natural Disasters, and Gang Violence Drive Migration

El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America yet the most densely populated. A stagnant economy, high levels of crime and violence, and natural disasters have pushed growing numbers of people to migrate without authorization or seek asylum abroad, mostly in the United States. This article explores historical and contemporary emigration from El Salvador.

Protest at an immigration detention facility

Policy Beat

August 22, 2018

Once Relatively Obscure, ICE Becomes a Lightning Rod in Immigration Debate

With the #AbolishICE movement catching fire among some on the left, critics of the Trump administration's immigration policies have seized on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as their main target—even condemning it for actions taken by other agencies. This article explores the evolution of ICE and resistance to it, as well as actions taken by the agency itself that have made its mission even more controversial.

Feature

August 15, 2018

Connecting Across Nationalities: Inter-Ethnic Relationships in a Kuwaiti Workplace

In Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, migrants make up a significant share of the private-sector workforce. While mainstream narratives commonly focus on the exploitation and abuse some of these migrant workers experience, their lives and relationships with the native born are much more complex and less unequal than is often perceived, as this article explores.

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EventPH 2012.02.12 The Skills of Immigrants3

Video, Audio

February 12, 2015

The Skills of Immigrants: What PIAAC Tells Us

A report release examining PIAAC data on the skills of U.S. immigrant adults and whether there is a gap with native-born adults, and discussion of how these skills relate to key immigrant integration outcomes such as employment, income, access to training, and health.

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.

EVENTPH 2014.12.3 Executive Action Webinar Flickr The Speaker flickr com photos thespeakernews 15660310918

Video, Audio

December 3, 2014

Digging Deeper Into Executive Action: A Further Examination of the Impacts

A discussion with MPI experts of the less-examined aspects of President Obama's executive actions on immigration, with respect to immigration enforcement, legal immigration, and immigrant integration.

EVENTPH 2014.10.28 The Global Boom in Investor Immigration (youtube E.Collett)v.3

Video

October 28, 2014

The Global Boom in Investor Immigration: What Are the Lessons For Policymakers?

A discussion on the extraordinary boom in investor immigration, including the rapidly expanding EB-5 visa in the United States, Malta’s controversial “cash for citizenship” policy and a host of programs across Europe and the Caribbean.

Recent Activity

Video, Webinars

September 21, 2020

17th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

This year’s Immigration Law and Policy Conference examines the immigration policy agenda under the Trump administration, including changes in the asylum system; the vast societal upheaval brought on by COVID-19 and the rising racial justice movement; what the future of U.S. immigration may look like; and many other topics related to U.S. immigration policy.

Reports

November 2020

Building a New Regional Migration System: Redefining U.S. Cooperation with Mexico and Central America

Addressing regional cooperation around migration will be among the immigration challenges and opportunities facing the incoming Biden administration. This report examines how movement between the United States, Mexico, and Central America has evolved in recent decades, and lays out a four-part strategy to expand opportunities for legal migration, address humanitarian protection needs, improve enforcement, and mitigate some of the forces driving people to emigrate.

Articles

November 20, 2020

The “Trump Effect” on Legal Immigration Levels: More Perception than Reality?

Despite a widespread perception that the Trump administration has drastically slashed legal immigration to the United States, a review of the data shows that temporary and permanent admissions during the period mostly followed previous trends—at least until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This article examines trends in temporary, permanent, and humanitarian admissions during the administration, and the related policies that could take a more significant bite ahead if left unchanged.

Reports

November 2020

Building Welcome from the Ground up: European Small and Rural Communities Engaging in Refugee Resettlement

Small towns and rural areas within Europe have become more active in receiving resettled refugees in recent years. How is resettlement to these communities different compared to urban areas? And what can be done to make good on the promise of “rural welcoming”? This report explores these questions, drawing on interviews with resettled refugees and receiving-community members in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Video, Audio, Webinars

November 17, 2020

Mission Critical: The Evolution of U.S. Homeland Security in the 21st Century

What does it mean to “secure the homeland” in the 21st century? And how do the Department of Homeland Security's immigration and border security missions figure into the equation? Top security experts assess DHS’s evolution and how it organizes its operations and migration management. They also offer recommendations on how to improve U.S. homeland security.

Video, Audio, Webinars

November 9, 2020

The Post-Pandemic Ascent: The Role of Migration in Emerging from the Economic and Labor Market Turmoil

MPI and OECD experts discuss the impact of the coronavirus on migration and mobility systems, findings from OECD’s International Migration Outlook 2020, opportunities for innovation, what labor demands may emerge, and the role of migration in North America and Europe at this challenging point in history.

Reports

November 2020

Managing the Pandemic and Its Aftermath: Economies, Jobs, and International Migration in the Age of COVID-19

Around the world, governments are grappling with how to combat the COVID-19 pandemic while also managing the economic fallout of policies put in place to stop the virus’ spread. Global migration has dropped sharply amid border closures and travel restrictions. This reflection takes stock of policy responses to the pandemic thus far, and of the challenges (and some opportunities) on the horizon for migration systems, labor markets, and integration of newcomers.

Video, Expert Q&A, Audio

November 9, 2020

What Is Immigration Policy Expected to Look Like in a Biden Administration?

What actions might the incoming Biden administration take on immigration, whether to unwind some of the most restrictive Trump policies or advance an affirmative agenda of its own? And what challenges and opportunities will the Biden administration face? MPI experts analyze the campaign pledges and prospects ahead, for everything from reversing the Remain in Mexico program and cuts to legal immigration, ending border wall construction, and reviving DACA and refugee resettlement, as well as new policies such as legalization.

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