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

Multimedia February 25, 2020 Seasonal Worker Programs in Europe: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward	Articles February 20, 2020 Japan’s Labor Migration Reforms: Breaking with the Past? By Deborah J. Milly
Policy Briefs February 2020 Seasonal Worker Programs in Europe: Promising Practices and Ongoing Challenges By Kate Hooper and Camille Le Coz	Articles February 14, 2020 Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States By Jeanne Batalova, Brittany Blizzard, and Jessica Bolter
Reports February 2020 The Patchy Landscape of State English Learner Policies under ESSA By Leslie Villegas and Delia Pompa	Reports February 2020 Bienvenidas asimétricas: Respuestas de América Latina y el Caribe a la migración venezolana y nicaragüense By Andrew Selee and Jessica Bolter
Reports February 2020 An Uneven Welcome: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration By Andrew Selee and Jessica Bolter	Commentaries January 2020 Brexit Day—Is This the Dawning of the Age of Immobility? By Meghan Benton

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Policy Briefs May 2013 A Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Health Coverage Profile of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States By Randy Capps, Michael Fix, Jennifer Van Hook and James D. Bachmeier	Fact Sheets April 2013 Side-by-Side Comparison of the 2013 Senate Immigration Framework with 2006 and 2007 Senate Legislation
Fact Sheets April 2013 Side-by-Side Comparison of 2013 Senate Immigration Bill with 2006 and 2007 Senate Legislation	Reports March 2013 The Integration Needs of Mobile EU Citizens: Impediments and Opportunities By Elizabeth Collett
Reports March 2013 Exceptional in Europe? Spain's Experience with Immigration and Integration By Joaquín Arango	Reports March 2013 Identity and (Muslim) Integration in Germany By Naika Foroutan
Fact Sheets March 2013 Key Immigration Laws and Policy Developments Since 1986	Reports March 2013 Unauthorized Immigrant Parents and Their Children's Development By Hirokazu Yoshikawa and Jenya Kholoptseva

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VisaApplicant USConsulate GeneralChennai Flickr

Feature

July 21, 2016

Chasing Growth: The Role of National Economies in U.S. Visa Refusal Rates

As many as half of all unauthorized immigrants in the United States entered legally and overstayed a visa. This article explores a possible way to refine visa policies: Examine the economic growth of travelers' home countries. The author examines the correlation between economic growth and the rate at which a country’s nationals are denied visas, and explores how this might inform visa policy.

Feature

July 7, 2016

When Outbreaks Go Global: Migration and Public Health in a Time of Zika

News of the Zika virus outbreak in Latin America has raised alarm bells, resulting in scattered calls for tighter restrictions on international entries to the United States. Evidence shows, however, that closing borders and restrictions on international travel tend to have little impact on the spread of infectious diseases. This feature article explores the linkages between public health and migration in the Americas.

Policy Beat

June 29, 2016

Supreme Court DAPA Ruling a Blow to Obama Administration, Moves Immigration Back to Political Realm

A split ruling by the Supreme Court in United States v. Texas has dealt a hard blow to the Obama administration's signature deferred action programs. While the decision makes it unlikely the DAPA program and DACA expansion will be implemented in their current form, the outcome at the high court may have opened a path for renewed movement on immigration policy changes in Congress, as this article explores.

Feature

June 1, 2016

The Global Feminization of Migration: Past, Present, and Future

Scholars have declared feminization to be a core dimension of the new age of international migration. This article sketches a more nuanced understanding, noting that an uptick in female migration occurred far earlier. The authors examine global historical patterns of female migration in order to understand the causes and consequences of the migration gender balance, which varies considerably across time, cultures, and nations.

Policy Beat

May 25, 2016

Controversial EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Faces Possibility of Overhaul

While the EB-5 investor visa program from inception has had its share of critics, its sharp expansion over a short period of time—combined with the emergence of several high-profile controversies—has markedly increased scrutiny, and thus the possibility of legislative reform. This Policy Beat outlines the debate surrounding the EB-5 program and possible changes awaiting the program in Congress.

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Video, Audio

May 20, 2009

2009 E Pluribus Unum Awards

Award winners for the inaugural year of the E Pluribus Unum Prizes program were honored at a reception at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC in 2009.

2009.5.15 MPI Symposium on Citizenship screen shot

Video

May 15, 2009

MPI Symposium on Citizenship

MPI's symposium on citizenship examined immigrant civic and political participation, the notion of local voting rights for noncitizens, the concept and practice of dual citizenship, and the role of citizenship in immigrant integration.

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars

February 25, 2020

Seasonal Worker Programs in Europe: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward

As the European Union prepares to review the implementation of its Seasonal Workers Directive, as well as countries such as the United Kingdom continue to explore new approaches to selecting seasonal workers, this webinar features findings from a policy brief on the topic.

Articles

February 20, 2020

Japan’s Labor Migration Reforms: Breaking with the Past?

Japan is hoping to bring in as many as 350,000 medium-skilled foreign workers over five years to fill labor market gaps in its rapidly aging society. Yet does this system of Specified Skilled Workers represent an effort to secure a workforce without making long-term settlement possible? And considering its linkage to a Technical Intern Training Program much criticized for abusive practices, does this change represent real reform? This article examines these and other issues.

Policy Briefs

February 2020

Seasonal Worker Programs in Europe: Promising Practices and Ongoing Challenges

Seasonal worker programs in the European Union have a long history, but have yet to find the sweet spot of working for migrants, employers, and countries of destination and origin alike. This policy brief explores some of the challenges common to these programs—drawing on examples in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand—and highlights promising practices.

Articles

February 14, 2020

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

Interested in answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about immigration and immigrants in the United States? This incredible resource collects in one place top statistics from authoritative government and nongovernmental sources, offering a snapshot of the immigrant population, visa and enforcement statistics, and data on emerging trends, including the slowing of growth of the foreign-born population, changing origins, and increasing educational levels.

Reports

February 2020

The Patchy Landscape of State English Learner Policies under ESSA

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have developed blueprints to meet their commitments under the Every Student Succeeds Act—including requirements that aim to raise the profile of English Learners (EL) in state accountability systems. This report breaks these plans down, comparing the significant diversity of approaches taken on everything from EL identification to tracking academic achievement.

Reports

February 2020

Bienvenidas asimétricas: Respuestas de América Latina y el Caribe a la migración venezolana y nicaragüense

El gran desplazamiento forzado de personas en Venezuela y Nicaragua está transformando el panorama migratorio en gran parte de América Latina y el Caribe. Este informe examina las respuestas de las políticas de inmigración e integración de once países, incluyendo vías de regularización y medidas para integrar a los recién llegados en las escuelas y mercados laborales. Este informe acompaña el lanzamiento de un Portal Sobre Migración que ofrece investigación y análisis actualizados sobre tendencias y políticas de inmigración en la región.

Reports

February 2020

An Uneven Welcome: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration

Large-scale displacement from Venezuela and Nicaragua is reshaping the migration landscape in much of Latin America and the Caribbean. This report, accompanied by the launch of a new Migration Portal offering research and analysis on the region, examines the immigration and integration policy responses of 11 countries, including pathways to legal status and measures to integrate newcomers into schools, health-care systems, and labor markets.

Commentaries

January 2020

Brexit Day—Is This the Dawning of the Age of Immobility?

Brexit Day, on January 31, 2020, marks a dramatic turn for the United Kingdom as it leaves the European Union, in significant measure because it wants to control its immigration destiny. But it remains unclear whether Brexit will allow the United Kingdom to cast a net wider for the global workers it seeks or will deepen the moat around the island. Either way, Brexit is likely to spark new forms of mobility—and immobility.

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