Integration Policy

Immigrant integration is the process by which immigrants and their children come to feel and become participants in the life of their country of destination, and in its schools, workplaces, and communities. Governments' policies, initiatives, and programs help determine immigrants' opportunities to participate in society, as well as their guarantees to the same rights and responsibilities as those of the native born. The research offered here explores the many facets of immigrant integration policy—from citizenship and language acquisition to access to education, the workforce, and more.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs March 2023 Recommendations for the Task Force on New Americans By Margie McHugh, Jacob Hofstetter, Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix, Valerie Lacarte, Maki Park, Delia Pompa and Julie Sugarman	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 March 2023 SNAP Access and Participation in U.S.-Born and Immigrant Households: A Data Profile By Valerie Lacarte, Lillie Hinkle and Briana L. Broberg	Commentaries February 2023 Prolonged Ukrainian Displacement: An Uneasy Marriage of Reception, Integration, and Return Policies By Hanne Beirens, Lucía Salgado and Jasmijn Slootjes
Articles February 7, 2023 Post-Soviet Labor Migrants in Russia Face New Questions amid War in Ukraine By Caress Schenk	Reports January 2023 Toolkit for Evidence-Informed Policymaking in Migrant Integration By Jasmijn Slootjes and Maria Belen Zanzuchi
Multimedia December 13, 2022 The Ukrainian Displacement Crisis: A Conversation with the European Commission's Director General for Migration and Home Affairs	Fact Sheets December 2022 The Skills and Economic Outcomes of Immigrant and U.S.-Born College Graduates By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix

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Reports May 2022 From Fear to Solidarity: The Difficulty in Shifting Public Narratives about Refugees By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan	Policy Briefs April 2022 Leveraging the Skills of Immigrant Health-Care Professionals in Illinois and Chicago By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
Reports March 2022 Promoting the Inclusion of Europe’s Migrants and Minorities in Arts and Culture By Lucía Salgado and Liam Patuzzi	Reports February 2022 Advancing Digital Equity among Immigrant-Origin Youth By Essey Workie, Lillie Hinkle, Anna deDufour and Valerie Lacarte
Reports February 2022 The IELCE Program: Understanding Its Design and Challenges in Meeting Immigrant Learners’ Needs By Jacob Hofstetter and Alexis Cherewka	Policy Briefs December 2021 The Invisible Work of Family, Friend, and Neighbor Caregivers and Its Importance for Immigrant and Dual Language Learner Families By Maki Park and Jazmin Flores Peña
Reports November 2021 El estado de la política migratoria y de integración de Costa Rica By Diego Chaves-González and María Jesús Mora	Reports November 2021 The State of Costa Rican Migration and Immigrant Integration Policy By Diego Chaves-González and María Jesús Mora

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Feature

March 7, 2019

Protection and Reintegration: Mexico Reforms Migration Agenda in an Increasingly Complex Era

Mexico is facing a new reality: Rising migration from Central America, the reintegration of returning migrants, and protection of Mexicans in the United States. As President Andrés Manuel López Obrador seeks to shift the country’s migration policy from enforcement to protection, his task is complicated by changing U.S. border policy and the need to avoid domestic backlash over Central American migration to and through Mexico.

Feature

February 27, 2018

Newcomers in the North: Labor Market Integration of Refugees in Northern Europe

After receiving more than 2 million asylum seekers in 2015-16, European countries are turning to the task of integrating the newcomers, including getting refugees into work. This article explores labor market integration of refugees in five Northern European countries—Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden—drawing key lessons for today from the experiences of earlier groups of humanitarian arrivals.

Feature

November 1, 2017

Building a Mosaic: The Evolution of Canada’s Approach to Immigrant Integration

Even as the United States and countries in Europe have made a right turn on immigration in recent years, Canada has remained a largely welcoming country. Underlying this resilience is an approach to immigration focused on active management and refinement of policies as well as long-term economic, social, and political integration, as this article explores.

Feature

May 10, 2017

Strife Abroad, Responses at Home: Muslims in the West and Conflict Spillover

A number of high-profile terrorist attacks in the West have raised questions about why geopolitical events sometimes trigger strong, violent reactions in certain diaspora communities, but not in others. What could be behind this divergence in responses? This article examines how Muslim communities in London and Detroit have reacted to conflict abroad, as well as the factors that drive reactive conflict spillover.

Top Ten

December 20, 2016

Dawn of New Migration Reality Brings Focus on Borders, Returns, and Integration

As Europe begins to move beyond the overwhelming flows of asylum seekers and other migrants it experienced starting in 2015, policymakers are paying significant focus to integration coupled with stepped-up enforcement. 2016 saw a wave of policy innovations facilitating integration as well as returns and deterrence, but it remains to be seen whether Europe will be able to continue and scale up this work in 2017 and beyond, as this Top 10 article explores.

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2020 IOM MuseMohammad Border area of Haquillas is home to several Venezuelans

Audio

October 27, 2020

Un Diálogo con Miembros de Coalición por Venezuela

En dicho diálogo, algunos de los representantes de las organizaciones que conforman la red en Norteamérica, Centroamérica, Sudamérica y el Caribe, comparten la manera como se coordinan, las acciones que se llevan a cabo y las dificultades, retos y desafíos que atraviesan.

Video, Audio

October 22, 2020

COVID-19, the Withdrawal Agreement and Citizens' Rights: No Time to Waste

This webinar explores how governments’ implementation plans for the Brexit withdrawal agreement have been affected by COVID-19, and the potential implications for citizens’ rights at the end of the transition period and beyond.

Video

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.

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Video, Audio

June 16, 2020

Addressing Equity Concerns for English Learners: Where Do Native Language Assessments Fit In?

This webchat marks the release of a report examining the role native language assessments play in addressing equity concerns for English Learner (EL) students.

Andrew Selee, Veronica Escobar, Dan Crenshaw, Duncan Wood

Video

April 22, 2020

Immigration and the U.S.-Mexico Border during the Pandemic: A Conversation with Members of Congress

In this bipartisan discussion, two border-state members of Congress—Rep. Veronica Escobar and Rep. Dan Crenshaw—discuss the response to the coronavirus outbreak, how it is affecting the interconnected border region, and what the future might hold.

Recent Activity

Video, Audio

October 29, 2019

Respuestas latinoamericanas a las crisis migratorias venezolanas y nicaragüenses

Responsables de políticos principales y partes interesadas de América Latina, así como representantes de instituciones internacionales claves, ofrecen sus puntos de vista sobre los desafíos futuros mientras gobiernos latinoamericanos buscan establecer las estrategias para responder a flujos migratorios forzados a gran escala, como los de Venezuela y Nicaragua.

Reports

September 2019

Invertir en el vecindario: Cambios en los patrones de migración entre México y Estados Unidos y oportunidades para una cooperación sostenible

La migración entre México y Estados Unidos ha cambiado dramáticamente en los últimos años, pero las políticas y la retórica política en ambos países no se han actualizado a este contexto a la misma velocidad. Este reporte explora esta nueva realidad migratoria y cómo los dos gobiernos podrían trabajar juntos para abordar los desafíos de políticas públicas que tienen en común.

Reports

September 2019

Investing in the Neighborhood: Changing Mexico-U.S. Migration Patterns and Opportunities for Sustainable Cooperation

Migration between Mexico and the United States has changed dramatically in recent years, but policies and political rhetoric in both countries have not always kept up. This report, which draws from discussions of a high-level Mexico-U.S. study group convened by MPI and El Colegio de México, explores this new migration reality and how the two governments could work more closely together to address shared policy challenges.

Articles

September 19, 2019

Years After Crimea’s Annexation, Integration of Ukraine’s Internally Displaced Population Remains Uneven

With nearly 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), Ukraine is home to one of the largest IDP populations in the world. Five years after Russia's annexation of Crimea, displaced Ukrainians continue to face challenges related to national identity, social cohesion, and political participation. While the Ukrainian government has had some success integrating IDPs, the conflict’s end remains uncertain, and many are unlikely to return to their communities of origin no matter the outcome.

Policy Briefs

August 2019

Leveraging the Potential of Home Visiting Programs to Serve Immigrant and Dual Language Learner Families

Home visiting programs for young families are growing in popularity across the United States, and have demonstrated their effectiveness in supporting maternal health and child well-being. At the same time, more infants and toddlers are growing up in immigrant families and households where a language other than English is spoken. Why then are these children under-represented in these programs? This brief explores common barriers, ways to address them, and why it is important to do so.

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. The initiative's leader, MPI Senior Fellow Doris Meissner, joins in conversation with former Bush administration Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and former Obama White House Domestic Policy Council Director Cecilia Muñoz about the prospects for action and what's needed.

Commentaries

August 2019

Millions Will Feel Chilling Effects of U.S. Public-Charge Rule That Is Also Likely to Reshape Legal Immigration

The public-charge rule issued by the Trump administration in August 2019 will have profound effects on future immigration and on use of public benefits by millions of legal noncitizens and their U.S.-citizen family members. Complex standards for determining when an immigrant is likely to become a public charge could cause a significant share of the nearly 23 million noncitizens and U.S. citizens in benefits-using immigrant families to disenroll, as this commentary explains.

Articles

July 2, 2019

A Growing Destination for Sub-Saharan Africans, Morocco Wrestles with Immigrant Integration

Long a country of emigration and a springboard for migrants aiming to reach Europe, Morocco has emerged as a destination for many sub-Saharan Africans. As more migrants remain in Morocco, the kingdom has implemented policies to aid with integration. But challenges remain, with most of the estimated 700,000 sub-Saharan Africans living in precarious conditions and irregular status despite some legalization programs.

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