Julia Gelatt
Julia Gelatt is Associate Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute. Her research and policy work focus on the legal immigration system, demographic trends, unauthorized immigrants and mixed-status families, access to public benefits and government services, and the impacts of U.S. immigration policies on immigrant families and the U.S. economy. She leads MPI’s data team, and development of the Institute’s estimates of the size and characteristics of the unauthorized immigrant population.
Dr. Gelatt previously worked as a Research Associate at the Urban Institute, where her mixed-methods research focused on state policies toward immigrants and barriers to and facilitators of immigrant families’ access to public benefits. She was a Research Assistant at MPI before graduate school.
She earned her PhD in sociology, with a specialization in demography, from Princeton University, where her work focused on the relationship between immigration status and children’s health and well-being. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology/anthropology from Carleton College.
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Explore Content by Julia Gelatt
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The Unauthorized Immigrant Population Expands amid Record U.S.-Mexico Border Arrivals
The U.S. unauthorized immigrant population stood at 13.7 million as of mid-2023. The result of strong U.S. economic recovery from the pandemic and displacement in Latin America, the increase in the size of the unauthorized population is accompanied by a diversifying makeup in nationalities. As Mexico's share of the overall unauthorized population has declined, the shares from Central and South America, in particular, have increased.
The Overlooked Impact of Immigration on the Size of the Future U.S. Workforce
Immigrant-origin individuals have been the driving force behind U.S. demographic growth in the United States over the past two decades. Changing immigration policy could significantly influence how this population helps the country manage its demographic shifts and rising old-age dependency ratio. This short read and accompanying data tool offer first-ever projections of the size of the immigrant-origin working-age population to 2040 under varying immigration scenarios.
Immigrants and the U.S. Economy
The question of whether immigration represents a net cost or a net benefit to the U.S. economy has been a major source of contention. Research finds that, on balance, it is a net positive.
Diverse Flows Drive Increase in U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population
MPI estimates 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States as of mid-2022, up from 11.2 million a year earlier. While the country has witnessed high levels of arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border, the unauthorized population also has been marked by significant ongoing declines in the unauthorized from Mexico and other exits, as this analysis explains.
A Century Later, Restrictive 1924 U.S. Immigration Law Has Reverberations in Immigration Debate
The 1924 Immigration Act's eugenics-influenced national-origin quotas reshaped U.S. demographics for decades and its core provisions still shape U.S. immigration law.
How Immigrants and Their U.S.-Born Children Fit into the Future U.S. Labor Market
Immigrants and their U.S.-born children have driven all U.S. labor force growth since 2000 but face the need to upskill as nearly three-quarters of jobs in 2031 will require postsecondary credentials.
Standoff at Eagle Pass: A High-Stakes U.S. Border Enforcement Showdown Comes to a Small Texas Park
Texas's seizure of a federal border zone during the Biden administration escalated a constitutional clash over immigration authority, with long-term implications over the federal-state balance of power.
A New Way Forward for Employment-Based Immigration: The Bridge Visa
With the United States facing growing demographic pressures and labor needs, MPI is proposing creation of a bridge visa as a means of bringing flexibility to an employment system last overhauled by Congress in 1990.
Immigrants’ Eligibility for U.S. Public Benefits: A Primer
The U.S. 1996 welfare law created a complex patchwork of eligibility for federal supports. This 2024 primer maps which categories of immigrants qualify for 13 U.S. public benefit programs and how some states extend coverage.
Antiquated U.S. Immigration System Ambles into the Digital World
Pandemic-era digital reforms gave the U.S. immigration system a long-overdue modernization boost.
