U.S. Immigration Policy Program
The U.S. Immigration Policy Program provides thought leadership on ways to improve the U.S. immigration system so that it works most effectively in the national interest. To that end, its work focuses on immigration pathways to the United States and immigration enforcement policies and their impacts. It examines the complex demographic, economic, social, political, foreign policy, and other forces that shape U.S. immigration.
Program staff produce data and analyses of immigration trends and the characteristics of U.S. immigrant populations, including unauthorized immigrants. And they conduct original research on the impacts of policy change and the experiences of immigrant populations in diverse parts of the country. This work is frequently informed by private convenings of policymakers and key stakeholders. For more, click here.
Featured
The Immigration Debate America Needs—and Is Not Having
Immigration is central to America’s economic future, yet debate fixates on border crises and policy failures instead of how a modern legal…
Trump Restrictions on Legal Immigration Could Sharply Reduce U.S. Population Growth
President Donald Trump's second-term curbs on legal immigration, spanning visas, refugees, and family reunification, could meaningfully slow U.S…
More Featured Work
Key Statistics
Learn more about immigrants and immigration to the United States
14.8%
The immigrant share of the total U.S. population
Learn how this share has evolved (opens in a new tab)50.2 million
The number of immigrants in the United States
Explore Data Profiles by State (opens in a new tab)18.4%
The share of workers in the U.S. civilian labor force who are immigrants
Get the data at U.S. and state levels (opens in a new tab)
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Michelle Mittelstadt
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Showing 101–110 of 819 results
The U.S.-Mexico Border Becomes More High-Tech
MPI analysts who toured the U.S.-Mexico border discuss the increasingly sophisticated U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations to address asylum seekers and other migrants arriving at official ports of entry.
Understanding Poverty Declines among Immigrants and Their Children in the United States
Immigrant poverty in the United States fell 36 percent between 2009 and 2021, driven by economic recovery, a wider safety net, and pandemic aid that reached many noncitizen families.
Regional Processing Centers: Can This Key Component of the Post-Title 42 U.S. Strategy Work?
Amid a potentially dramatic rethink in the U.S. approach to management of migration from the Western Hemisphere, the creation of Regional Processing Centers (now known as Safe Mobility Offices, or SMOs) across Latin America will be central to the post-Title 42 strategy, as this commentary explains.
Roxham Road Meets a Dead End? U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement Is Revised
The revised U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement closed the Roxham Road loophole but raises serious safety concerns and signals a broader U.S. shift toward externalizing asylum responsibility.
A Complex Picture: Diversifying Migration Flows & Policies at the U.S.-Mexico Border
What is driving the increasingly diverse flows to the U.S.-Mexico border, and how are officials responding on the ground?
Meeting Global Skills and Talent Needs in Changing Labor Markets
The discussion focused on the extent to which labor market needs should shape future immigration policy decisions, and how countries are adjusting—and could adjust—their immigration systems to meet human capital and competitiveness needs.
A Path to Meeting the Medical and Mental Health Needs of Unaccompanied Children in U.S. Communities
Unaccompanied children in U.S. communities carry high burdens of trauma and illness, yet fragmented systems and access barriers leave major health needs unmet.
A Post-Title 42 Vision for Migration Management Comes into Focus
Facing a dramatically different reality arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border with the end of a pandemic-era policy that resulted in more than 3 million expulsions, the Biden administration unveiled a policy vision that marries expanded legal pathways with stiff consequences for those seeking to enter without authorization. The strategy can succeed, but speedier while still fair border asylum decisionmaking must be an essential component, this commentary argues.
Federal Judges Step into the Void to Set U.S. Immigration Policy
With Congress overwhelmingly silent on immigration, federal courts have become de facto policymakers, halting or allowing executive actions, managing backlogs, and more.
SNAP Access and Participation in U.S.-Born and Immigrant Households: A Data Profile
Post-1996 federal welfare rules bar many lawfully present immigrants from SNAP. In 2019, many of the 13 million people in low-income immigrant households faced limited or no access to food assistance.
