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
Following Years of High Border Arrivals, the U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population Hits New Peak
MPI estimates the U.S. unauthorized immigrant population reached a new peak of 15.8 million as of mid-2024, after holding steady at around 11 million…
In Its Second Term, Trump Administration Quietly Expands Family Separation
Immigration enforcement during the second Trump term is driving a quieter, more diffuse wave of family separations inside the United States, often…
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…
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)
Showing 201–210 of 821 results
Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States: Stable Numbers, Changing Origins
As of 2018, the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States held at 11 million, with origins shifting away from Mexico toward Asia and Central America.
Anticipated “Chilling Effects” of the Public-Charge Rule Are Real: Census Data Reflect Steep Decline in Benefits Use by Immigrant Families
Researchers, service providers, and others have long predicted that sweeping revisions by the Trump administration to the definition of who constitutes a public charge would deter large numbers of immigrant-led households from using federal means-tested public benefits for which they are eligible. Recently released Census Bureau data show they were right: During the administration's first three years, program participation declined twice as fast among noncitizens as citizens.
The Role of Immigrant Health-Care Professionals in the United States during the Pandemic
With the U.S. health-care system buckling under the resurgent COVID-19 outbreak, policymakers could undertake efforts to enable skilled, underemployed international health-care professionals to practice. This would both make the health system more resilient and flexible, as well as introduce critical language and cultural skills important during the contact-tracing and vaccine rollout phases of the pandemic response, as this commentary explores.
How the Fear of Immigration Enforcement Affects the Mental Health of Latino Youth
The prevalence of mental-health symptoms among Latino high school students, immigrant and U.S. born alike, is closely related to their fears of immigration enforcement. And the situation may have worsened since the researchers sampled this population, given the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic hardship have increased the stress on Latino communities that have been hit disproportionately hard, as this commentary explores.
The “Trump Effect” on Legal Immigration Levels: More Perception than Reality?
Data show pandemic-era curbs on mobility globally, not first-term Trump policies, drove the sharpest decline in U.S. legal immigration, though structural changes may have lasting effects.
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? What lessons can be drawn from the U.S. government efforts to do so? And how do the Department of Homeland Security's immigration and border security missions figure into the equation? In this webinar, top security experts assess the department’s evolution and how it organizes its operations and migration management. They also offer recommendations on how to improve the U.S. homeland security enterprise.
The Post-Pandemic Ascent: The Role of Migration in Emerging from the Economic and Labor Market Turmoil
This discussion with MPI and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) examines the impact of the coronavirus on migration and mobility systems, and highlights findings from OECD’s International Migration Outlook 2020 on recent developments in migration movements and policies.
What Is Immigration Policy Expected to Look Like in a Biden Administration?
What would Biden’s immigration agenda mean for asylum, enforcement, and legal pathways?
Building a New Regional Migration System: Redefining U.S. Cooperation with Mexico and Central America
An enforcement-only approach cannot manage Central American migration. A regional system of legal pathways, protection, and development is needed, as this report sketches.
An Early Readout on the Economic Effects of the COVID-19 Crisis: Immigrant Women Have the Highest Unemployment
Immigrant women in the United States faced the steepest job losses in the COVID-19 recession, with unemployment peaking at 18.5 percent in May 2020.
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Michelle Mittelstadt
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