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)
- General Inquiries
- Media Inquiries
-
Michelle Mittelstadt
202 266 1910 [email protected]
Showing 231–240 of 819 results
Un año después del Acuerdo Estados Unidos-México: La transformación de las políticas migratorias mexicanas
El acuerdo de junio de 2019 entre Estados Unidos y México redujo los cruces irregulares pero desbordó la capacidad humanitaria e institucional mexicana.
USCIS Budget Implosion Owes to Far More than the Pandemic
Citing coronavirus-related disruptions, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services urged Congress to provide $1.2 billion to address its severe budget shortfall. Without this emergency infusion, the agency warned it might have to furlough up to 80 percent of its staff by mid-July 2020. Yet a deeper look at USCIS operations shows it was facing serious budget problems long before the pandemic—ones that are the logical results of actions undertaken by the Trump administration.
The U.S. Stands Alone in Explicitly Basing Coronavirus-Linked Immigration Restrictions on Economic Grounds
The United States became the first country to restrict legal immigration on economic—not health—grounds during COVID-19, with uncertain but far-reaching implications.
Mixed-Status Families Ineligible for CARES Act Federal Pandemic Stimulus Checks
Learn which families are eligible and ineligible for COVID-19 pandemic response assistance.
Barriers to COVID-19 Testing and Treatment: Immigrants without Health Coverage in the United States
Some 7.7 million uninsured noncitizens faced barriers to COVID-19 testing and treatment in 2020, with millions excluded from Medicaid due to immigration status restrictions.
Vulnerable to COVID-19 and in Frontline Jobs, Immigrants Are Mostly Shut Out of U.S. Relief
Immigrants powered the U.S. frontline pandemic response but faced disproportionate health and economic risks and were largely excluded from federal COVID-19 relief efforts.
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.
Humanitarian Protection in an Era of Pandemic
MPI and MPI Europe experts discuss the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on asylum systems in Europe and North America, as well as in developing regions, where 85 percent of refugees live. During this freeform conversation, our analysts also assess the implications for the principle of asylum and the future for a post-World War II humanitarian protection system that is under threat.
Immigration and U.S. National Security: The State of Play Since 9/11
Post-9/11 reforms strengthened U.S. immigration security, but misplaced priorities now divert resources from real threats to pursue low-risk migrants.
An Untapped Pool of Critical U.S. Health-Care Workers in a Time of Pandemic
As the U.S. health-care system sags under the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, health-care workers are not only on the frontlines fighting the virus but also some of the most at-risk individuals.