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 391–400 of 821 results
Despite Little Action Yet by Trump Administration on Sanctuary Cities, States and Localities Rush to Respond to Rhetoric
While the Trump administration had taken no concrete steps to penalize “sanctuary” cities as of April 2017, jurisdictions rushed to set immigration policies of their own.
Trump Executive Order and DHS Implementation Memo on Border Enforcement: A Brief Review
This January 2017 Trump executive order and DHS memo expanded expedited removal authority, authorized border wall construction, and redefined who qualifies as an unaccompanied child.
The First 100 Days: Summary of Major Immigration Actions Taken by the Trump Administration
The first 100 days in President Donald Trump’s first term brought sweeping executive orders on travel bans, refugee admissions, enforcement, and work visas.
Muscular Public Relations Strategy to Paint Immigrants and Immigration as Negatives Embedded Deep Within Trump Executive Orders
Executive orders issued during the first Trump term launched a reporting machinery designed to churn out for the U.S. public statistics on the costs and threats of immigration.
The Revised Trump Travel Ban: Who Might Be Affected from the Six Targeted Countries?
President Donald Trump's March 2017 revised travel ban bars nationals of six countries and cuts refugee admissions to 50,000, with no parallel in recent U.S. immigration history.
Revised Trump Executive Order and Guidance on Refugee Resettlement and Travel Ban
A revised March 2017 Trump travel ban and suspension of refugee resettlement dropped the minority-religion refugee provision to reduce the executive order’s legal vulnerability.
Judge’s Pause of Trump Travel Ban Takes Page from Republican Challenge to Obama Executive Action on DACA
A court’s pause of the travel ban implemented during the first Trump term drew on the playbook of challenges to the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Trump Executive Order on Refugees and Travel Ban: A Brief Review
A January 2017 Trump executive order suspending the U.S. refugee resettlement program and imposing a travel ban on seven countries was immediately challenged in court and later replaced.
Trump Executive Order and DHS Guidance on Interior Enforcement: A Brief Review
President Trump's January 2017 executive order ends targeted prosecutorial discretion, revives Secure Communities, expands 287(g) enforcement, and targets “sanctuary city” funding.
Leaked Draft of Possible Trump Executive Order on Public Benefits Would Spell Chilling Effects for Legal Immigrants
A leaked draft executive order from President Donald Trump would broaden public charge rules, restricting legal immigrants' access to benefits and expanding grounds for deportation.
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Michelle Mittelstadt
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