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
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Michelle Mittelstadt
202 266 1910 [email protected]
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8th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference
The conference offered law and policy analysis and discussion on cutting-edge immigration issues. Featured panelists included high-ranking government officials, academics, advocates, and other immigration experts.
Appeals Court Rules against Arizona Law as Immigration Measures Lose Steam in State Legislatures
As a U.S. appeals court blocked key SB 1070 provisions in 2011, state legislatures in multiple states abandoned similar enforcement bills.
Doris Meissner Testimony Video: Securing the Border
Doris Meissner, Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at MPI, offers her knowledge and expertise regarding border security in this testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Lessons from the 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act
Discussion on new Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report with PPIC Research Fellows; Bruce A. Morrison, Former U.S. Congressman from Connecticut (1983-1991) and Chair of the Immigration Subcommittee; and Marc Rosenblum, MPI Senior Policy Analyst.
Steps to Fix the U.S. Immigration System: What Can the Administration Do?
MPI report release with authors MPI's Donald Kerwin, Margie McHugh, and Doris Meissner who engage in a discussion with Eva Millona, Executive Director, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition; and Juan P. Osuna, Acting Director, Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Department of Justice, on what the U.S. administration can do to fix immigration policy absent congressional action.
Unanswered Questions Surround ICE's Secure Communities Program
The U.S. Secure Communities program operated in 1,080 jurisdictions in 2011.
Executive Action on Immigration: Six Ways to Make the System Work Better
Six executive actions could improve U.S. border control, integration, legal admissions, and fairness in enforcement without new laws.
Quiet Demise of the Virtual Fence
After more than $1 billion in funding, the United States’ virtual border fence program was cancelled in January 2011.
The Evolution of Border Controls as a Mechanism to Prevent Illegal Immigration
Modern border controls combine technology and risk profiling. But without legal channels, they often displace rather than deter irregular migration.
E-Verify: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Proposals for Reform
E-Verify’s gains in speed and coverage are undercut by data errors, identity fraud, and gaps in worker protections.