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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Delegation and Divergence: 287(g) State and Local Immigration Enforcement
MPI Report release with authors MPI's Randy Capps and Muzaffar Chishti examining step localities are taking in enforcing immigration law and the possible impacts on communities. Jerry Gonzalez, Executive Director, Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, and Captain LeRoy Kirkegard, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, provided comments.
States Assert New Activist Immigration Role in Altered Political Landscape
The 2010 U.S. elections spurred more than 20 states to pursue efforts modeled after Arizona’s SB 1070 and a coordinated push to challenge birthright citizenship.
Does Low-Skilled Immigration Hurt the U.S. Economy? Assessing the Evidence
Report release and discussion on the impacts of low-skilled immigration on the U.S. economy, with author Harry Holzer, Professor, Georgetown Public Policy Institute; Darrell M. West, Vice President and Director of Governance Studies, and Founding Director, Center for Technology Innovation, Brookings Institution; and MPI's Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Doris Meissner, and Michael Fix.
Immigration Policy and Less-Skilled Workers in the United States: Reflections on Future Directions for Reform
The mixed impacts of less-skilled immigration suggest the need for legal channels, flexible visa numbers, and job portability reforms to build a more adaptive system.
Delegation and Divergence: 287(g) State and Local Immigration Enforcement
A study of the 287(g) program found that local police often used their delegated immigration powers to hold people for minor offenses, raising concerns about racial profiling.
Earned Legalization: Effects of Proposed Requirements on Unauthorized Men, Women, and Children
The brief models how common requirements in U.S. earned legalization plans, English skills, steady work, long-term U.S. residence, and monetary fines, would affect who qualifies.
DREAM Act Passes in the House during Lame-Duck Session, But Faces Uphill Battle in Senate
The U.S. House passed the DREAM Act in December 2010, but MPI estimated just 755,000 of 1.9 million eligible youth would be likely to gain lawful permanent residence.
More than IRCA: U.S. Legalization Programs and the Current Policy Debate
A century of U.S. registry and population‑specific legalization programs shows that the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was just one piece of the puzzle.
Immigrant Legalization in the United States and European Union: Policy Goals and Program Design
Since the 1980s, legalization has given legal status to 3.5 million U.S. and 5 million EU immigrants; inclusive program designs prove more cost effective than restrictive ones.
Updated Estimates of the 2010 DREAM Act
Of 1.9 million potential beneficiaries under the 2010 DREAM Act, about 755,000 would be likely to meet the requirements for permanent status.