The Trump administration is seeking to all but eliminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a humanitarian safeguard for U.S.-resident noncitizens whose home countries were too dangerous or unstable for return. While critics say the term "temporary" has been stretched beyond recognition, TPS has become a mainstay. This article examines the history and use of TPS, the debate over its future, and holders of the status.
The United States is home to the largest Brazilian community outside Brazil. Still, Brazilians account for only about 1 percent of all U.S. immigrants. This population has grown rapidly in recent years, with nearly two-thirds of Brazilian immigrants arriving since 2010, as this article details.
Birth tourism is at the center of the Trump administration’s legal argument to end the guarantee of birthright citizenship. Estimates suggest the practice is quite rare, and a range of government actions, including enforcement operations on "maternity hotels," has sought to eradicate it. This article examines birth tourism to the United States, offering a look at trends, policy responses, and its role in the legal fight over ending birthright citizenship.
Indian immigrants comprise the second largest foreign-born group in the United States, even though they tend to have arrived more recently. Immigrants from India tend to have considerably more education than other groups and roughly one-fifth live in California. This article offers a range of information about this diverse group.
Federal judges have provided significant opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration policies during its second term. The courts have halted or slowed a number of administration initiatives, including invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to carry out deportations and seeking to end birthright citizenship. This continues a trend of the judicial branch increasingly becoming the policymakers of last resort as presidents turn to executive action in the face of congressional inaction.
This essential resource offers top statistics about immigration, immigrants, and the immigration system in the United States, drawing on authoritative sources and the latest data available. The article offers insights on the size and characteristics of the immigrant population, the scope of temporary and permanent immigration via all pathways, enforcement actions, and much more.
The ramp-up of federal immigration enforcement during the second Trump term has prompted sharp responses from state and local governments, with some limiting cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or barring agents' wearing of masks or the establishment of immigrant detention facilities. At the same time, some Republican-led jurisdictions have embraced policies to encourage cooperation with ICE. This article traces the rise of "sanctuary" policies and divergent trends.
The Ukrainian immigrant population in the United States grew significantly in the immediate aftermath of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Compared to the overall immigrant population, Ukrainians are more likely to be U.S. citizens and have higher levels of education. This article provides wide-ranging statistics on the size, U.S. settlement, and socioeconomic characteristics of this group.
In recent years, vigilante groups opposed to immigration have formed to conduct patrols, stage parades, and even commit violence against asylum seekers and other migrants in Europe, North America, and other regions. Vigilantes often claim that the government has been soft on irregular migration and use performative, symbolically heavy imagery to sway public opinion. This article traces the trends in vigilante movements targeting migrants.
U.S. immigration policy, practice, and enforcement changed dramatically over the first year of President Donald Trump's second term, touching most corners of the immigration system. The government has cracked down on unauthorized immigration in the U.S. interior and at the border, expanded scrutiny of immigrants of all legal statuses, and erected barriers for would-be arrivals. This article provides a sweeping overview of the changes that have taken place and assesses their impacts.
The U.S. approach towards refugees and asylum seekers has fluctuated considerably in recent years. The Trump administration all but ended refugee resettlement and sharply curtailed asylum processing following a period under the Biden administration of recent refugee highs, increased asylum grants, and the widespread use of temporary humanitarian protections. This article showcases the changing trends.
E-Verify has been heralded as a key way to control unauthorized immigration to the United States, but federal efforts to expand the system stalled. There has been movement at the state level over the past decade, though, and there are signs it may rise in prominence again. This article details the history and challenges of E-Verify, and its limited uptake.
The United States is by far the top destination for international migrants from the Caribbean. Roughly one in ten U.S. immigrants was born in the Caribbean, coming chiefly from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, or Haiti. Compared to other foreign-born groups, these individuals are more likely to be naturalized U.S. citizens and to have arrived since 2010, as this article details.
Some countries with large diasporas have sought to maximize incoming remittances and channel them into particular sectors. Diaspora engagement policies are not always successful, but research shows that they are generally accompanied by increased remittance sending. This article explains the connection and explores some of the factors affecting remittance levels.
The number of people in U.S. immigrant detention has grown sharply under President Donald Trump and will likely continue to rise in coming months. The rapid ramp-up has relied on an array of nontraditional facilities as well as private prisons, and has been accompanied by allegations of harsh treatment and rising deaths. This article traces the growth and evolution of the world's largest immigration detention system.
Approximately 2.5 million sub-Saharan African immigrants lived in the United States in 2024—more than triple the number in 2000—with most coming from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, or South Africa. This article offers a range of information about this diverse group, which has higher educational attainment and English proficiency than the overall immigrant population, and tends to have higher income.
Un nivel histórico de migración está transformando las sociedades y la política en América Latina y el Caribe, dando paso a una etapa definida por la volatilidad. Este artículo analiza estas dinámicas en el Caribe y Centroamérica y Sudamérica, y analiza la probabilidad de que la región se acerque a un punto de inflexión en la gestión de la migración.
Amid unprecedented migration that began in 2010, Latin America and the Caribbean have entered a new era best defined by volatility. The success of initial policy responses to the displacement of millions of Venezuelans and other migration patterns has dimmed, given incomplete integration outcomes and other pressures. This article details these dynamics across the Caribbean and Central and South America.
The Trump administration has expanded its use of expedited removal in unprecedented ways, transforming what previously had been a somewhat limited authority into a potent tool to assist with its mass deportations drive. This article traces how the administration has sought to expand the reach of the nearly 30-year-old fast-track power beyond the border.
The United States remains the top destination for Chinese students studying internationally, although numbers have declined significantly in recent years. Most Chinese students at U.S. colleges and universities say they have experienced discrimination, and those who have are much more likely to want return to China, according to survey data contained in this article.
