E.g., 12/01/2023
E.g., 12/01/2023
U.S. Immigration Policy Program

U.S. Immigration Policy Program

A mural on a Houston elementary school showing children of different backgrounds
iStock.com/Artistic Operations

Nearly one-quarter of residents of the Houston metro area are immigrants. These foreign-born Houstonians come from an ever-wider range of countries and are well represented in high-demand industries, and make up a sizeable share of parents. This report sketches a profile of the Houston area’s immigrant population overall, and takes a closer look at the number and characteristics of those eligible to naturalize.

Aerial photo of the U.S. Capitol
Architect of the Capitol

The $13.6 billion border emergency supplemental spending bill the Biden administration is seeking lays out the elements for resourcing immigration functions to full capacity across the entire border enforcement system. Without resourcing the system across all its parts, including adjudications and management, no administration, present or future, will be able to effectively manage spontaneous border arrivals, this commentary argues.

CBP personnel process and screen migrants for possible entry into the U.S.
Jaime Rodriguez Sr./CBP

There is a deeper story behind the U.S. government's fiscal 2023 border encounters numbers than that the year marked a new record high. The pivot from the pandemic-era Title 42 expulsions policy and sharp diversification in nationalities have reshaped migrant arrivals unlike any year before. This commentary goes beyond the headlines to focus on the more enduring—and challenging—realities occuring at the U.S.-Mexico border.

A multiethnic classroom of university students sit at their desks
iStock.com/FatCamera

U.S. colleges and universities have seen enrollment fluctuate over the last 20 years, shaped by demographic and economic changes in the United States and shifting views of the value of higher education. This issue brief explores how enrollment trends have played out for immigrants, the children of immigrants, and U.S.-born individuals with U.S.-born parents.

President Biden meets with DACA recipients
Adam Schultz/White House

The DACA program has received another blow to its survival, with a federal court once again ruling that the executive branch exceeded its authority in creating the program. But with litigation likely to continue for years, it is attrition that is actively reducing the program. This commentary examines the shrinking population of DACA holders, as well as those who have been locked out from participating.

Vice President Kamala Harris participates in a DACA roundtable
Lawrence Jackson/White House

The unauthorized immigrant population in the United States stood at approximately 11.2 million people in mid-2021, with larger annual growth than at any point since 2015, according to MPI's latest estimates. Even as the Mexican unauthorized immigrant population continued its decade-long decline, there were new entrants from a growing array of other countries.

Recent Activity

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Fact Sheets
May 2004
By  Elizabeth Grieco
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Fact Sheets
January 2004
By  Deborah W. Meyers
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Fact Sheets
January 2004
By  Elizabeth Grieco
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Reports
January 2004
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou, John J. Audley, Sandra Polaski and Scott Vaughan
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Fact Sheets
October 2003
By  Elizabeth Grieco

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Recent Activity

Fact Sheets
May 2004

Immigrants often work in traditionally unionized sectors of the economy, such as manufacturing and construction, or in occupations, such as services, that are becoming increasingly organized—yet little is known about their patterns of union representation. This report offers insight into the union affiliation, including membership and non-member coverage, of employed immigrant workers age 16 and over.

Reports
March 2004

La década de los noventa fue extraordinaria en términos de cantidad y diversidad cultural de trabajadores migratorios que vinieron a vivir a los Estados Unidos. Recién estamos comenzando a comprender las implicaciones a largo plazo de las decisiones y medidas tomadas por los trabajadores migratorios y por las instituciones americanas durante este período de fuerte crecimiento económico.

Reports
March 2004

This report examines the transfer of immigration functions from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service to the newly established Department of Homeland Security and offers an analysis of the Department’s progress in its first year of existence toward accomplishing the two purposes for which it was created: (1) to ensure that immigration regulation and control enhances national security; and (2) to improve the performance of both the service and enforcement sides of the immigration system by allocating their respective functions to separate units within DHS. 

Reports
January 2004

During the 1990s, NAFTA was promoted by both U.S. and Mexican officials as a means to spur economic growth and job creation in Mexico and thereby reduce the number of unauthorized migrants entering the U.S. from Mexico each year. This report takes a critical look at NAFTA’s impact on regulating migration from Mexico to the United States.

Fact Sheets
January 2004

This report examines foreign-born participation in the United States’ labor market. It provides information and charts relating to the number and share of immigrant workers in the total civilian labor force and their employment rates.

Fact Sheets
January 2004

This report examines the characteristics of foreign-born workers in the United States based on the 2002 Current Population Survey. Findings relate to foreign-born workers age 16 and over participating in the civilian labor force.

Fact Sheets
January 2004

This report provides basic information on International Agreements of the Social Security Administration, bilateral agreements that coordinate the United States’ system for retirement, disability. It examines the eligibility criteria for receiving benefits and the concept of “totalization,” particularly with regard to the Social Security Totalization Agreement with Mexico proposed under President Bush’s plans for immigration reform.

Fact Sheets
October 2003

This fact sheet provides an estimate and brief description of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States in 2003.

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