E.g., 04/16/2024
E.g., 04/16/2024
U.S. Immigration Policy Program

U.S. Immigration Policy Program

Border Security
Immigrant Profiles & Demographics
Employment & the Economy
Illegal Immigration & Interior Enforcement
Immigrant Integration
Immigration Policy & Law
Refugee & Asylum Policy
Pause
Commentaries
March 2024

As Europe and the United States Face Similar Migration Challenges, Spain Can Act as a Bridge

Image of female worker at the Boqueria market in Barcelona making a crepe
Marcel Crozet/ILO

Spain and the United States both receive their greatest number of immigrants from Latin America, and have worked collaboratively together on displacement crises and other migration issues. As shared immigration challenges dominate debate on both sides of the Atlantic, Spain can serve as a vital bridge in the policy conversation, this commentary notes.

Continue reading

Policy Briefs
February 2024

A New Way Forward for Employment-Based Immigration: The Bridge Visa

A man in a high-visibility jacket and gloves at work
Aaron Sussell/U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. employment-based visa policies, last updated in 1990, are not aligned with the country’s current and future labor market needs. This policy brief outlines MPI’s proposal for a new visa pathway that could help the United States better leverage immigration to meet its labor market needs, boost protections for both U.S.- and foreign-born workers, and flexibly adapt to future economic and demographic changes.

Continue reading

Reports
February 2024

Outmatched: The U.S. Asylum System Faces Record Demands

Inadmissible migrants, some seeking asylum, are processed by CBP officers
Mani Albrecht/CBP

The U.S. humanitarian protection system, known for its long history of assisting those in need, has come under incredible pressure in recent years. The asylum adjudications system, which is under-resourced, is struggling to keep up with record asylum seeker arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border. This report examines the state of the asylum system, including changes under the Biden administration and potential lessons for other countries.

Continue reading

Reports
January 2024

Immigrants’ Eligibility for U.S. Public Benefits: A Primer

A young nurse hugs an elderly patient in a wheelchair
iStock.com/PeopleImages

Immigrants’ eligibility for public benefits in the United States is governed by a complex patchwork of rules that make many groups of noncitizens eligible for some benefits but not others, while other noncitizens are excluded completely. This report provides an overview of immigrants’ eligibility for programs related to general assistance, health and nutrition, employment and income, education, housing, driver’s licenses, and more.

Continue reading

Reports
January 2024

Migration at the U.S.-Mexico Border: A Challenge Decades in the Making

U.S.-Mexico border fence with Tijuana on the left
Josh Denmark/CBP

Unauthorized migration at the U.S.-Mexico border has been a high-profile and politically divisive issue for decades. But as the nature of migration at the border has changed profoundly, U.S. policy responses have struggled to keep up. This report explores the changing nature of migration flows and migration policy at the border from the early 1990s until today, highlighting key lessons for contemporary policy-making.

Continue reading

Reports
January 2024

Shifting Realities at the U.S.-Mexico Border: Immigration Enforcement and Control in a Fast-Evolving Landscape

CBP officers screen border crossers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry
Jerry Glaser/CBP

All eyes are on the U.S.-Mexico border, where shifting migration trends and record migrant arrivals have stretched the U.S. border management system beyond its capabilities. As the Biden administration continues to implement its new regime of incentives for orderly arrivals and disincentives for unauthorized crossings, this report analyzes the rapidly changing policy and migration realities and outlines recommendations for a more effective, durable system of border control.

Continue reading

President Joe Biden signs an executive order.
Articles

Biden at the Three-Year Mark: The Most Active Immigration Presidency Yet Is Mired in Border Crisis Narrative

In three years, President Joe Biden has surpassed the number of immigration-focused executive actions taken by the Trump administration throughout its entire four-year term, making his the most active U.S. presidency ever on immigration. Yet the Biden administration has been repeatedly accused of inaction at the U.S.-Mexico border, where record levels of migrant encounters have occurred. This article reviews the Biden track record on immigration.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams meeting with asylum seekers.
Articles

New York and Other U.S. Cities Struggle with High Costs of Migrant Arrivals

U.S. cities have spent billions of dollars to provide shelter, health care, and other resources to migrants recently arrived from the U.S.-Mexico border. The exceptional costs, which the New York mayor has described as existential, are due to a unique combination of factors, this article explains, including the large numbers of migrants arriving without local connections and long waits for work permits.

Recent Activity

CBPAgent HoldingGuard1 hires
Multimedia
September 3, 2015
Regional Enforcement: A Profile of Migrants Deported from the United States and Mexico to the Northern Triangle
coverthumb centamdeportations
Reports
September 2015
Migrants Deported from the United States and Mexico to the Northern Triangle: A Statistical and Socioeconomic Profile
By  Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas and Victoria Rietig
Constitution
Commentaries
August 2015
Repealing Birthright Citizenship: The Unintended Consequences
By  Michael Fix
KateSteinleImpromptuMemorial ShellyPrevost Flickr
Articles
August 20, 2015
Sanctuary Cities Come Under Scrutiny, As Does Federal-Local Immigration Relationship
By Muzaffar Chishti and Faye Hipsman
EventPH 2015.08.19 Unauthorizedwebinar
Multimedia
August 19, 2015
The Unauthorized Population in the United States: New Data Trends
coverthumb Unauth COB
Reports
August 2015
An Analysis of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States by Country and Region of Birth
By  Marc R. Rosenblum and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
YoungImmigrantLineUp1 WBEZPeterHolderness Flickr
Articles
August 13, 2015
Origin and Community: Asian and Latin American Unauthorized Youth and U.S. Deportation Relief
By Sylvia Rusin
EventPH 2015.08.11 DACAat3 flickr steverhodes dacafordreamers
Multimedia
August 11, 2015
DACA at Three: New Data on Potential Applicants and Analysis of the Renewal Process

Pages

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
September 3, 2015

Regional Enforcement: A Profile of Migrants Deported from the United States and Mexico to the Northern Triangle

This webinar includes an overview of regional immigration enforcement trends, including U.S. and Mexican apprehensions and deportations of Central American migrants, along with a demographic, socioeconomic, and criminal profile of child and adult deportees.

Reports
September 2015

Migrants Deported from the United States and Mexico to the Northern Triangle: A Statistical and Socioeconomic Profile

This report examines the rising numbers of apprehensions and deportations of Central American children and adults by the United States and Mexico, and provides a demographic, socioeconomic, and criminal profile of deportees to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The report traces how rising Mexican enforcement is reshaping regional dynamics and perhaps ushering in changes to long-lasting trends in apprehensions.

Commentaries
August 2015

Repealing Birthright Citizenship: The Unintended Consequences

In this commentary, MPI President Michael Fix discusses how the repeal of birthright citizenship in the United States would create a self-perpetuating underclass that would be excluded from social membership for generations—with negative consequences for the national interest. And repeal, touted by proponents as a solution to illegal immigration, would in reality have the opposite effect and would expand the size of the U.S. unauthorized population.

Articles
August 20, 2015

Sanctuary Cities Come Under Scrutiny, As Does Federal-Local Immigration Relationship

The killing of a young woman in San Francisco by an unauthorized immigrant coincided with the Obama administration's rollout of the Priority Enforcement Program, a new vehicle for improving federal-local relations on immigration enforcement. The tragedy has rekindled debate over the role of "sanctuary" cities and propelled illegal immigration to the forefront of the 2016 presidential race.
Video, Audio, Webinars
August 19, 2015

The Unauthorized Population in the United States: New Data Trends

This webinar examines recent trends regarding the countries and regions of origin for the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States at national, state, and county levels.

Reports
August 2015

An Analysis of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States by Country and Region of Birth

This report profiles the approximately 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States, examining population growth trends over time by country or region of origin as well as geographic distribution by state and top county destinations. (See related interactive map here.) The report also assesses eligibility and application rates for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, analyzing differences in application rates by national origin.

Articles
August 13, 2015

Origin and Community: Asian and Latin American Unauthorized Youth and U.S. Deportation Relief

This article explores differences in application and renewal rates for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program among unauthorized immigrants from Latin America and Asia. Based on interviews with immigrant advocates and service providers, it appears participation in the deportation relief program may be different among origin groups based on varying perceptions of lack of trust in government and shame over legal status, as well as political barriers.

Video, Audio, Webinars
August 11, 2015

DACA at Three: New Data on Potential Applicants and Analysis of the Renewal Process

On this webinar, MPI experts provide data on characteristics of the potential applicant pool for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and examine the rates of DACA renewals and adjudications. The webinar also focuses on some of the issues impacting the rate of renewals.

Pages