U.S. Immigration Policy Program
U.S. Immigration Policy Program
Daniel Sone/National Cancer Institute
Immigrants and their U.S.-born children are key drivers of U.S. labor force growth. As some occupations grow and others decline, this report explores how these immigrant-origin workers fit within the changing world of work. It examines the degree to which workers from different racial/ethnic groups hold growing and declining jobs, and what changes in the mix of jobs mean for workforce development and immigration policy.
Immigrants and the children of immigrants make up a large and growing segment of students at U.S. colleges and universities—up from 20 percent in 2000 to 28 percent in 2018. This fact sheet offers a first-of-its-kind profile of this population’s size and growth, identifies the top states for these students, and explores characteristics such as race/ethnicity and immigration status.
This study explores the relationship between immigration enforcement and the mental health of Latino high school students, finding that majorities surveyed in both high- and low-enforcement environments reported fear that someone close to them could be deported, with resulting symptoms of conditions such as depression and PTSD. The report provides examples of how schools are responding to support the mental health and engagement of these students.
Now into its fourth year, the Trump administration has reshaped the U.S. immigration system in ways big and small via presidential proclamations, policy guidance, and regulatory change. This report offers a catalog of the more than 400 administrative changes undertaken in areas such as immigration enforcement, humanitarian admissions, DACA, and visa processing—including a look at measures put in places since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Governments around the world have turned to migration management tools—such as border closures, travel restrictions, and in a few cases bars on new asylum applications—initially in hopes of keeping the COVID-19 virus from entering their countries, and later at the pandemic stage as part of a wider suite of mobility restrictions. MPI's analysis on the migration responses to the pandemic are collected here.
Interested in answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about immigration and immigrants in the United States? This incredible resource collects in one place top statistics from authoritative government and nongovernmental sources, offering a snapshot of the immigrant population, visa and enforcement statistics, and data on emerging trends, including the slowing of growth of the foreign-born population, changing origins, and increasing educational levels.
MPI has launched the Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy Initiative to generate a big-picture, evidence-driven vision of the role immigration can and should play in America’s future. Historically, across-the-aisle cooperation and consensus building have been essential for immigration policymaking and legislation to succeed. MPI is committed to re-energizing such bipartisanship in advancing feasible solutions to fix the long dysfunctional immigration system.
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By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, John J. Audley, Sandra Polaski, and Scott Vaughan
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By Elizabeth Grieco, Deborah W. Meyers, and Kathleen Newland
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By Muzaffar Chishti, Doris Meissner, Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Michael Wishnie, Stephen Yale-Loehr, and Jay Peterzell
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By Deborah W. Meyers and Maia Jachimowicz
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Recent Activity
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.
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.
This fact sheet provides an estimate and brief description of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States in 2003.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, changes to visa policies, new security procedures, and measures to combat fraud contributed to a shift in the traditional composition of immigration flows. This report highlights recent data on immigrants to the U.S. and offers key analysis of what these figures mean in terms of U.S. policy.
The events that unfolded in the U.S. on September 11 generated a renewed sense of urgency over border management. Bilateral Smart Border agreements were reached between the U.S. and Canada as well as the U.S. and Mexico in December 2001 and March 2002. This report tracks the implementation of these border accords and seeks to evaluate their effectiveness.
On November 25, 2002, Congress passed the Homeland Security Act, which effectively overhauled the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and called for a massive reorganization of immigration functions under the newly formed Department of Homeland Security (DHS).This report outlines key changes incurred, highlights points of concern and offers policy recommendations aimed at remedying some of these concerns.
The September 11 attacks demanded a powerful response, but blanket measures such as roundups and arrests, intimidating interviews, lengthy detention, and special registration requirements are blunt tools.This report offers the most comprehensive compilation and analysis yet of the individuals detained in the wake of September 11, their experiences, and the government’s post-September 11 immigration measures.
This report explores the key themes that emerged during a conference convened on September 9, 2002 by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Migration Policy Institute.
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Broad and Blunt, the Trump Administration’s H-1B Changes Miss the Opportunity for Real Reform
The Trump administration's changes to the H-1B visa program are the most significant in three decades, promising to end the practice of replacing U.S. workers with highly skilled immigrants. While the problems the administration has identified and the interest in protecting U.S. workers are legitimate ones, its approach may cripple the H-1B program itself, as this commentary explains.
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