U.S. Immigration Policy Program

Reports

April 2024

How Immigrants and Their U.S.-Born Children Fit into the Future U.S. Labor Market

Engineer holding a laptop outside a power plant

iStock.com/yanguolin

The level of education and training expected of workers in the United States has increased considerably in recent decades, and this trend looks set to continue. This report explores the forces driving this change and how the education levels of immigrant-origin and other workers compare to those likely to be needed in the future U.S. workforce, overall and in key occupational groups.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Articles February 11, 2021 Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States By Jeanne Batalova, Mary Hanna, and Christopher Levesque	Multimedia February 4, 2021 Prospects for a U.S. Legalization Program and the Unauthorized Immigrant Groups that Could Factor in the Debate
Reports February 2021 Back on the Table: U.S. Legalization and the Unauthorized Immigrant Groups that Could Factor in the Debate By Jessica Bolter, Muzaffar Chishti and Doris Meissner	Articles January 27, 2021 Biden Sets the Stage for a Remarkably Active First 100 Days on Immigration By Muzaffar Chishti and Sarah Pierce
Reports January 2021 Obscure but Powerful: Shaping U.S. Immigration Policy through Attorney General Referral and Review By Sarah Pierce	Articles January 14, 2021 International Students in the United States By Emma Israel and Jeanne Batalova
Commentaries January 2021 Nearly 3 Million U.S. Citizens and Legal Immigrants Initially Excluded under the CARES Act Are Covered under the December 2020 COVID-19 Stimulus By Julia Gelatt, Randy Capps and Michael Fix	Commentaries December 2020 Anticipated “Chilling Effects” of the Public-Charge Rule Are Real: Census Data Reflect Steep Decline in Benefits Use by Immigrant Families By Randy Capps, Michael Fix and Jeanne Batalova

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Reports January 2011 Delegation and Divergence: 287(g) State and Local Immigration Enforcement By Randy Capps, Marc R. Rosenblum, Muzaffar Chishti and Cristina Rodríguez	Policy Briefs January 2011 Earned Legalization: Effects of Proposed Requirements on Unauthorized Men, Women, and Children By Marc R. Rosenblum, Randy Capps and Serena Yi-Ying Lin
Policy Briefs December 2010 More than IRCA: U.S. Legalization Programs and the Current Policy Debate By Donald M. Kerwin	Policy Briefs December 2010 Immigrant Legalization in the United States and European Union: Policy Goals and Program Design By Marc R. Rosenblum
Fact Sheets December 2010 Updated Estimates of the 2010 DREAM Act	Policy Briefs November 2010 Structuring and Implementing an Immigrant Legalization Program: Registration as the First Step By Donald M. Kerwin and Laureen Laglagaron
Policy Briefs July 2010 DREAM vs. Reality: An Analysis of Potential DREAM Act Beneficiaries By Jeanne Batalova and Margie McHugh	Books April 2010 Securing Human Mobility in the Age of Risk: New Challenges for Travel, Migration, and Borders By Susan Ginsburg

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Outside of the Justice Department building

Feature

October 3, 2019

Crisis in the Courts: Is the Backlogged U.S. Immigration Court System at Its Breaking Point?

With a backlog of more than 1 million removal cases, the U.S. immigration court system is in crisis. Pressure from external forces, internal challenges, and lagging resources for the courts at a time of massive increases in spending on immigration enforcement have contributed to the backlog. This article explores how the system got to the breaking point, and what opportunities for reform exist.

An apprehended migrant sits in a truck with his hands in his face

Policy Beat

September 25, 2019

Supreme Court Asylum Ruling Latest Sign Judiciary Is Not the Brake on the Trump Administration that Immigration-Rights Activists Sought

Buoyed by initial successes challenging Trump administration immigration actions such as the travel ban in federal court, many critics expected the judiciary to act as a brake on major changes to the immigration system. Yet the Supreme Court has repeatedly shown a willingness to affirm the executive branch's immigration policies, most recently permitting what is arguably the most significant asylum policy change in four decades to proceed.

Spotlight

August 15, 2019

Central American Immigrants in the United States

While much attention has been paid to recent Central American arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border, nearly half of the approximately 3.5 million Central Americans resident in the United States in 2017 arrived before 2000. About one-third are naturalized U.S. citizens, and they tend to participate in the labor force at a higher rate than foreign- and U.S.-born adults. Discover more about this population in this data-rich article.

Spotlight

August 15, 2019

Inmigrantes centroamericanos en los Estados Unidos

Si bien se ha prestado mucha atención a los centroamericanos recién llegados a la frontera entre los Estados Unidos y México, casi la mitad de los aproximadamente 3.5 millones que vivían en los Estados Unidos en 2017 llegaron antes de 2000. Aproximadamente un tercio son ciudadanos estadounidenses y tienden a participar en la fuerza laboral con más frecuencia que otros extranjeros y estadounidenses. Descubra más en este artículo lleno de datos.

Policy Beat

July 25, 2019

Democrats Under Pressure: Political Calendar Exposes Ideological Differences on Immigration

Ideological differences in the Democratic Party over immigration that were once masked by unity against President Trump’s border wall and immigration agenda are now being exposed as Democratic presidential candidates seek to stand out in a crowded field and amid controversy over an emergency border spending bill. As the 2020 electoral calendar accelerates, how the party navigates the gulf between its most liberal and conservative wings will become a greater challenge for its leaders.

Pages

Video, Audio

June 24, 2014

Detained or Deported: How Parents in the Immigration Enforcement System Can Protect their Children

This MPI panel discussion focuses on a toolkit by the Women's Refugee Commission to provide detained and deported immigrants as well as unauthorized immigrant mothers and fathers with crucial information to protect and maintain their parental rights and make well-informed decisions regarding the care and welfare of their children.

EventPH 2014.4.29 The Deportation Story 3

Video, Audio

April 29, 2014

The Deportation Story: Deporter-in-Chief, Releaser-in-Chief, or Reformer-in-Chief?

This MPI panel discussion examines the U.S. deportation system with analysis on migrant apprehensions, removals, returns, and criminal prosecutions, and launches the report, "The Deportation Dilemma: Reconciling Tough and Humane Enforcement."

EventPH 2014.03.20 Children on the Run An Analysis of First Hand Accounts from Children Fleeing Central America

Video, Audio

March 12, 2014

Children on the Run: An Analysis of First-Hand Accounts from Children Fleeing Central America

This event with UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres features findings from UNHCR’s report, Children on the Run, which examines the increasing numbers of children from Central America and Mexico who head off alone to find refuge in the United States, fleeing violence, insecurity, and abuse.

EventPH 2014.02.27 A Treacherous Journey Child Migrants Navigating the U.S. Immigration System

Video, Audio

February 27, 2014

A Treacherous Journey: Child Migrants Navigating the U.S. Immigration System

This panel discussion on unaccompanied minors focuses on a report by Kids in Need of Defense and the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies at UC Hastings College of the Law, whose primary conclusion is that children face a U.S. immigration system created for adults that is not required to consider the child’s best interests.

EventPH 2014.02.19 A Transatlantic Conversation Managing Migration in the Era of Mobility2

Video, Audio

February 19, 2014

A Transatlantic Conversation: Managing Migration in the Era of Mobility

This discussion explores how the 2014 Greek Presidency of the European Union and the United States can work to address the challenges of managing migration while meeting humanitarian obligations and nurturing economic growth.

Recent Activity

Explainers

April 2019

Explainer: How the U.S. Legal Immigration System Works

Through which visa categories can immigrants move temporarily or permanently to the United States? What are the main channels by which people come, and who can sponsor them for a green card? Are there limits on visa categories? And who is waiting in the green-card backlog? This explainer answers basic questions about temporary and permanent immigration via family, employment, humanitarian, and other channels.

Articles

April 25, 2019

Despite Flurry of Actions, Trump Administration Faces Constraints in Achieving Its Immigration Agenda

Though it has achieved success in some areas, the Trump administration’s many efforts to stiffen immigration enforcement in the U.S. interior and at the Southwest border are being consistently stymied by court injunctions, existing laws and settlements, state and local resistance, congressional pushback, and migration pressures that are beyond the government’s ability to swiftly address, as this article explores.

Video, Audio, Webinars

April 23, 2019

Children of Immigrants and Child Welfare Systems: Key Policy and Practice

Marking the release of an MPI report, this webinar examines what the growing intersection between U.S. immigration and child welfare systems means for protection agencies. Speakers also discuss promising child welfare policies and agency approaches to address the needs of children of immigrants and their families amid demographic change and rising immigration enforcement.

Fact Sheets

April 2019

How Many Unauthorized Immigrants Graduate from U.S. High Schools Annually?

A high school diploma has been a core requirement of proposed DREAM Act legislation and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Yet a fresh estimate of the number of unauthorized immigrants graduating annually from U.S. high schools has long been missing from the debate. This fact sheet provides up-to-date estimates for the United States and top 15 states, estimating 98,000 such students graduate yearly.

Reports

April 2019

Immigrant Families and Child Welfare Systems: Emerging Needs and Promising Policies

With the children of immigrants a growing share of all U.S. children, and federal immigration enforcement and other policies undergoing significant change, some state and local child welfare agencies are developing new ways to improve how they work with immigrant families. This report examines key cultural, linguistic, and legal challenges, and how agencies are adjusting staffing, training, placement, and other policies to tackle them.

Video, Audio

April 16, 2019

Is U.S.-Mexico Cooperation on Migration Possible?

Over recent months, the number of Central American migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border has surged, presenting a critical challenge in the relationship between the two neighboring countries. Experts from a Study Group on U.S.-Mexico Migration convened by El Colegio de México and MPI discuss current trends, policies, and politics surrounding migration from the Northern Triangle of Central America and the U.S.-Mexico relationship, ways to improve U.S. and Mexican asylum systems, possible new approaches to labor migration, ways to address smuggling networks, and modernize border management.

Video, Audio

April 10, 2019

International vs. National Protection for Refugees: Diverging Trends?

MPI's Kathleen Newland, Refugee Council USA's Mary Giovagnoli, and David Scott FitzGerald, author of Refuge beyond Reach, discuss how and why international and national responses to the rising challenge of refugee displacement are diverging. They examine what lies ahead for the Global Compact on Refugees and how adjustments to asylum policies in many high-income democracies are narrowing the paths to protection.

Commentaries

April 2019

Policy Solutions to Address Crisis at Border Exist, But Require Will and Staying Power to Execute

Closing the U.S.-Mexico border and cutting off aid to Central America would only feed the crisis unfolding at key points along the U.S.-Mexico border. This commentary outlines a range of immediate and long-term policy responses that would more effectively address the complex mix of factors fueling rising Central American migration to the United States.

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