E.g., 06/28/2023
E.g., 06/28/2023
U.S. Immigration Policy Program

U.S. Immigration Policy Program

A young boy holds hands with his dad as they walk in a park
iStock.com/SolStock

The United States has seen notable declines in overall and child poverty since 2009, continuing even into the period of pandemic-driven economic upheaval. This issue brief takes a closer look at how these trends have played out for immigrants and their children, by citizenship status and race/ethnicity. It also explores factors that have contributed to these poverty declines.

Photo of a mural at Las Americas, a legal assistance nonprofit in El Paso, Texas
Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh

Amid a potentially dramatic rethink in the U.S. approach to management of migration from the Western Hemisphere, the creation of Regional Processing Centers across Latin America will be central to the post-Title 42 strategy, as this commentary explains.

Photo of CBP One App poster at shelter in Reynosa, Mexico
Ariel G. Ruiz Soto

Facing a dramatically different reality arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border with the end of a pandemic-era policy that resulted in more than 3 million expulsions, the Biden administration unveiled a policy vision that marries expanded legal pathways with stiff consequences for those seeking to enter without authorization. The strategy can succeed, but speedier while still fair border asylum decisionmaking must be an essential component, this commentary argues.

CBP agents process asylum seeker at El Paso, Texas port of entry
Glenn Fawcett/CBP

The border asylum proposed rule the Biden administration unveiled in February represents a bid to save the U.S. asylum system, not shut it down, as some contend. Whether it can succeed, however, depends on how it is implemented and on other steps that are beyond the bounds of the proposed rule, as this commentary explains.

Fresh vegetables and fruits in a supermarket
iStock.com/JackF

The U.S. government created the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, to combat food insecurity. Under federal law, many lawfully present noncitizens in poor households are ineligible. This issue brief examines the size and characteristics of the population of immigrants with incomes low enough to qualify for SNAP and their eligibility for and participation in the program, at U.S. and state levels.  

A group of office workers with laptops
iStock.com/FS-Stock

Inefficiencies in the U.S. immigration system and case backlogs are preventing individuals eligible for immigration to the United States from filling some of the millions of job vacancies. This policy brief outlines executive actions that could facilitate the migration of needed workers, retain immigrants already in the U.S. workforce, and ease challenges experienced by U.S. employers and their foreign-born workers.

Recent Activity

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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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Fact Sheets
September 2003
By  Elizabeth Grieco, Deborah W. Meyers and Kathleen Newland

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Recent Activity

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.

Fact Sheets
September 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.

Policy Briefs
June 2003

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.

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