E.g., 03/31/2023
E.g., 03/31/2023
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
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Commentaries
March 2023

Revamping Asylum at the U.S.-Mexico Border: A Workable Rescue?

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.

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Policy Briefs
March 2023

SNAP Access and Participation in U.S.-Born and Immigrant Households: A Data Profile

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.  

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Policy Briefs
February 2023

Unblocking the U.S. Immigration System: Executive Actions to Facilitate the Migration of Needed Workers

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.

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Fact Sheets
December 2022

The Skills and Economic Outcomes of Immigrant and U.S.-Born College Graduates

An FDA researcher stores stem cell samples for analysis
Michael J. Ermarth/FDA

College-educated immigrants are more likely to have advanced degrees than their U.S.-born peers with college degrees. But their educational levels have not always translated into similar occupational gains: They are more likely to be overeducated for their positions. Drawing on PIAAC data, this fact sheet sketches educational characteristics, monthly earnings, skill underutilization, and job quality for immigrant and U.S.-born college graduates alike.

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Fact Sheets
November 2022

A Profile of Low-Income Immigrants in the United States

A crowd of people outside a food pantry
iStock.com/Massimo Giachetti

Immigrants in the United States experience strong economic mobility overall. But for some, limited educational attainment and English proficiency, and the challenges of restarting life in a new country, can result in low incomes and economic hardship. This fact sheet looks at the origins, states of residence, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and employment of low-income immigrants.

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Commentaries
October 2022

Record-Breaking Migrant Encounters at the U.S.-Mexico Border Overlook the Bigger Story

Photo of individuals re-entering Mexico after U.S. expulsion
Jerry Glaser/U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Headlines focusing on the record-breaking nature of the 2.4 million migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022 overlook the much bigger story: Migrant and asylum seeker flows have rapidly diversified beyond Mexico and northern Central America and as a result, U.S. enforcement policies are misaligned. Today's reality sharply underscores the need for new regional approaches, this commentary argues.

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A person walks with luggage in John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
Articles

After a Slump, Legal Immigration to the United States Is Returning to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Legal immigration to the United States fell to its lowest level in years during the COVID-19 pandemic, but preliminary data suggest it is returning to previous levels, belying predictions that the public-health crisis had allowed the Trump administration to make lasting, deep cuts. Yet the patterns have changed and persistent case processing backlogs could spell long-term problems, as this article explores.

A mariachi band performing in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Articles

Mexican Immigrants in the United States

Mexicans are by far the largest immigrant group in the United States, accounting for nearly one-fourth of all immigrants. However their numbers have been declining and in 2021 there were 1 million fewer than a decade ago. At the same time, despite years in which more new migrants came from China and India, Mexicans once again count as the largest group of new arrivals. This article outlines the changing shape and composition of this immigrant population.

Rethinking US Immigration CMS

Featured

The Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy Initiative is generating a big-picture, evidence-driven vision of the role immigration can and should play in America’s future. In a range of reports and other analyses, the Rethinking Initiative is examining the state of the U.S. asylum system, border enforcement, the legal immigration system, immigration detention, and the immigration courts, and is advancing pragmatic policy solutions to fix the long dysfunctional immigration system.

Recent Activity

EventPH2 2014.8.13 Giving Cities and Regions a Greater Voice in Immigration Policy
Multimedia
August 13, 2014
Giving Cities and Regions a Greater Voice in Immigration Policy
EventPH 2014.8.6 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) at Two
Multimedia
August 6, 2014
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) at Two: New MPI Findings as Renewal Approaches
coverthumb DACA 2014 Report
Reports
August 2014
DACA at the Two-Year Mark: A National and State Profile of Youth Eligible and Applying for Deferred Action
By  Jeanne Batalova, Sarah Hooker and Randy Capps
UAC Webinar Train UNHCR
Multimedia
June 25, 2014
Unaccompanied Minors: A Crisis with Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions
EventPH 2014.06.24 Detained or Deported
Multimedia
June 24, 2014
Detained or Deported: How Parents in the Immigration Enforcement System Can Protect their Children
UnaccompaniedMinors Commentary June2014 PeterHaden
Commentaries
June 2014
What Is the Right Policy Toward Unaccompanied Children at U.S. Borders?
By  Kathleen Newland
EventPH 2014.4.29 The Deportation Story 3
Multimedia
April 29, 2014
The Deportation Story: Deporter-in-Chief, Releaser-in-Chief, or Reformer-in-Chief?
Thumb RemovalsOverview2014
Reports
April 2014
The Deportation Dilemma: Reconciling Tough and Humane Enforcement
By  Marc R. Rosenblum and Doris Meissner

Pages

Recent Activity

Video
August 13, 2014

Giving Cities and Regions a Greater Voice in Immigration Policy

MPI researchers and representatives from London and Detroit discuss the policies and strategies used—at national and local levels—to attract immigrants into local economies.
Audio, Webinars
August 6, 2014

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) at Two: New MPI Findings as Renewal Approaches

This webinar covers key findings from MPI's report about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative and eligible populations two years after its implementation, and also introduces MPI's data tool that provides national and state-level estimates of the current and potentially eligible DACA populations, as well as detailed profiles for the U.S. and 25 states.

Reports
August 2014

DACA at the Two-Year Mark: A National and State Profile of Youth Eligible and Applying for Deferred Action

Fifty-five percent of the 1.2 million unauthorized immigrant youth immediately eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program launched in 2012 had applied as of July 20, 2014. This report provides the most up-to-date estimates available for the size, countries of origin, educational attainment, employment, English proficiency, age, gender, and poverty rates for the DACA population nationally and for key states.

Audio
June 25, 2014

Unaccompanied Minors: A Crisis with Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions

The flow of unaccompanied children from Central America and Mexico to the United States has surged 90 percent since last year, with government officials predicting that it might reach 90,000 by the end of the fiscal year in September—and perhaps 130,000 next year. This telebriefing discusses factors behind the flows as well as short- and longer-term policy options for improving how the U.S. immigration system interacts with this population with distinct needs.

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.

Commentaries
June 2014

What Is the Right Policy Toward Unaccompanied Children at U.S. Borders?

In the absence of a policy plan to address the surge in unaccompanied child arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border, simplistic explanations and draconian “solutions” are already surfacing. In reality, the problem is enormously complex and there is no single policy approach that is going to bend the curve on unaccompanied child arrivals. This commentary explores possible ways forward.

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."

Reports
April 2014

The Deportation Dilemma: Reconciling Tough and Humane Enforcement

This report profiles the current-era deportation system, exploring the new legal authorities, spending increases, and policy changes over the last two decades that have resulted in the removal of more than 4.5 million unauthorized immigrants since 1996. The report analyzes key trends in border and interior apprehensions, deportations, and criminal prosecutions, and examines the policy levers available to influence deportation policies, practices, and outcomes.

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