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E.g., 02/01/2023
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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Policy Beat
January 26, 2023

Biden at the Two-Year Mark: Significant Immigration Actions Eclipsed by Record Border Numbers

President Joe Biden at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Tia Dufour/DHS

At his term's midpoint, President Joe Biden has relied on executive action to advance his immigration agenda more than his predecessors, including Donald Trump. Yet many of the changes to interior enforcement, humanitarian protection, and other areas have been overshadowed by the record pace of arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border, which has presented the administration with major policy and operational challenges.

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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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Policy Briefs
October 2022

Diverging Pathways: Immigrants’ Legal Status and Access to Postsecondary Credentials

A young woman operating an industrial drilling machine
iStock.com/Omar Osman

As the United States seeks to adapt to trends such as technological change and aging that are reshaping the labor market, increasing productivity and the number of high-skilled workers will be critical. This issue brief explores the characteristics of the 115 million adults without postsecondary credentials, 21 percent of them immigrant, as well as the prospects for credential acquisition for foreign-born subgroups.

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Reports
July 2022

Changing the Playbook: Immigrants and the COVID-19 Response in Two U.S. Communities

Aerial views of Worthington, MN, and Houston, TX
iStock.com/Jacob Boomsma & iStock.com/simonkr

U.S. cities and towns have responded to COVID-19 in ways that are as diverse as the communities they aim to support. This report looks at how two very different locations—Worthington, MN, and the greater Houston area—incorporated immigrants into their relief efforts, through partnerships, strategic outreach, targeted assistance, and more. The report also highlights useful lessons for responses to future emergencies.

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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

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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

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Reports
August 2013
Pensando Regionalmente para Competir Globalmente: Aprovechar la Migración y el Capital Humano en Estados Unidos, México y Centroamérica
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Doris Meissner and Eleanor Sohnen
Four panelists sitting with Chicago Council banner in background
Multimedia
July 16, 2013
Immigration and U.S. Economic Competitiveness: A View from the Midwest
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Reports
July 2013
Migración Mexicana a los EE.UU.: Factores Económicos Subyacentes y Posibles Escenarios de Flujos Futuros
By  Daniel Chiquiar and Alejandrina Salcedo
Cover CIR greencards
Policy Briefs
June 2013
Remaking the U.S. Green Card System: Legal Immigration under the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013
By  Madeleine Sumption and Claire Bergeron
MI_ThinkingRegionally_5613
Multimedia
May 6, 2013
Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: A New View on Migration and Human Capital for the United States, Mexico, and Central America
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Reports
May 2013
Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration & Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Doris Meissner and Eleanor Sohnen
cover CIR_No5 DemProf
Policy Briefs
May 2013
A Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Health Coverage Profile of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States
By  Randy Capps, Michael Fix, Jennifer Van Hook and James D. Bachmeier
MI_ChangingDynamics_4513
Multimedia
April 5, 2013
Changing Dynamics: Immigration, Mexico, and the United States

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Recent Activity

Fact Sheets
August 2013

Side-by-Side Comparison of 2013 Senate Immigration Bill with Individual 2013 House Bills

This fact sheet offers a detailed review of the comprehensive immigration reform legislation approved by the U.S. Senate in June 2013 and compares its major provisions with those of the five targeted immigration bills approved by the House Judiciary Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee.

Audio
July 16, 2013

Immigration and U.S. Economic Competitiveness: A View from the Midwest

At this release event in Washington, DC, co-sponsored by MPI, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and ImmigrationWorks USA, the Chicago Council's independent task force on immigration released its report, U.S. Economic Competitiveness at Risk: A Midwest Call to Action on Immigration Reform.

Reports
July 2013

Migración Mexicana a los EE.UU.: Factores Económicos Subyacentes y Posibles Escenarios de Flujos Futuros

Este reporte analiza algunos de los factores económicos que han influido sobre los flujos migratorios de México a los Estados Unidos, con el fin de construir escenarios sobre cómo dichos flujos podrían evolucionar en el futuro cercano. El análisis examina tres diferentes periodos en la historia reciente de la migración de México a los Estados Unidos.

Policy Briefs
June 2013

Remaking the U.S. Green Card System: Legal Immigration under the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013

This brief examines how the Senate's 2013 comprehensive immigration reform legislation would reshape the legal immigration system through its admission policies and creation of a new merit-based visa stream and points-based system. It also offers estimates of future migration flows, where they can be determined.
Video, Audio
May 6, 2013

Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: A New View on Migration and Human Capital for the United States, Mexico, and Central America

A panel discussion on the release of the Regional Migration Study Group's final report, Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration & Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America, outlining its findings and offering recommendations to policymakers in the region.

Reports
May 2013

Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration & Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America

This final report from the Regional Migration Study Group outlines the powerful demographic, economic, and social forces reshaping Mexico and Central America and changing longstanding migration dynamics with the United States. It offers a forward-looking, pragmatic agenda for the region, focusing on new collaborative approaches on migration and human-capital development to strengthen regional competitiveness.

Policy Briefs
May 2013

A Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Health Coverage Profile of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States

This issue brief provides updated data, based on the Census Bureau's 2011 American Community Survey, on unauthorized immigrants in the United States, their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and their health care coverage. The analysis marks the first time that self-reported data on LPR status have been used to generate a national profile of unauthorized immigrants.
Video, Audio
April 5, 2013

Changing Dynamics: Immigration, Mexico, and the United States

This discussion with Mexico's new Ambassador to the United States focused on changing dynamics in Mexico, and their implications for both Mexico and the U.S.

Pages