E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
North America

North America

United States
Canada
Mexico

North America is a dynamic migration region, with the United States home to more immigrants than any other country in the world, the Mexico-U.S. corridor the globe's top migration corridor, and Canada a leading destination for migrants. Research collected here focuses on everything from visa policy and border management to immigrant integration, national identity, the demographics of immigrants in the region and their educational and workforce outcomes, and ways to more effectively use migration policy as a lever for national and regional competitiveness.

Graphic image of man's hand touching screen with word skills
Commentaries

Canada's New Tech Talent Strategy Takes Aim at High-Skilled Immigrants in the United States

Canada’s Tech Talent Strategy is highly unusual for its explicit targeting of visa holders in another country. Opening a dedicated stream specifically for high-skilled immigrants in the United States who hold an H-1B visa is the latest salvo in a growing global competition for talent—one in which some countries are racing ahead of the United States in terms of policy dynamism, as this commentary explores.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other leaders at the 2022 Summit of the Americas
Commentaries

The Los Angeles Declaration Could Represent a Big Step for Real Migration Cooperation across the Americas

The Los Angeles Agreement on Migration and Protection signed by leaders from 20 countries across the Western Hemisphere at the 2022 Summit of the Americas marks a significant step forward in creating a common language and a coherent set of ideas for more cooperatively managing migration movements across a region that has seen very significant mobility in recent years, as this commentary explains.

Recent Activity

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Policy Briefs
June 2007
Leveraging Remittances for Development
By  Dilip Ratha
Articles
May 24, 2007
The Recently Arrived Foreign Born in the United States in 2005
By Jeanne Batalova, Aaron Matteo Terrazas
Articles
May 18, 2007
Selecting Economic Stream Immigrants through Points Systems
By Demetrios G. Papademetriou
senate chamber
Articles
May 15, 2007
After Long Negotiations, Senate Takes Up Immigration Reform Again
By Dawn Konet, Julia Gelatt
Articles
May 3, 2007
After-School Institutions in Chinese and Korean Immigrant Communities: A Model for Others?
By Min Zhou and Susan S. Kim
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Fact Sheets
May 2007
Annual Immigration to the United States: The Real Numbers
By  Julia Gelatt
cover PointsSystem
Policy Briefs
May 2007
Proposed Points System and Its Likely Impact on Prospective Immigrants
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Jeanne Batalova and Julia Gelatt
Articles
April 26, 2007
Secondary Migration: Who Re-Migrates and Why These Migrants Matter
By Ayumi Takenaka

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Recent Activity

Reports
July 2017

Strengthening Mexico’s Protection of Central American Unaccompanied Minors in Transit

Mexico has apprehended more than 50,000 unaccompanied children since 2014 and introduced ambitious reforms to safeguard their rights. Yet the gap between policy and reality is wide: Most are held in adult detention centers rather than child shelters and report never being told of their right to apply for asylum. This report examines the child protection legal framework in Mexico, its implementation, and the gaps between the two.

Articles
July 19, 2017

The Trump Administration at Six Months: A Sea Change in Immigration Enforcement

Making good on campaign promises to toughen immigration enforcement, the Trump administration has acted swiftly to cast a wider net in the U.S. interior. The actions represent a sea change in enforcement practice, moving from a tight focus on high-priority individuals to an era in which all unauthorized immigrants may be subject to deportation. This article explores the shifts undertaken during President Trump's first six months.

Articles
July 6, 2017

Cuban Migration: A Postrevolution Exodus Ebbs and Flows

The Cuban Revolution unleashed a massive exodus from the island. Cuba is now among the top origin countries of immigrants in the United States—where for decades they have received preferential treatment—with smaller numbers across Europe and Latin America. This article explores the evolution of Cuban migration, particularly within the context of the Cold War and shifting U.S. policies toward the country.

Commentaries
June 2017

The Supreme Court’s Opinion on the Revised Trump Executive Order: What Does It Mean For Refugees?

Legal analysis of the Supreme Court’s opinion allowing aspects of a controversial Trump administration executive order to take effect has largely focused on the travel ban on certain nationals from six predominantly Muslim countries.  Less noticed was the justices' views with regards to the temporary suspension of the refugee resettlement program. This commentary explores the ruling's possible consequences on refugees.

Articles
June 28, 2017

Immigrant Health-Care Workers in the United States

Approximately 2.1 million immigrants work in health-care occupations in the United States, comprising nearly 17 percent of the 12.4 million doctors, nurses, dentists, and other health-care professionals. Learn more about immigrant health-care workers in the United States with this data-rich article, including top occupations nationally and by state, countries of origin, educational levels, visa pathways, and much more.

Articles
June 20, 2017

Despite Political Resistance, Use of Temporary Worker Visas Rises as U.S. Labor Market Tightens

Although President Trump has repeatedly pledged to preserve "U.S. jobs for U.S. workers," employers are increasingly relying on temporary visas as a result of labor shortages in agriculture, high tech, and beyond. This article examines the increases occurring in key temporary worker programs, affecting seasonal agricultural and nonagricultural industries, as well as high-skilled tech jobs.

Commentaries
June 2017

Immigrants and the New Brain Gain: Ways to Leverage Rising Educational Attainment

A recent MPI study reveals that 48 percent of recent immigrants to the United States were college graduates, a sharp increase over earlier periods. How can the United States better leverage this brain gain? This commentary outlines some policies that could allow the United States to more fully utilize the professional and academic credentials that highly skilled immigrants have, for their benefit and that of the U.S. economy.

Articles
June 7, 2017

Refugees and Asylees in the United States

The United States has historically led the world on refugee resettlement, and today remains the top country, having resettled approximately 85,000 refugees in fiscal 2016. It also granted asylum status to more than 26,000 individuals in FY 2015. This article examines characteristics of U.S. refugee and asylee populations, including top countries of origin, states of resettlement, age and gender, and more.

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