E.g., 12/08/2023
E.g., 12/08/2023
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

Little_Haiti_party
Articles
August 12, 2020
Haitian Immigrants in the United States
By Kira Olsen-Medina and Jeanne Batalova
Dismantling and Reconstructing the U.S. Immigration System: A Catalog of Changes under the Trump Presidency
Reports
July 2020
Dismantling and Reconstructing the U.S. Immigration System: A Catalog of Changes under the Trump Presidency
By  Sarah Pierce and Jessica Bolter
People at an annual July 4 citizenship ceremony
Articles
July 28, 2020
Impending USCIS Furloughs Will Contribute to a Historic Drop in U.S. Immigration Levels
By Muzaffar Chishti, Sarah Pierce, and Kira Olsen-Medina
2020CensusOutreach USCensusBureau
Commentaries
July 2020
Millions of U.S. Citizens Could Be Excluded under Trump Plan to Remove Unauthorized Immigrants from Census Data
By  Randy Capps, Jennifer Van Hook and Julia Gelatt
Los manifestantes marchan en un mitin en Minneapolis pidiendo el fin de ICE
Articles
June 25, 2020
Mientras Crece el Movimiento para Desfinanciar a la Policía en EUA, el Gasto y las Prácticas de las Autoridades de Inmigración también se Someten a Escrutinio
By Muzaffar Chishti y Jessica Bolter
Stethoscope sitting on a medical textbook
Fact Sheets
July 2020
Brain Waste among U.S. Immigrants with Health Degrees: A Multi-State Profile
By  Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and Sarah Pierce
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Multimedia
July 16, 2020
A Bumpy Path to U.S. Citizenship: A Survey of Changing USCIS Practices
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Articles
July 15, 2020
Filipino Immigrants in the United States
By Luis Hassan Gallardo and Jeanne Batalova

Pages

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Reports
June 2013
Health Care for Immigrant Families: Current Policies and Issues
By  Leighton Ku and Mariellen Jewers
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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
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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 CredentialRecognition
Reports
May 2013
Credential Recognition in the United States for Foreign Professionals
By  Linda Rabben
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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
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Reports
April 2013
Mexican Migration to the United States: Underlying Economic Factors and Possible Scenarios for Future Flows
By  Daniel Chiquiar and Alejandrina Salcedo
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Fact Sheets
April 2013
Side-by-Side Comparison of 2013 Senate Immigration Bill with 2006 and 2007 Senate Legislation
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Fact Sheets
April 2013
Side-by-Side Comparison of the 2013 Senate Immigration Framework with 2006 and 2007 Senate Legislation

Pages

Citizenship ceremony in Edmonton
Feature
November 1, 2017
Building a Mosaic: The Evolution of Canada’s Approach to Immigrant Integration

Even as the United States and countries in Europe have made a right turn on immigration in recent years, Canada has remained a largely welcoming country. Underlying this resilience is an approach to immigration focused on active management and refinement of policies as well as long-term economic, social, and political integration, as this article explores.

Trump at a rally in Phoenix.
Policy Beat
October 19, 2017
Will White House Immigration Wish List Tank Emerging DREAMer Momentum in Congress?

The Trump administration has released a list of hardline immigration demands—including border wall funding, restrictions on federal grants to “sanctuary” cities, and cuts to legal immigration—in exchange for legislation protecting DREAMers. This article examines the prospects for these proposals and more broadly for a legislative fix to resolve the status of unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children.

Chinatown in New York City
Spotlight
September 29, 2017
Chinese Immigrants in the United States

The Chinese represent the third-largest immigrant population in the United States, their numbers having grown rapidly in recent decades. The population is atypical in some respects: Far more highly educated and likely to have come via student and employment pathways than the overall U.S. foreign-born population. This article offers key data on Chinese immigrants, including top destinations, incomes, and English proficiency.

Supporters of the DREAM Act at a September 2017 march in Los Angeles.
Policy Beat
September 15, 2017
Trump Administration Rescinds DACA, Fueling Renewed Push in Congress and the Courts to Protect DREAMers

The Trump administration’s decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) deportation-relief program launched in 2012 has sparked new urgency to find a longer-term fix for "DREAMers," the unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children. This Policy Beat article examines movement in the courts and in Congress on the DREAM Act and similar proposals, exploring likely paths forward.

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Feature
September 7, 2017
Gender-Based Violence against Women: Both Cause for Migration and Risk along the Journey

The changing nature of conflict has brought an uptick in gender-based violence in war-torn countries, with instances of rape particularly common in conflict zones. While many women leave their countries to escape such violence, setting off on the journey is no guarantee of safety, as they are vulnerable to further gender-based abuse in transit and at destination. This article explores the rates of gender violence among refugee, asylee, and migrant women, and examines supports available to survivors in the United States.

Pages

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multimedia HouseDivided
Video, Audio
August 7, 2013

A House Divided: Divergent Views in Congress Over Immigration Reform - A Video Chat

MPI experts participate in a video chat shortly after the Migration Policy Institute released an analysis comparing the major provisions of the Senate bill to those of the individual House bills considered to date in House committees. 

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Video
August 2, 2013

Doris Meissner Testimony Video: Border Security

Testimony of Doris Meissner, Senior Fellow and Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program, before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate.

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Video
July 23, 2013

Margie McHugh Testimony Video: Illegal Immigration and Children

Testimony of Margie McHugh, Co-Director of MPI's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, U.S. House of Representatives.

Four panelists sitting with Chicago Council banner in background
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.

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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.

Pages

Recent Activity

Articles
August 12, 2020

Haitian Immigrants in the United States

The United States is the top global destination for Haitian migrants, who left Haiti in the wake of political instability and a series of natural disasters, including a 2010 earthquake that devastated the country. Haitian immigrants in the United States contribute an important flow of remittances to their country of origin, which is the second largest in the world as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). Remittances to Haiti have increased nearly sixfold since 2000.

Reports
July 2020

Dismantling and Reconstructing the U.S. Immigration System: A Catalog of Changes under the Trump Presidency

Now into its fourth year, the Trump administration has reshaped the U.S. immigration system in ways big and small via presidential proclamations, policy guidance, and regulatory change. This report offers a catalog of the more than 400 administrative changes undertaken in areas such as immigration enforcement, humanitarian admissions, DACA, and visa processing—including a look at measures put in places since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Articles
July 28, 2020

Impending USCIS Furloughs Will Contribute to a Historic Drop in U.S. Immigration Levels

A looming furlough of 70 percent of staff at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services could halt processing for tens of thousands of green cards, citizenship applications, and other immigrant benefits each month it is in effect. Alongside the long list of Trump administration policies slowing immigration to the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, this could contribute to a precipitous—and likely historic—decline in new arrivals to the United States.

Commentaries
July 2020

Millions of U.S. Citizens Could Be Excluded under Trump Plan to Remove Unauthorized Immigrants from Census Data

The Trump administration's plan to exclude unauthorized immigrants from the 2020 Census data used to reapportion 435 congressional seats among the 50 states could misclassify as many as 20 million U.S. citizens, as the result of expected data-matching errors. The effects of this exclusion could be most pronounced in low-income urban and rural communities, reducing their voting power relative to more affluent ones, as this commentary explains.

Articles
June 25, 2020

Mientras Crece el Movimiento para Desfinanciar a la Policía en EUA, el Gasto y las Prácticas de las Autoridades de Inmigración también se Someten a Escrutinio

Los llamados de los activistas a "desbancar a la policía", a raíz de una serie de encuentros mortales para los miembros de la comunidad negra, hacen eco de las demandas anteriores de "abolir el ICE" y reflejar una crítica más amplia de los sistemas de aplicación percibidos como demasiado agresivo.

Fact Sheets
July 2020

Brain Waste among U.S. Immigrants with Health Degrees: A Multi-State Profile

Across the United States, the skills of an estimated 263,000 immigrants and refugees with health-related degrees are going underutilized during a time of pandemic, with these health professionals either in low-skilled jobs or out of work. This fact sheet offers the first-ever state profiles of this population, including the states in which they live, the languages they speak, their fields of study, and legal statuses.

Video, Audio, Webinars
July 16, 2020

A Bumpy Path to U.S. Citizenship: A Survey of Changing USCIS Practices

Marking the launch of a report on changed USCIS procedures that appear to be adding hurdles to the citizenship process, this discussion featuring a former USCIS Director also examines the effects that the pandemic-related shutdown and a possible furlough of two-thirds of USCIS staff could have on the ability of would-be Americans to take the oath of citizenship.

Articles
July 15, 2020

Filipino Immigrants in the United States

Immigration from the Philippines to the United States has been taking place for more than a century, escalating towards the end of the 20th century. Filipinos now represent the fourth-largest U.S. immigrant group. Compared to all immigrants, Filipinos are more highly educated, are more likely to be naturalized U.S. citizens, have higher incomes and lower poverty rates, are less likely to be uninsured, and have greater English proficiency.

Pages