E.g., 07/02/2020
E.g., 07/02/2020

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.

A doctor wearing a face mask performing a test
Fact Sheets

Immigrant Workers: Vital to the U.S. COVID-19 Response, Disproportionately Vulnerable

Six million immigrant workers are at the frontlines of keeping U.S. residents healthy and fed during the COVID-19 pandemic, representing disproportionate shares of physicians, home health aides, and retail-store pharmacists, for example. They also are over-represented in sectors most immediately devastated by mass layoffs, yet many will have limited access to safety-net systems and to federal relief, as this fact sheet details.

Boats along a river in the Darien Gap, Panama
Articles

As More Migrants from Africa and Asia Arrive in Latin America, Governments Seek Orderly and Controlled Pathways

Growing numbers of African and Asian migrants are moving through Latin America, many hoping to reach the United States or Canada after expensive, arduous, and often dangerous journeys that can take months or even years. As more extracontinental migrants transit through South and Central America, Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica have developed the most comprehensive policies to manage these flows, sometimes working in coordination with the U.S. government.

Recent Activity

Multimedia
September 3, 2015
Regional Enforcement: A Profile of Migrants Deported from the United States and Mexico to the Northern Triangle
Articles
September 2, 2015
Central American Immigrants in the United States
By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova
Reports
September 2015
Migrants Deported from the United States and Mexico to the Northern Triangle: A Statistical and Socioeconomic Profile
By Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas and Victoria Rietig
Commentaries
August 2015
Repealing Birthright Citizenship: The Unintended Consequences
By Michael Fix
Articles
August 20, 2015
Sanctuary Cities Come Under Scrutiny, As Does Federal-Local Immigration Relationship
By Muzaffar Chishti and Faye Hipsman
Multimedia
August 19, 2015
The Unauthorized Population in the United States: New Data Trends
Reports
September 2015
The Educational, Psychological, and Social Impact of Discrimination on the Immigrant Child
By Christia Spears Brown
Reports
August 2015
An Analysis of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States by Country and Region of Birth
By Marc R. Rosenblum and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto

Pages

Reports
January 2004
NAFTA's Promise and Reality: Lessons from Mexico for the Hemisphere
By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, John J. Audley, Sandra Polaski, and Scott Vaughan
Fact Sheets
January 2004
International Agreements of the Social Security Administration
By Deborah W. Meyers
Fact Sheets
January 2004
What Kind of Work Do Immigrants Do? Occupation and Industry of Foreign-Born Workers in the United States
By Elizabeth Grieco
Fact Sheets
January 2004
The Foreign Born in the U.S. Labor Force: Numbers and Trends
By Elizabeth Grieco
Policy Briefs
December 2003
Rediscovering Resettlement
By Gregor Noll and Joanne van Selm
Fact Sheets
November 2003
U.S.-Canada-Mexico Fact Sheet on Trade and Migration
By Deborah W. Meyers and Maia Jachimowicz
Fact Sheets
October 2003
Unauthorized Immigration to the United States
By Elizabeth Grieco
Fact Sheets
September 2003
Immigration Since September 11, 2001
By Elizabeth Grieco, Deborah W. Meyers, and Kathleen Newland

Pages

Spotlight
January 18, 2012
Chinese Immigrants in the United States
From rather humble beginnings, the Chinese immigrant population in the United States has grown steadily since the 1960s to reach about 1.8 million in 2010. Compared to the foreign born overall, Chinese immigrants report higher levels of educational attainment, are less likely to live in households with an annual income below the poverty line, and are substantially more likely to have naturalized as U.S. citizens.
Policy Beat
December 15, 2011
Supreme Court to Decide Fate of Arizona's SB 1070
Muzaffar Chishti, Claire Bergeron, and Faye Hipsman report on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to decide the constitutionality of Arizona's SB 1070, passage in the House of the Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011, DOJ lawsuits in Utah and South Carolina, and more.
Spotlight
December 8, 2011
Green Card Holders and Legal Immigration to the United States
More than 1 million people became legal permanent residents (LPRs) in the United States in 2010. Nearly two-thirds of new LPRs are immigrants with family ties in the United States, report MPI’s Carola Balbuena and Jeanne Batalova in this updated look at the latest statistics on legal immigration.
Top Ten
December 1, 2011
Caught between Two Migration Realities, Mexico Passes New Immigration Legislation

Migration to and through Mexico has been a critical policy issue for the Mexican government since the 1980s, as large numbers of Central Americans have flowed in through the country's porous southern border, first in flight during times of civil war and humanitarian crises and later in pursuit of greater economic opportunity in the United States.

Top Ten
December 1, 2011
A Decade after 9/11, Enforcement Focus Prevails in the United States; Broader Immigration Reforms Remain Stalled

As the United States paused in September to mark the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the enforcement paradigm that took hold immediately after the terrorist attacks showed no signs of waning.

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Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
September 3, 2015

Regional Enforcement: A Profile of Migrants Deported from the United States and Mexico to the Northern Triangle

This webinar includes an overview of regional immigration enforcement trends, including U.S. and Mexican apprehensions and deportations of Central American migrants, along with a demographic, socioeconomic, and criminal profile of child and adult deportees.

Articles
September 2, 2015

Central American Immigrants in the United States

The Central American immigrant population in the United States has grown dramatically since 1980 to reach 3.2 million or 7 percent of the country's total foreign-born population. Central Americans were significantly less educated, but more likely to be employed than all immigrants and U.S. born. From income to health coverage and more, this Spotlight explores key indicators of the Central American immigrant population.

Reports
September 2015

Migrants Deported from the United States and Mexico to the Northern Triangle: A Statistical and Socioeconomic Profile

This report examines the rising numbers of apprehensions and deportations of Central American children and adults by the United States and Mexico, and provides a demographic, socioeconomic, and criminal profile of deportees to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The report traces how rising Mexican enforcement is reshaping regional dynamics and perhaps ushering in changes to long-lasting trends in apprehensions.

Commentaries
August 2015

Repealing Birthright Citizenship: The Unintended Consequences

In this commentary, MPI President Michael Fix discusses how the repeal of birthright citizenship in the United States would create a self-perpetuating underclass that would be excluded from social membership for generations—with negative consequences for the national interest. And repeal, touted by proponents as a solution to illegal immigration, would in reality have the opposite effect and would expand the size of the U.S. unauthorized population.

Articles
August 20, 2015

Sanctuary Cities Come Under Scrutiny, As Does Federal-Local Immigration Relationship

The killing of a young woman in San Francisco by an unauthorized immigrant coincided with the Obama administration's rollout of the Priority Enforcement Program, a new vehicle for improving federal-local relations on immigration enforcement. The tragedy has rekindled debate over the role of "sanctuary" cities and propelled illegal immigration to the forefront of the 2016 presidential race.
Video, Audio, Webinars
August 19, 2015

The Unauthorized Population in the United States: New Data Trends

This webinar examines recent trends regarding the countries and regions of origin for the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States at national, state, and county levels.

Reports
September 2015

The Educational, Psychological, and Social Impact of Discrimination on the Immigrant Child

This report examines the effects of personal discrimination as experienced by the children of immigrants, particularly in school settings. Research clearly and consistently shows that the majority of of children of immigrants perceive discrimination, which can have broad psychological, physical, academic, and social consequences for immigrant children.

Reports
August 2015

An Analysis of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States by Country and Region of Birth

This report profiles the approximately 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States, examining population growth trends over time by country or region of origin as well as geographic distribution by state and top county destinations. (See related interactive map here.) The report also assesses eligibility and application rates for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, analyzing differences in application rates by national origin.

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