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.

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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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Articles
October 1, 2015
Green-Card Holders and Legal Immigration to the United States
By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova
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Multimedia
September 28, 2015
Overcoming WIOA’s Barriers to Immigrant and Refugee Adult Learners
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Multimedia
September 21, 2015
Left Behind: How the Well-Being of Children Is Affected by Parental Deportation
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Multimedia
September 11, 2015
Growing Up in America: The Extent and Impacts of Discrimination on Young Children from Immigrant Families
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Reports
September 2015
Implications of Immigration Enforcement Activities for the Well-Being of Children in Immigrant Families: A Review of the Literature
By  Randy Capps, Heather Koball, Andrea Campetella, Krista Perreira, Sarah Hooker and Juan Manuel Pedroza
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Reports
September 2015
Health and Social Service Needs of U.S.-Citizen Children with Detained or Deported Immigrant Parents
By  Heather Koball, Randy Capps, Sarah Hooker, Krista Perreira, Andrea Campetella, Juan Manuel Pedroza, William Monson and Sandra Huerta
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Multimedia
September 16, 2015
What's New in Farm Labor? Immigration and the Agricultural Sector
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Articles
September 15, 2015
Fierce Opposition, Court Rulings Place Future of Family Immigration Detention in Doubt
By Muzaffar Chishti and Faye Hipsman

Pages

Top Ten
December 1, 2009
Enforcement Tactics Shift in the Obama Era - But What About Immigration Reform?

In the absence of congressional action on any broad immigration reform, the election of President Barack Obama was expected to lead to changes in U.S. immigration policy at the executive level.

Top Ten
December 1, 2009
Canada Bucks the Trend and Keeps Immigration Targets Steady

Despite the highest unemployment rate in nearly a decade, Canada chose to leave untouched its long-standing points system and the number of immigrants admitted for permanent residence.

Top Ten
December 1, 2009
More Countries Entering into Post 9/11-Era Information-Sharing Agreements

Over the past year, long-standing discussions and negotiations have resulted in several new information-sharing initiatives that seek to boost security while facilitating travel for legitimate travelers.

Policy Beat
November 16, 2009
Senate Avoids Adding an Immigration Wrinkle to the 2010 U.S. Census

MPI's Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron report on a proposal to ask about citizenship in the decennial census, ICE's new 287(g) agreements, the end of the HIV travel ban, and more.

Spotlight
November 13, 2009
Immigration Enforcement in the United States

In 2008, there were just under 800,000 apprehensions, the lowest number since 1975. MPI's Kristen McCabe and Jeanne Batalova take a detailed look at the latest immigration enforcement statistics.

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Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
May 9, 2019

A Mirror for the Nation? The Changing Profile of Mexican Immigrants in Texas

At this discussion, experts from MPI and Southern Methodist University’s Texas-Mexico Center offer an overview of trends and key characteristics of highly skilled Mexican adults at the national level and for Texas, including educational levels by legal status and top industries of employment across Texas metro areas. They also discuss the policy implications of these findings.

Fact Sheets
May 2019

A Profile of Highly Skilled Mexican Immigrants in Texas and the United States

U.S. debates about immigration from Mexico often center on the low skilled, but this analysis shows a population in change. Nearly one in five Mexican immigrants arriving between 2013-17 had a college degree, compared to slightly more than 1 in 20 during the 1996-2000 period. Mexicans now make up the fourth-largest group of highly skilled immigrants. This fact sheet explores their characteristics at U.S. and Texas levels.

Reports
May 2019

Immigration-Related Policy Changes in the First Two Years of the Trump Administration

In the two years since President Trump entered office, U.S. immigration policy has changed in many ways. Some actions have received significant media attention and public scrutiny, and others have been implemented with little fanfare. This document chronicles these wide-reaching policy changes, covering immigration enforcement, the immigration courts, humanitarian admissions, visa processing, and more.

Reports
May 2019

Eight Key U.S. Immigration Policy Issues: State of Play and Unanswered Questions

Amid a significant reshaping of immigration policy by the Trump administration, a range of immigration topics that have not been at the forefront of debate merit further information sharing with the public and policymakers. This report examines eight issues areas that are deserving of additional review and could form the basis for future action by Congress, including H-1B reform and treatment of unaccompanied minors.

Reports
May 2019

Preparing for the Unknown: Designing Effective Predeparture Orientation for Resettling Refugees

Refugees encounter a range of challenges after resettlement—from adjusting to a new culture and language, to finding a job. Many resettlement countries invest in predeparture orientation to help refugees develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to face these challenges. This report explores the many forms these programs take, highlighting important design questions and key elements that effective programs share.

Video, Audio, Webinars
April 29, 2019

Do All High School Graduates Count? Unintended Consequences of State Accountability Policies for English Learner Students

This webinar, accompanying the release of an MPI report, investigates the unintended consequences for English Learners of using the four-year high school graduation rate for federal school accountability.

Reports
April 2019

The Unintended Consequences for English Learners of Using the Four-Year Graduation Rate for School Accountability

High school graduation is a landmark event for students. It also plays an important role in the state accountability systems designed to ensure that schools provide all students a high-quality education. Yet relying on a school's four-year graduation rate for federal accountability purposes can have unintended consequences for English Learners, who may need extra time to graduate.

Explainers
April 2019

Explainer: How the U.S. Legal Immigration System Works

Through which visa categories can immigrants move temporarily or permanently to the United States? What are the main channels by which people come, and who can sponsor them for a green card? Are there limits on visa categories? And who is waiting in the green-card backlog? This explainer answers basic questions about temporary and permanent immigration via family, employment, humanitarian, and other channels.

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