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

North America

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.

Recent Activity

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Policy Briefs
November 2020
By  Doris Meissner and Michelle Mittelstadt
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Articles
Federal immigration officers make an arrest during an operation in Virginia.
Articles
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Reports
October 2020
By  Julia Gelatt, Jeanne Batalova and Randy Capps
climate change migration flood
Articles
Indian New Jersey
Articles

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American SeanDavis Flickr crop

The United States is by far the world's top migration destination, home to roughly one-fifth of all global migrants. In 2016, nearly 44 million immigrants lived in the United States, comprising 13.5 percent of the country's population. Get the most sought-after data available on immigrants and immigration trends, including top countries of origin, legal immigration pathways, enforcement actions, health-care coverage, and much more.

7-Eleven in Los Angeles

An unannounced sweep of 98 convenience stores by U.S. immigration authorities—resulting in the arrest of 21 unauthorized workers—may signal a new approach to worksite enforcement under the Trump administration, moving away from a strategy of paper-based audits that resulted in higher employer fines and fewer worker arrests. This article explores worksite enforcement over recent decades.

EgyptianWoman BenPiven Flickr

In 2016, nearly 1.2 million immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region lived in the United States. MENA immigration has picked up in recent decades, owing to war and worsening economic prospects. This article offers the latest data on the MENA population in the United States, which is more likely to come via humanitarian routes and less likely via family reunification than the foreign-born population overall.

 

Airport protest

During its first year, the Trump administration methodically put in place a series of bureaucratic barriers that could significantly reduce opportunities for foreigners to come to the United States legally. Among the actions taken during 2017: Imposition of a much-challenged travel ban suspending the entry of nationals from certain Muslim-majority countries, cuts to refugee admissions, and increased scrutiny for visa applicants.

ICE agent

In its first year, the Trump administration moved to deliver on some of Donald Trump’s campaign promises on immigration, including ramping up enforcement in the U.S. interior and ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The administration also announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of some countries. This article explores some of the top policy changes.

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Video, Audio
August 14, 2013

During this online chat, MPI researchers discuss their findings in an MPI brief, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals at the One-Year Mark: A Profile of Currently Eligible Youth and Applicants, that provides the most up-to-date estimates of the current and prospective DACA population by educational attainment, English proficiency, state of residence, country of origin, age, gender, labor force participation, poverty, and parental status.

multimedia HouseDivided
Video, Audio
August 7, 2013

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

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

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

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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Recent Activity

Articles

The United States has been a destination for education and research for generations of foreign students and scholars. MPI's Jeanne Batalova explores why the country has become less dominant in the global education market in recent years.

Articles

Nebraska's foreign-born population grew faster than that of any other Midwestern state between 1990 and 2000. Lourdes Gouveia and Mary Ann Powell of the University of Nebraska at Omaha shed light on the second generation's progress in the country's heartland.

Articles

MPI’s Julia Gelatt reports on the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform in 2007, the role of immigration reform in the November elections, plans to raise fees for immigration benefits, the first phase of Boeing’s border control strategy, and more.

Articles

In January 2004, President George Bush declared the current immigration system "broken" and proposed a temporary worker program open to the unauthorized as well as new foreign workers. Nearly three years later, the United States has not come much closer to that goal although events in 2006 may have changed the political climate in which immigration will be debated next year.

Articles

With the U.S. Congress unable to reconcile vastly differing views of immigration legislation (see Issue #3: U.S. Immigration Reform: Better Luck Next Year), the city of Hazleton, in eastern Pennsylvania, decided to act, passing its "Illegal Immigration Relief Act" in August.

Articles

The border between the U.S. and Mexico and the water dividing Europe and North Africa continue to be the world's main fronts in the fight against illegal immigration.

Articles

The Effect of U.S. Elections on Immigration Reform

Fact Sheets
November 2006

This fact sheet examines demographic and labor market characteristics of Mexican-born workers in the United States and compares them to those of all foreign-born as well as native-born U.S. workers. The report focuses on workers age 16 and over who participated in the U.S. civilian labor force in 2006.

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