Commentary
Showing 31–40 of 193 results
Jimmy Carter and Immigration: A Wide-Ranging Legacy That Remains Relevant Today
The passing of the nation’s 39th president has sparked numerous assessments of the Carter presidency, yet few have focused on the wide-ranging legacy that Jimmy Carter left in the immigration realm. The Carter presidency illustrates the long history of authorities that remain in use today, including parole and creation of lawful pathways to admit people in orderly ways, and the persistent roots of issues such as spontaneous migration from the Caribbean.
Legal Pathways and Enforcement: What the U.S. Safe Mobility Strategy Can Teach Europe about Migration Management
The Biden administration's ambitious migration management strategy, which combined increased regional cooperation and expanded lawful pathways with a more orderly system for border arrivals, eventually led to a significant drop in irregular migration to the U.S.-Mexico border. The strategy holds promise for governments in Europe also tackling mixed migration flows—however sequencing matters, among other lessons.
The Complicated Reality of Syrians’ Return
While the fall of the al-Assad regime is a seismic moment, it may be premature for sizable numbers of Syrians to return after years abroad—as some host countries want. Conditions remain unstable and returnees would face major housing shortages and limited access to jobs. Instead of returns, host countries would do well to focus for now on other priorities as regards Syria and Syrian refugees, this short read argues.
The Overlooked Impact of Immigration on the Size of the Future U.S. Workforce
Immigrant-origin individuals have been the driving force behind U.S. demographic growth in the United States over the past two decades—and likely will be for years to come.
The Nascent Architecture for Managing U.S. Border Arrivals Shows Promise
While unauthorized crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have plummeted in 2024, improving on these results requires immigration strategies that go far beyond the border. A new architecture for managing migration implemented over the past three years is fragile but holds promise and represents a necessary direction, this commentary argues.
With New Strategies At and Beyond the U.S. Border, Migrant Encounters Plunge
Encounters of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border for fiscal 2024 fell to 2.1 million, a 14 percent drop from the prior year as the result of the Biden administration deepening its carrot-and-stick approach alongside increased immigration enforcement throughout the Western Hemisphere, especially from Mexico. September represented the lowest monthly encounters of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization seen during this administration.
Germany, and Maybe the European Union, Are at a Migration Crossroads
Germany's reinstatement of border controls with its nine neighbors runs the risk of creating a chain reaction, with other EU Member States following suit. In the process, this go-it-alone approach could pose a serious threat to the Schengen free movement zone as well as put the common European asylum system at risk, as this MPI Europe commentary explains.
Beyond the “Black Jobs” Controversy: Immigrants and U.S.-Born Black Workers Share a Growing Jobs Pie
The controversy over whether immigrants have taken "Black jobs" obscures the reality that U.S. job growth has been such that foreign-born workers' growing share of the U.S. labor market and expanded presence across industries do not appear to have occurred at the expense of U.S.-born Black workers. This commentary offers analysis of the U.S. prime-age workforce going back to 1990 by race and nativity.
The Door Opens for a New Chapter in European Cooperation on Migration
New leadership in London and in European capitals, alongside continuity at the European Commission, could offer a window for greater European cohesion and creativity on immigration policy. This MPI Europe commentary explores the opportunities for greater UK-EU cooperation on migration and asylum if both sides smartly rekindle their relationship and prioritise strategic engagement.
Diverse Flows Drive Increase in U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population
MPI estimates 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States as of mid-2022, up from 11.2 million a year earlier. While the country has witnessed high levels of arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border, the unauthorized population also has been marked by significant ongoing declines in the unauthorized from Mexico and other exits, as this analysis explains.
