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This essential resource offers top statistics about immigration, immigrants, and the immigration system in the United States, drawing on authoritative sources and the latest data available. The article offers insights on the size and characteristics of the immigrant population, the scope of temporary and permanent immigration via all pathways, enforcement actions, and much more.
Find essential statistics about U.S. immigration, immigrants, and the immigration system today and throughout history. This perennially popular article compiles the latest data on the size and shape of the immigrant population, immigrant families, refugees and asylees, unauthorized immigrants, temporary visitors, and more. It also examines legal immigration processing and immigration enforcement.
El control migratorio en los Estados Unidos se lleva a cabo en sus fronteras, así como en el interior del país. Esta guía informática tiene respuestas a preguntas comunes sobre la función del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE, por sus siglas en inglés) de EE. UU., en la identificación de personas para arresto, detención, y deportación a través del sistema de justicia penal y las operaciones en lugares de trabajo y dentro de comunidades estadounidenses.
The U.S. unauthorized immigrant population stood at 13.7 million as of mid-2023. The result of strong U.S. economic recovery from the pandemic and displacement in Latin America, the increase in the size of the unauthorized population is accompanied by a diversifying makeup in nationalities. As Mexico's share of the overall unauthorized population has declined, the shares from Central and South America, in particular, have increased.
Immigration enforcement takes place both at U.S. borders and in the nation’s interior. This explainer answers common questions about how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement works within the U.S. interior, identifying people for arrest, detention, and removal through the criminal justice pipeline as well as through operations at worksites and within U.S. communities.
The question of whether immigration represents a net cost or a net benefit to the U.S. economy has been a major source of contention, even as the research literature and thinking among economists has been quite clear. A strong body of research and consensus by most economists finds that immigration, on balance, is a net positive for the U.S. economy. This explainer walks through the issues.
A significant and growing body of research at U.S., state, and local levels demonstrates that immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than the U.S.-born population. This explainer delves into the key takeaways and also looks at the screening process for new arrivals.
Other than refugees, noncitizens in the United States face significant restrictions on access to federally funded public benefits, including programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, and cash assistance programs. This is particularly the case for unauthorized immigrants, who except in very limited circumstances are barred from all federally funded public benefits, as our explainer details.
With immigration a central focus in U.S. public and policy conversations, it is useful to have a solid understanding of the foreign-born population. This explainer offers statistics on the immigrant population’s size, origins, places of U.S. settlement, and pathways of arrival. It also looks at legal statuses, which have been a topic of significant public interest and confusion. More than three-quarters of all immigrants in United States are here legally.
Are noncitizens voting in U.S. elections? What is the process for verifying that someone is eligible to vote? This explainer answers basic questions and addresses misconceptions about voting by unauthorized immigrants and other noncitizens—which audits by elections officials and independent research have demonstrated is extremely rare.
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.
Immigration touches on many facets of life in the United States. Get the facts with this useful resource, which compiles in one place answers to some of the most often-asked questions about immigration and immigrants in the United States now and historically. This article contains essential data on the immigrant population, immigration levels, trends in immigration enforcement, and much more.
Is climate change a major driver of migration and displacement? From where are people leaving, and where are they going? This informative primer, a Climate Migration 101 of sorts, provides answers to basic questions about climate change and migration, starting with how and where climate change triggers human movement.
Looking for some of the most often-sought information on global migration? This statistics-rich article draws on the most current data sources to offer a primer on international migration, highlighting its types, the size of the migrant population and growth over time, and major sending and receiving countries and regions. Beyond looking at labor and humanitarian migrants and international students, the article examines remittances and more.
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.
How has the size of the unauthorized population in the United States changed over time? How is illegal immigration changing, and where do unauthorized immigrants come from? This explainer answers basic questions about illegal immigration, the changing patterns from Mexico, and more.
Who is an immigrant? Does that status change if, for example, a foreigner marries a native-born resident or serves in his or her adopted country's military? This explainer answers basic questions about international migrants—who they are, their top destinations, where they come from, how they are counted, and more.
Over the past several decades, in response to the uptick in spontaneous migration flows, there has been a surge in construction of border walls and fences. This trend begs several questions: Why now? Did border walls work in the past? Do they work today? This article examines the history of border barriers and assesses how effective they are at deterring unauthorized migration.