E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
Illegal Immigration & Interior Enforcement

Illegal Immigration & Interior Enforcement

Deportations/Returns
Employment Verification
State & Local Enforcement
Worksite Enforcement
_IllegalImm+IntEnforcement

lllegal immigration is a phenomenon confronted by many major immigrant-receiving countries, one that vexes policymakers and publics alike. While much of the focus may be on border enforcement, there are an array of interior enforcement policies aimed at identifying unauthorized immigrants for removal, including worksite enforcement, employment verification, jail-house screening, and state and local law enforcement activity. The research below delves into many facets of illegal immigration and enforcement occcuring away from national borders.

Recent Activity

Apuesta por la regularidad migratoria
Reports
May 2023
Apuesta por la regularidad migratoria: Respuestas de América Latina y el Caribe frente a la crisis del desplazamiento venezolano
By  Luciana Gandini and Andrew Selee
Cover image for Betting on Legality
Reports
May 2023
Betting on Legality: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to the Venezuelan Displacement Crisis
By  Luciana Gandini and Andrew Selee
People hold flags of Central American nations at a march in San Diego.
Articles
May 10, 2023
Central American Immigrants in the United States
By Nicole Ward and Jeanne Batalova
Photo of a mural at Las Americas, a legal assistance nonprofit in El Paso, Texas
Commentaries
May 2023
Regional Processing Centers: Can This Key Component of the Post-Title 42 U.S. Strategy Work?
By  Andrew Selee
Photo of CBP One App poster at shelter in Reynosa, Mexico
Commentaries
April 2023
A Post-Title 42 Vision for Migration Management Comes into Focus
By  Doris Meissner, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh
A border checkpoint between Canada and the United States.
Articles
April 27, 2023
Roxham Road Meets a Dead End? U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement Is Revised
By Muzaffar Chishti and Julia Gelatt
Multimedia
April 24, 2023
A Complex Picture: Diversifying Migration Flows & Policies at the U.S.-Mexico Border
Migrantes en la frontera entre Nicaragua y Costa Rica.
Articles
April 19, 2023
Crisis provoca emigración récord desde Nicaragua, superando los niveles de la Guerra Fría
By Charles G. Ripley III

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coverthumb_rethinking regional migration
Reports
November 2020
Building a New Regional Migration System: Redefining U.S. Cooperation with Mexico and Central America
By  Andrew Selee and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
coverthumb_biden starting gate
Policy Briefs
November 2020
At the Starting Gate: The Incoming Biden Administration’s Immigration Plans
By  Doris Meissner and Michelle Mittelstadt
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Reports
November 2020
Immigration Data Matters
By  Jeanne Batalova, Andriy Shymonyak and Michelle Mittelstadt
coverthumb_enforcement roadmap
Policy Briefs
October 2020
Rethinking the U.S.-Mexico Border Immigration Enforcement System: A Policy Road Map
By  Doris Meissner
Immigration Enforcement and the Mental Health of Latino High School Students
Reports
September 2020
Immigration Enforcement and the Mental Health of Latino High School Students
By  Randy Capps, Jodi Berger Cardoso, Kalina Brabeck, Michael Fix and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Dismantling and Reconstructing the U.S. Immigration System: A Catalog of Changes under the Trump Presidency
Reports
July 2020
Dismantling and Reconstructing the U.S. Immigration System: A Catalog of Changes under the Trump Presidency
By  Sarah Pierce and Jessica Bolter
Coverthumb OneYearAfterUS MexAgreement ES
Policy Briefs
June 2020
Un año después del Acuerdo Estados Unidos-México: La transformación de las políticas migratorias mexicanas
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Coverthumb OneYearAfterUS MexAgreement EN
Policy Briefs
June 2020
One Year after the U.S.-Mexico Agreement: Reshaping Mexico’s Migration Policies
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto

Pages

Migrantes venezolanos en la frontera colombiana.
Feature
April 11, 2023
El Cambio de los Patrones y Políticas Migratorios en las Américas

Los países de América Latina y el Caribe están siendo transformados por crisis políticas y económicas, nuevos acuerdos de libre circulación y otras tendencias. La cantidad de inmigrantes que viven en la región casi se ha duplicado desde 2010, un cambio increíble en un corto período de tiempo. Este artículo da sentido a una profunda transición en curso en el hemisferio occidental.

The U.S. Supreme Court.
Policy Beat
March 30, 2023
Federal Judges Step into the Void to Set U.S. Immigration Policy

Virtually all major U.S. immigration policy reforms have faced lawsuits in recent years, giving federal judges wide latitude to shape national policy. The situation, which began during the Obama administration and has escalated, is a byproduct of congressional inaction and the emergence of immigration as a political wedge issue. This article tracks the trend, which has added new volatility to the immigration system, and places it in context.

A flag hangs at the vice president's residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, DC.
Spotlight
March 14, 2023
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

Want to check a fact about U.S. immigration? Interested in putting recent trends into perspective? This article compiles authoritative, up-to-date information about the U.S. immigrant population and how it has changed over time. Data cover immigrants' demographic, educational, and linguistic characteristics; their top states of residence; enforcement activities; refugees and asylum seekers; naturalization trends; visa backlogs; and more.

Crossers at the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border
Feature
March 7, 2023
Crisis Prompts Record Emigration from Nicaragua, Surpassing Cold War Era

A political crisis marked by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s growing authoritarianism has sparked the largest emigration in the country’s modern history. Hundreds of thousands have fled, including intellectuals, artists, and academics. They increasingly are heading beyond the traditional destination of Costa Rica, to the United States and beyond, as this article details.

A migrant from Tajikistan outside Moscow.
Feature
February 7, 2023
Post-Soviet Labor Migrants in Russia Face New Questions amid War in Ukraine

Millions of immigrants fill key sectors in Russia’s economy, help offset its demographic challenges, and support origin communities, particularly in Central Asia. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many have also been pressured into joining the military, and meanwhile face continued marginalization by Russian society. This article outlines the key issues facing these migrants, some of which have been complicated by the fallout from the war.

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International vs. National Protection for Refugees Event - David Fitzgerald
Video, Audio
April 10, 2019

International vs. National Protection for Refugees: Diverging Trends?

MPI's Kathleen Newland, Refugee Council USA's Mary Giovagnoli, and David Scott FitzGerald, author of Refuge beyond Reach, discuss how and why international and national responses to the rising challenge of refugee displacement are diverging.

Interior Secretary for Web
Video, Audio
February 28, 2019

Una nueva política migratoria para una nueva era: Una conversación con la Secretaria de Gobernación Olga Sánchez Cordero

Durante su primera visita oficial a Washington, DC, la Secretaria de Gobierno Olga Sánchez Cordero presento un discurso público sobre la nueva política migratoria de México en el Instituto de Políticas Migratorias.

Olga Sánchez Cordero
Video, Audio
February 28, 2019

A New Migration Policy for A New Era: A Conversation with Mexico's Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero

On her first official trip to Washington, DC, Secretary of the Interior Olga Sánchez Cordero offered a public address on Mexico’s new approach to migration policy at MPI. Her remarks and the event discussion were mostly conducted in Spanish, and this recording is of the simultaneous English interpretation. 

flicrk CIDH visita la frontera de Colombia con Venezuela
Audio
January 31, 2019

Creatividad Dentro de la Crisis: Opciones Legales para Inmigrantes Venezolanos en América Latina

Convocamos un seminario en línea en la ocasión del lanzamiento del informe que describe donde se han radicado los migrantes venezolanos; las medidas que han utilizado los gobiernos latinoamericanos para regularizar el estatus legal de los migrantes venezolanos; y los esfuerzos por integrar a los recién llegados en sus nuevas comunidades de residencia.

MPI Event Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian
Video, Audio
January 30, 2019

Creative Policy Responses in Latin America to the Venezuelan Migration Crisis

With more than 3 million Venezuelans having fled their country in crisis, this event features the release of an MPI-OAS report that examines the creative responses that host countries in Latin America are providing.

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Recent Activity

Articles
June 9, 2022

At Its 10th Anniversary, DACA Faces a Tenuous Future Despite Societal Benefits

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program reached its 10th anniversary in June 2022. This article reviews the evidence on DACA’s impacts for Dreamers and the broader society, looks at the increased reliance on similar limited legal statuses to help segments of the unauthorized immigrant population, and examines the legal challenges the program has and is continuing to face.

Reports
June 2022

COVID-19’s Effects on U.S. Immigration and Immigrant Communities, Two Years On

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic recession have affected the lives of all U.S. residents, but immigrants have been among the hardest hit, with evidence of disproportionately high rates of death as well as a particularly high spike in unemployment. This report takes a look back at how the COVID-19 crisis has affected U.S. immigration policies and levels and the country’s immigrant communities.

Articles
May 25, 2022

Rise in Maritime Migration to the United States Is a Reminder of Chapters Past

A recent uptick in the number of unauthorized migrants attempting to reach the United States by sea has been largely overshadowed by tensions on the southwest border but serves as an echo of eras past. This article explains why migrant interdictions have risen to recent highs, especially among Cubans and Haitians.

Policy Briefs
May 2022

Leveraging Predeparture Counseling to Support Returning Migrants’ Sustainable Reintegration

As assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) programs proliferate in Europe, there is growing recognition that counseling migrants as they prepare to return to their countries of origin can play an important role in their longer-term reintegration. This policy brief assesses the gaps between counselors in Europe and organizations supporting migrants after return that will need to be overcome to maximize the benefits of predeparture counseling.

Policy Briefs
May 2022

Better Responses to Differing Immigration Statuses: Spreading and Adapting 2Gen Working Practices

What status immigrants hold affects their access to U.S. public benefits and services. This brief examines approaches that two-generation programs are using to service immigrant families with a variety of statuses, including mixed-status families.

Reports
May 2022

COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2021

Despite high hopes that international movement would be revived in 2021 after the deep chill in 2020 with designation of a global pandemic, cross-border mobility remained limited as migrants and travelers faced complex rules, high costs, and uncertainty as new COVID-19 variants emerged. This report assesses global mobility in 2021, including changing use of travel restrictions, their impacts on mobile populations, and efforts to safely restart migration and travel.

Articles
April 27, 2022

For Overwhelmed Immigration Court System, New ICE Guidelines Could Lead to Dismissal of Many Low-Priority Cases

New Biden administration guidelines encourage immigration prosecutors to support dismissing many low-priority deportation cases and focus on criminals, threats to national security, and other priorities. This move could have a major impact on clearing backlogs in the overstretched U.S. immigration court system, resulting in quicker determinations in removal and asylum cases, where wait times can presently stretch for years.

Commentaries
April 2022

The UK-Rwanda Agreement Represents Another Blow to Territorial Asylum

The United Kingdom’s controversial deal with Rwanda to relocate certain asylum seekers there—not for offshore processing for possible settlement in the United Kingdom but as a permanent destination—will have far-reaching implications, possibly destabilizing the norms and architecture of the post-World War II protection system, this commentary argues.

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