Immigration Policy & Law

Immigration legislative and administrative policies, legal statutes and court decisions, and regulations collectively shape nations' immigration systems—from visa allotments and immigrant-selection mechanisms to immigrant integration programs, border controls, and more. As international migration has increased in size and spread and as a number of nations are more flexibly adjusting their immigration systems, the research offered here examines the many permutations of immigration policy and law, often with a comparative lens.

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Multimedia November 20, 2018 Building Bridges Not Walls: Key Lessons from the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report on Migration and Displacement	Policy Briefs November 2018 After the Divorce: British Families Living in the EU-27 Post-Brexit By Aliyyah Ahad
Policy Briefs November 2018 The End of the Retirement Dream? British Pensioners in the European Union after Brexit By Helen McCarthy	Policy Briefs November 2018 Gauging the Impact of DHS’ Proposed Public-Charge Rule on U.S. Immigration By Randy Capps, Mark Greenberg, Michael Fix and Jie Zong
Reports November 2018 The Future of Migration Policy in a Volatile Political Landscape (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan and Kate Hooper	Reports November 2018 When Facts Don’t Matter: How to Communicate More Effectively about Immigration’s Costs and Benefits By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
Articles November 8, 2018 Sessions: The Trump Administration’s Once-Indispensable Man on Immigration By Sarah Pierce	Reports November 2018 In Search of a New Equilibrium: Immigration Policymaking in the Newest Era of Nativist Populism By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Kate Hooper and Meghan Benton

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Reports June 2009 Extraordinary Meeting of the Transatlantic Council on Migration By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan	Books May 2009 Talent, Competitiveness and Migration
Reports May 2009 Harnessing the Advantages of Immigration for a 21st-Century Economy: A Standing Commission on Labor Markets, Economic Competitiveness, and Migration By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Doris Meissner, Marc R. Rosenblum and Madeleine Sumption	Reports May 2009 Integration and Belonging in the United Kingdom By Alessandra Buonfino
Reports March 2009 Immigration and the Labour Market: Theory, Evidence and Policy By Madeleine Sumption and Will Somerville	Reports March 2009 Immigration in the United Kingdom: The Recession and Beyond By Madeleine Sumption and Will Somerville
Reports February 2009 DHS and Immigration: Taking Stock and Correcting Course By Doris Meissner and Donald M. Kerwin	Reports January 2009 Migration and the Economic Downturn: What to Expect in the European Union By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption and Will Somerville

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Feature

May 9, 2012

Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States and Europe: The Use of Legalization/Regularization as a Policy Tool

Immigrant legalizations in the United States and Europe ("regularizations" in the EU context) have been used repeatedly for broad and discrete groups of immigrants. A look at how these programs have been implemented historically and the political and policy implications they face today.

Feature

January 4, 2012

Living In Between: The Chinese in South Africa

The past decade has brought tens of thousands of Chinese migrants to Africa, and well over half of all Chinese migrants to the continent head to South Africa. Yoon Jung Park of Rhodes University discusses the history of Chinese migration to South Africa, the various communities of Chinese currently residing in the country, and their levels of political, social, and economic integration.

Feature

November 1, 2010

Hazleton and Beyond: Why Communities Try to Restrict Immigration

Nearly 200 localities in the United States have seriously considered policies intended to restrict immigration or its impact. Kevin O'Neil of Princeton University analyzes the types of laws local governments pursue and the reasons they take action.

Feature

April 29, 2010

Arrested on Entry: Operation Streamline and the Prosecution of Immigration Crimes

Those caught trying to enter the United States illegally in portions of five Southwest border sectors face criminal prosecution under Operation Streamline, which the Department of Homeland Security launched in 2005. MPI's Donald Kerwin and Kristen McCabe examine how Operation Streamline works, highlight trends in the prosecution of immigration offenses, and evaluate the program's outcomes.

Feature

June 2, 2008

Women Migrants in Detention in Mexico: Conditions and Due Process

Approximately 400,000 migrants transit through Mexico each year in order to reach the United States, many of them women from Latin America. Gabriela Diaz and Gretchen Kuhner explain how the detention system's structure and new detention procedures affect women.

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Video, Audio

November 20, 2018

Building Bridges Not Walls: Key Lessons from the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report on Migration and Displacement

Marking the U.S. release of the 2019 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, this discussion looks at different ways education policymakers, teachers, and civil society have responded to the educational needs of migrants and how to address the challenges that sometimes inhibit children from participating meaningfully and equally in education programs.

Policy Briefs

November 2018

After the Divorce: British Families Living in the EU-27 Post-Brexit

This brief looks at the potential impact of Brexit on British families in the EU-27, a group that is much less studied than their counterparts in the United Kingdom. As it explores, legal systems are not always designed to cater to the needs of families rather than individuals, and the patchwork of differing rights and benefits for EU citizens and non-EU nationals could mean some family members—third-country nationals, adult dependants, and same-sex or unregistered partners—will fall through the gaps.

Policy Briefs

November 2018

The End of the Retirement Dream? British Pensioners in the European Union after Brexit

As Brexit approaches, British pensioners in the EU-27 face a series of issues beyond those of the wider British population of the EU-27. This issue brief explores the diversity of the pensioner population and unique challenges ranging from whether UK state pensions will rise with the cost of living, to tax, health care, and access to social assistance issues, before considering key policy questions and recommendations for both EU and UK policymakers.

Policy Briefs

November 2018

Gauging the Impact of DHS’ Proposed Public-Charge Rule on U.S. Immigration

Most recent U.S. legal permanent residents could have found themselves at risk of green-card denial had they been assessed under a proposed Trump administration public-charge rule that would apply a significantly expanded test to determine likelihood of future public-benefits use. This analysis finds the effects would fall most heavily on women, children, and the elderly, while potentially shifting legal immigration away from Latin America.

Reports

November 2018

The Future of Migration Policy in a Volatile Political Landscape (Transatlantic Council Statement)

Nativist populism is both symptom and driver of the challenges facing many societies in Europe and the United States. And, as this Transatlantic Council Statement explores, it is reshaping political landscapes and immigration debates. Rebuilding public trust in governments’ ability to manage migration will require that policymakers actively address social and economic divisions and provide a credible alternative to populism.

Reports

November 2018

When Facts Don’t Matter: How to Communicate More Effectively about Immigration’s Costs and Benefits

Emotionally charged and anecdotal narratives about immigrants often seem to drown out arguments made on the basis of robust data and evidence. Why is that? This report explores how new technologies, the human brain, and political communication are reshaping the role of facts in public debates. The report concludes with an examination of what it takes to make the “expert consensus” resonate with skeptical publics.

Articles

November 8, 2018

Sessions: The Trump Administration’s Once-Indispensable Man on Immigration

In less than two years as Attorney General, Jeff Sessions oversaw wide-reaching changes to the U.S. immigration system. Even as the zero-tolerance policy, fights with "sanctuary" cities, and DACA termination might be more visible, Sessions' enduring legacy may be his muscular use of a little-noted authority, which he wielded to significantly reshape immigration and asylum policy by referring immigration cases to himself.

Reports

November 2018

In Search of a New Equilibrium: Immigration Policymaking in the Newest Era of Nativist Populism

In many recent European and U.S. elections, candidates touting nativist populist and anti-immigrant platforms have enjoyed rising support. As populism moves from the fringes into the mainstream, this report takes stock of the economic and social forces driving its rise, the diverse ways populists are influencing immigration policymaking, and what it will take to build a new center around immigration and integration issues.

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Immigration Policy & Law

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