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.

Recent Activity

Reports June 2021 Strengthening Services for Unaccompanied Children in U.S. Communities By Mark Greenberg, Kylie Grow, Stephanie Heredia, Kira Monin and Essey Workie	Articles June 3, 2021 Borderless Europe: Seven Decades of Free Movement By Saara Koikkalainen
Policy Briefs June 2021 From Unilateral Response to Coordinated Action: How Can Mobility Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa Adapt to the Public-Health Challenges of COVID-19? By Ling San Lau, Kate Hooper and Monette Zard	Articles May 26, 2021 Slowing U.S. Population Growth Could Prompt New Pressure for Immigration Reform By Muzaffar Chishti and Randy Capps
Policy Briefs May 2021 EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration: Crafting a Road Map to Better Cooperation with Migrants’ Countries of Origin By Camille Le Coz	Policy Briefs May 2021 Rethinking the U.S. Legal Immigration System: A Policy Road Map By Muzaffar Chishti, Julia Gelatt and Doris Meissner
Commentaries April 2021 European Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration Advances Action within Bloc, Leaves More to Discuss with Countries of Migrant Origin By Camille Le Coz	Policy Briefs April 2021 The Integration of Immigrant Health Professionals: Looking beyond the COVID-19 Crisis By Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and José Ramón Fernández-Peña

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Reports March 2016 Providing a Head Start: Improving Access to Early Childhood Education for Refugees By Lyn Morland, Nicole Ives, Clea McNeely and Chenoa Allen	Reports March 2016 The Canadian Expression of Interest System: A Model to Manage Skilled Migration to the European Union? By Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Kate Hooper
Reports February 2016 Deferred Action for Unauthorized Immigrant Parents: Analysis of DAPA's Potential Effects on Families and Children By Randy Capps, Heather Koball, James D. Bachmeier, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Jie Zong and Julia Gelatt	Reports February 2016 Achieving Skill Mobility in the ASEAN Economic Community: Challenges, Opportunities, and Policy Implications By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza, Brian Salant and Guntur Sugiyarto
Reports February 2016 Emigration Trends and Policies in China: Movement of the Wealthy and Highly Skilled By Biao Xiang	Fact Sheets January 2016 A Profile of U.S. Children with Unauthorized Immigrant Parents By Randy Capps, Michael Fix and Jie Zong
Fact Sheets January 2016 Trends in Unaccompanied Child and Family Migration from Central America By Marc R. Rosenblum and Isabel Ball	Reports December 2015 Welcoming Engagement: How Private Sponsorship Can Strengthen Refugee Resettlement in the European Union By Judith Kumin

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Policy Beat

April 25, 2018

National Guard Heads to Southern Border Amid Differing Reality from Earlier Deployments

Seizing on reports of a migrant “caravan” making its way northward through Mexico, President Donald Trump called for up to 4,000 National Guard troops to deploy to the Southern border. Although previous presidents took similar action in response to upticks in violence and apprehensions, the picture at the border today differs on several metrics. This article examines how the deployment compares to those under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Feature

April 18, 2018

Once Homogenous, Tiny Iceland Opens Its Doors to Immigrants

A small, isolated country, Iceland has been home to a largely homogenous population for much of its history. But in recent years, a booming economy and expanding tourism sector have drawn rising numbers of immigrants to the island nation. This article explores Iceland's balancing act of maintaining economic growth through immigration while preserving its culture and language.

Spotlight

April 11, 2018

Dominican Immigrants in the United States

In 2016, some 1.1 million Dominican immigrants lived in the United States, up from just 12,000 in 1960. Dominicans are highly concentrated in the New York metro area, and they and their descendants comprise the fifth-largest U.S. Hispanic group. This article profiles Dominican immigrants in the United States, finding them more likely to come via family ties and have lower incomes and less education than immigrants overall.

Profile

March 29, 2018

Migration in Brazil: The Making of a Multicultural Society

In Brazil, where the majority of colonial-era residents were African slaves and their children, millions of immigrants have joined a conversation about race and identity that continues today. Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan, as well as significant European, Latin American, and Middle Eastern populations. This country profile explores historical and contemporary migration patterns in Brazil.

Policy Beat

March 22, 2018

Even as Congress Remains on Sidelines, the Trump Administration Slows Legal Immigration

While much attention has focused on President Trump's efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, the administration has moved, via a much wider scope of actions, to reduce legal immigration to the United States. This article explores changes including slowed processing of family- and employment-based visas, dramatic cuts in refugee admissions, and heightened vetting and evidence requirements for would-be immigrants.

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EVENTPH 2014.9.4 EXEC ACTION PLACEHOLDER (Leading Chants)

Audio

September 4, 2014

Extending New Relief to Unauthorized Immigrants: Estimating the Impacts of Possible Executive Actions

Estimates of unauthorized immigrant populations that could receive relief from deportation under potential executive action scenarios to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, extend deferred action to other populations, or refine immigration enforcement priorities are discussed during this webinar.

EventPH2 2014.8.13 Giving Cities and Regions a Greater Voice in Immigration Policy

Video

August 13, 2014

Giving Cities and Regions a Greater Voice in Immigration Policy

MPI researchers and representatives from London and Detroit discuss the policies and strategies used—at national and local levels—to attract immigrants into local economies.

EventPH 2014.8.6 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) at Two

Audio

August 6, 2014

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) at Two: New MPI Findings as Renewal Approaches

This webinar covers key findings from MPI's report about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative and eligible populations two years after its implementation, and also introduces MPI's data tool that provides national and state-level estimates of the current and potentially eligible DACA populations, as well as detailed profiles for the U.S. and 25 states.

Audio

June 25, 2014

Unaccompanied Minors: A Crisis with Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions

The flow of unaccompanied children from Central America and Mexico to the United States has surged 90 percent since last year, with government officials predicting that it might reach 90,000 by the end of the fiscal year in September—and perhaps 130,000 next year. This telebriefing discusses factors behind the flows as well as short- and longer-term policy options for improving how the U.S. immigration system interacts with this population with distinct needs.

Video, Audio

June 24, 2014

Detained or Deported: How Parents in the Immigration Enforcement System Can Protect their Children

This MPI panel discussion focuses on a toolkit by the Women's Refugee Commission to provide detained and deported immigrants as well as unauthorized immigrant mothers and fathers with crucial information to protect and maintain their parental rights and make well-informed decisions regarding the care and welfare of their children.

Recent Activity

Reports

June 2021

Strengthening Services for Unaccompanied Children in U.S. Communities

While record monthly arrivals of unaccompanied minors in early 2021 have drawn considerable attention, important questions surround what happens once the children are released from federal custody to parents or other sponsors. This report examines federal post-release services, support needs among children and sponsors, how service providers are meeting these needs, and ways to improve services—to the benefit of the children and the communities in which they live.

Articles

June 3, 2021

Borderless Europe: Seven Decades of Free Movement

Between Brexit and COVID-19, Europe’s 31-country zone of free movement has been profoundly tested. Still, the area has constantly evolved over the last 70 years, to include new groups of individuals who can freely move for work, study, or leisure, as well as cover larger geographic areas. This article examines the history and challenges to free movement, a crowning success of the European project.

Policy Briefs

June 2021

From Unilateral Response to Coordinated Action: How Can Mobility Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa Adapt to the Public-Health Challenges of COVID-19?

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged public health and migration management infrastructures in sub-Saharan Africa, as never before. It revealed important lessons about how countries in the region can adapt mobility systems in ways that protect public health while also allowing people to safely access work, humanitarian protection, and their communities.

Articles

May 26, 2021

Slowing U.S. Population Growth Could Prompt New Pressure for Immigration Reform

Results from the 2020 census show that the U.S. population has been growing at its slowest rate since the Great Depression. Reduced immigration has been one component of this sluggish population growth, which could pose a problem for the United States as people age and strain public retirement systems. This U.S. Policy Beat article examines how immigration fits into the country's demographic puzzle.

Policy Briefs

May 2021

EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration: Crafting a Road Map to Better Cooperation with Migrants’ Countries of Origin

In its Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration, the European Commission sets out principles to increase the number of voluntary returns, make the return process more dignified, and provide better support to returnees. To make good on these goals, EU countries will need to improve their cooperation with migrants’ countries of origin. This policy brief explores opportunities to build this cooperation.

Policy Briefs

May 2021

Rethinking the U.S. Legal Immigration System: A Policy Road Map

The U.S. legal immigration system, last significantly updated by Congress in 1990, is profoundly misaligned with demographic and other realities—resulting in enormous consequences for the country and for its economy. This road map sketches the broad contours of some of the most needed reforms in the legal immigration system, made all the more urgent by U.S. population aging and changing labor market demands.

Commentaries

April 2021

European Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration Advances Action within Bloc, Leaves More to Discuss with Countries of Migrant Origin

The European Commission's strategy on voluntary return and reintegration for migrants covers a lot of ground, including new coordination efforts across EU Member States. Yet one of its most significant developments is the recognition that countries of migrant origin must be consulted and play a key role in reintegration if these efforts are to be impactful and sustainable, as this commentary explains.

Policy Briefs

April 2021

The Integration of Immigrant Health Professionals: Looking beyond the COVID-19 Crisis

The U.S. health-care workforce came under incredible strain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Longer-term trends—including the aging and increasing diversity of the U.S. population, and health-care worker retirement—are also shaping demand for services and the supply of health workers. This issue brief looks at how the skills and expertise of underutilized immigrant and refugee health professionals in the United States can be better leveraged to meet these challenges.

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