E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
Immigration Policy & Law

Immigration Policy & Law

Civil Liberties
Comprehensive Immigration Reform
DREAM Act/Deferred Action
Employment-Based Immigration
Family Reunification
Integration Policy
International Students
Legalization/Regularization
Selection Systems
Visa Policy
_ImmigrationPolicy+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

Multimedia
September 27, 2021
18th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference
A Haitian man hugs his daughter in Peru.
Articles
September 30, 2021
Haitian Migration through the Americas: A Decade in the Making
By Caitlyn Yates
Cover image for Healing the Gap: Building Inclusive Public-Health and Migrant Integration Systems in Europe
Reports
September 2021
Healing the Gap: Building Inclusive Public-Health and Migrant Integration Systems in Europe
By  Jasmijn Slootjes
A U.S. Customs agent looks at wreckage following the 9/11 terror attacks
Articles
September 22, 2021
Two Decades after 9/11, National Security Focus Still Dominates U.S. Immigration System
By Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter
Photo of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meeting with Afghan evacuees in Germany
Commentaries
September 2021
Different Statuses, Different Benefits: Determining Federal Assistance for Afghan Evacuees
By  Mark Greenberg, Celia Reynolds and Essey Workie
Cover image for Migration Management and Border Security: Lessons Learned
Policy Briefs
September 2021
Migration Management and Border Security: Lessons Learned
By  Alan D. Bersin
Multimedia
September 2, 2021
From Immigrant Detention to a More Effective U.S. Immigration Custody System
An Afghan refugee in the United States.
Articles
September 9, 2021
Afghan Immigrants in the United States
By Jeanne Batalova

Pages

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Policy Briefs
February 2017
Trump Executive Order and DHS Guidance on Interior Enforcement: A Brief Review
By  Sarah Pierce and Randy Capps
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Reports
February 2017
Firing Up Regional Brain Networks: The Promise of Brain Circulation in the ASEAN Economic Community
By  Jeanne Batalova, Andriy Shymonyak and Guntur Sugiyarto
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Policy Briefs
February 2017
Trump Executive Order on Refugees and Travel Ban: A Brief Review
By  Sarah Pierce and Doris Meissner
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Fact Sheets
December 2016
State Sociodemographic Portraits of Immigrant and U.S.-Born Parents of Young Children
By  Maki Park, Margie McHugh and Caitlin Katsiaficas
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Fact Sheets
December 2016
The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in Select States
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
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Reports
December 2016
Untapped Talent: The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States
By  Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and James D. Bachmeier
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Reports
November 2016
Towards a Whole-of-Society Approach to Receiving and Settling Newcomers in Europe
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Meghan Benton
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Reports
November 2016
Beyond Care and Maintenance: Rebuilding Hope and Opportunity for Refugees (Transatlantic Council Statement)
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Susan Fratzke

Pages

VenezuelansCucutaStreets ProveaONG Flickr
Top Ten
December 21, 2018
As Venezuelan Crisis Deepens, South America Braces for More Arrivals and Indefinite Stays

With an estimated 3 million people having fled the failing Venezuelan state, and predictions another 2 million could join them in 2019, the capacity of South American neighbors to welcome the arrivals became increasingly stretched in 2018. While the region has largely maintained generous reception policies, there were signs during the year that its tolerance was being tested.

Theresa May speaks to reporters
Top Ten
December 11, 2018
Threat of Hard Brexit Looms as Exit Date Nears

With the United Kingdom’s scheduled March 2019 departure from the European Union around the corner and approval of an exit deal by the UK Parliament in deep disarray, the future for approximately 5 million EU nationals living in the United Kingdom and Britons resident in the EU-27 remained unresolved. This article examines the citizens' rights issues that have arisen and what Brexit, hard or otherwise, might bring.

SwedenImmigrants
Profile
December 6, 2018
Sweden: By Turns Welcoming and Restrictive in its Immigration Policy

Swedish asylum policy has taken a restrictionist turn since the country received a record-breaking number of asylum seekers in 2015 and after electoral gains by the nationalist, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats pushed the governing coalition to a harder line. Still, other aspects of the country’s migration policy remain welcoming, as this country profile explores.

Migrant processing at San Ysidro port of entry
Policy Beat
November 29, 2018
Trump Administration’s Unprecedented Actions on Asylum at the Southern Border Hit Legal Roadblock

The Trump administration’s latest effort to narrow the ability to apply for asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border hit a legal roadblock within days of implementation, as has been the pattern for much of its immigration agenda. This article examines the actions on asylum, which alongside deployment of active-duty military to the border, are among measures taken to seek to reduce the flow of Central Americans to the United States.

JeffSessions2018
Policy Beat
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.

Pages

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EventPH 2015.3.31 Unaccompanied Child Migration to the United States Flickr CBP Processing Unaccompanied Children
Video, Audio
March 31, 2015

Child and Family Migration to the United States: Continuing Flows and Evolving Responses

A webinar examining the shifting pattern of Central American child and family migration between 2011 and 2014 and expectations for 2015, the policy challenges presented by the rising inflow, and how states, localities, the U.S. government, and other countries in the region are responding to this recent trend.

EventPH 2015.3.26 Womens Labour Migration from Asia and the Pacific
Audio
March 26, 2015

The Asia-Pacific and Women’s Labour Migration

Marking the release of the 12th MPI-IOM Issue in Brief, this event in Bangkok examined the emerging trends in women’s labor migration in the Asia-Pacific region, and the related opportunities and challenges. The audio does not include opening remarks and begins with the author's presentation.

EventPH 2015.3.18 Cross Cutting Needs and Opportunities flickrNewYorkPublicLibrary
Video, Audio
March 18, 2015

Cross-Cutting Needs and Opportunities: Language Access, Funding, Multi-Level Partnerships, and Planning for the Long Term

Part of a series exploring issues likely to be addressed by the new National Integration Plan, this webinar, with perspectives from the cities of New York and Seattle and others examines possible recommendations on federal coordination of local government immigrant integration initiatives, including language access. 

EventPH 2015.3.12 Integration Challenges and Opportunities in the Economic Development and Refugee Resettlement Arenas NDC Ashama
Video, Audio
March 12, 2015

Integration Challenges and Opportunities in the Economic Development and Refugee Resettlement Arenas

This webinar, with perspectives from MPI, the WE Global Network, and Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service, examines the role of economic development initiatives and refugee resettlement programs/infrastructure in immigrant integration.

EventPH 2015.3.5 Adult Education, English and Skills Training Webinar Carlos Rosario ESL group work
Video, Audio
March 5, 2015

Adult Education, English and Skills Training: Opportunities for Action and Investment in the Most Vital Integration Services

This webinar, with perspectives from MPI, the National Partnership for New Americans, and the National Skills Coalition, looks at the role of adult education and English language and skills training in the immigrant integration process.

Pages

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs
October 2015

Unaccompanied Child Migrants in U.S. Communities, Immigration Court, and Schools

More than 77,000 unaccompanied minors from Central America were released to communities throughout the United States between October 1, 2013 and August 31, 2015. This issue brief examines where these children have been placed in the United States, how they are faring in the immigration court system, and how schools are adapting to their arrival.

Video, Audio, Webinars
October 8, 2015

Variations in In-State Tuition, Financial Aid, and Scholarship Policies for Unauthorized Youth

This webinar discusses the different policies that states have on unauthorized immigrants and in-state tuition, financial aid and other benefits, and the implications for unauthorized immigrant youth seeking two- and four-year college degrees.

Commentaries
October 2015

Mapping the Patchwork of State ‘DREAM Acts’ and Postsecondary Education Policies for Unauthorized Immigrant Youth

Since 2001, 17 states have enacted measures to allow qualified unauthorized immigrant youth to pay resident tuition rates at their postsecondary institutions. Other states, meanwhile, have moved in the opposite direction. This commentary explores the different state approaches and requirements that have resulted in an unsettling policy patchwork.

Articles
October 7, 2015

Open Wallet, Closed Doors: Exploring Japan’s Low Acceptance of Asylum Seekers

Japan is one of the world's most generous contributors to humanitarian appeals, yet accepts a very small number of asylum seekers—indeed only 11 were granted refugee status in 2014. Even as Japan has witnessed a record number of asylum applications, the approval rate has declined. This feature explores Japan's low acceptance of asylum seekers, including institutional barriers and negative public perceptions.

Commentaries
October 2015

It is Time for Federal Agencies to Do More to Improve the Provision of Language Access Services

Whether driven by pragmatism, local laws, or federal civil-rights provisions, state and local governments and agencies across the United States increasingly have designed and implemented language access services (i.e. translation and interpretation) in response to growing Limited English Proficient populations. This commentary argues it is time for the federal government to follow suit.

Commentaries
October 2015

The U.S. Record Shows Refugees Are Not a Threat

As Congress and others react to the Obama administration’s announcement that the refugee resettlement program will increase from the current 70,000 level to 85,000 next year and 100,000 in 2017, some are objecting on national security grounds. This commentary makes the case that the resettlement program is the least likely avenue for a terrorist to choose.

Video
September 30, 2015

The Immigration Act of 1965: Then and Now

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of passage of the Immigration Act of 1965, this symposium focuses on the political and policy dynamics that came together to make the law possible and how it changed the U.S. legal immigration system, the country's demographics, and future.

Articles
October 1, 2015

Green-Card Holders and Legal Immigration to the United States

The annual inflow of new lawful permanent residents (LPRs), also known as green-card holders, has ebbed and flowed with changes in U.S. immigration policy and processing backlogs. This data Spotlight delves into legal immigration in the United States, covering class of admission, country of origin, destination states, and more.

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