E.g., 09/25/2023
E.g., 09/25/2023
North America

North America

United States
Canada
Mexico

North America is a dynamic migration region, with the United States home to more immigrants than any other country in the world, the Mexico-U.S. corridor the globe's top migration corridor, and Canada a leading destination for migrants. Research collected here focuses on everything from visa policy and border management to immigrant integration, national identity, the demographics of immigrants in the region and their educational and workforce outcomes, and ways to more effectively use migration policy as a lever for national and regional competitiveness.

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Commentaries

Canada's New Tech Talent Strategy Takes Aim at High-Skilled Immigrants in the United States

Canada’s Tech Talent Strategy is highly unusual for its explicit targeting of visa holders in another country. Opening a dedicated stream specifically for high-skilled immigrants in the United States who hold an H-1B visa is the latest salvo in a growing global competition for talent—one in which some countries are racing ahead of the United States in terms of policy dynamism, as this commentary explores.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other leaders at the 2022 Summit of the Americas
Commentaries

The Los Angeles Declaration Could Represent a Big Step for Real Migration Cooperation across the Americas

The Los Angeles Agreement on Migration and Protection signed by leaders from 20 countries across the Western Hemisphere at the 2022 Summit of the Americas marks a significant step forward in creating a common language and a coherent set of ideas for more cooperatively managing migration movements across a region that has seen very significant mobility in recent years, as this commentary explains.

Recent Activity

President Trump and a Customs and Border Patrol officer stand together
Articles
April 25, 2019
Despite Flurry of Actions, Trump Administration Faces Constraints in Achieving Its Immigration Agenda
By Muzaffar Chishti, Sarah Pierce, and Allison O’Connor
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Multimedia
April 23, 2019
Children of Immigrants and Child Welfare Systems: Key Policy and Practice
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Reports
April 2019
The Canadian Express Entry System for Selecting Economic Immigrants: Progress and Persistent Challenges
By  Daniel Hiebert
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Fact Sheets
April 2019
How Many Unauthorized Immigrants Graduate from U.S. High Schools Annually?
By  Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova
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Reports
April 2019
Immigrant Families and Child Welfare Systems: Emerging Needs and Promising Policies
By  Mark Greenberg, Randy Capps, Andrew Kalweit, Jennifer Grishkin and Ann Flagg
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Multimedia
April 16, 2019
Is U.S.-Mexico Cooperation on Migration Possible?
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Articles
April 18, 2019
“Us” or “Them”? How Policies, Public Opinion, and Political Rhetoric Affect Immigrants’ Sense of Belonging
By Kristina Bakkær Simonsen
International vs. National Protection for Refugees Event - David Fitzgerald
Multimedia
April 10, 2019
International vs. National Protection for Refugees: Diverging Trends?

Pages

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Reports
October 2010
Migration and Immigrants Two Years after the Financial Collapse: Where Do We Stand?
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption and Aaron Terrazas
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Policy Briefs
September 2010
The Demographic Impacts of Repealing Birthright Citizenship
By  Michael Fix and Jennifer Van Hook
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Reports
September 2010
Diaspora Philanthropy: Private Giving and Public Policy
By  Kathleen Newland, Aaron Terrazas and Roberto Munster
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Reports
September 2010
Still an Hourglass? Immigrant Workers in Middle-Skilled Jobs
By  Randy Capps and Michael Fix
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Reports
September 2010
Heritage Tourism and Nostalgia Trade: A Diaspora Niche in the Development Landscape
By  Kathleen Newland and Carylanna Taylor
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Reports
August 2010
Diaspora Investment in Developing and Emerging Country Capital Markets: Patterns and Prospects
By  Aaron Terrazas
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Reports
August 2010
Connected through Service: Diaspora Volunteers and Global Development
By  Aaron Terrazas
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Fact Sheets
August 2010
Number and Growth of Students in U.S. Schools in Need of English Instruction, 2009
By  Jeanne Batalova and Margie McHugh

Pages

RedGreg TrainofHopeLinz Flickr
Feature
November 18, 2015
Immigrants in the Smart City: The Potential of City Digital Strategies to Facilitate Immigrant Integration

The digital era offers opportunities for cities to improve access and outreach to residents, including immigrants and minority groups, through online tools and apps. This feature article explores ditigal-inclusion strategies in "smart" cities New York, London, and Barcelona, as well as the creative use of new technologies in response to the European refugee crisis.

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Policy Beat
November 12, 2015
Recent Court Rulings Block Deferred Action Programs and Raise Questions for Accessing Birthright Citizenship

The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to maintain an injunction on President Obama's signature deferred action programs and the timing of the administration's Supreme Court appeal will prove critical amid the 2016 election campaign. This Policy Beat also explores a federal judge's decision not to block a Texas policy refusing to issue birth certificates to the U.S.-born children of unauthorized parents. Should the policy be upheld, it could open the door for further limitations on birthright citizenship.

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Spotlight
October 28, 2015
Refugees and Asylees in the United States

The United States is the largest refugee resettlement country in the world, with 69,933 newly arrived refugees granted protection in 2015. This article delves into the most recent refugee and asylum data in the United States, including top countries of origin, states of settlement, age, gender, and more for humanitarian arrivals.

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Policy Beat
October 15, 2015
Fifty Years On, the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act Continues to Reshape the United States

Signed into law 50 years ago, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 had several unintended consequences that have had a profound effect on the flow of immigrants to the United States and contributed to the transformation of the U.S. demographic profile. This Policy Beat explores the law's lasting impact and lessons for policymaking today.

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Spotlight
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.

Pages

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Video
September 10, 2009

Immigrant Detention: Can ICE Meet Its Legal Imperatives and Case Management Responsibilities?

A panel discussion exploring whether ICE is capable of meeting legal standards and manage its detention system with ICE's Dora Schriro, Detention Watch Network's Andrea Black, and MPI expert Donald Kerwin.
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Audio
July 30, 2009

The Next Generation of E-Verify: Getting Employer Verification Right

This webinar examines the E-Verify system, offering short- and long-term recommendations for improving gaps in employment verification and addressing an "employer-centric" design that exacerbates existing problems.

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Video
July 20, 2009

E-Verify: An Assessment of its Strengths and Weaknesses

This discussion focuses on E-Verify, the federal government's electronic employment verification system, and the release of an MPI report that assesses the program's strengths and weaknesses.
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Video
June 24, 2009

6th Annual Immigration Law & Policy Conference

This conference offers law and policy analysis and discussion on cutting-edge immigration issues.

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Video, Audio
May 20, 2009

2009 E Pluribus Unum Awards

Award winners for the inaugural year of the E Pluribus Unum Prizes program were honored at a reception at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC in 2009.

Pages

Recent Activity

Articles
April 25, 2019

Despite Flurry of Actions, Trump Administration Faces Constraints in Achieving Its Immigration Agenda

Though it has achieved success in some areas, the Trump administration’s many efforts to stiffen immigration enforcement in the U.S. interior and at the Southwest border are being consistently stymied by court injunctions, existing laws and settlements, state and local resistance, congressional pushback, and migration pressures that are beyond the government’s ability to swiftly address, as this article explores.

Video, Audio, Webinars
April 23, 2019

Children of Immigrants and Child Welfare Systems: Key Policy and Practice

Marking the release of an MPI report, this webinar examines what the growing intersection between U.S. immigration and child welfare systems means for protection agencies. Speakers also discuss promising child welfare policies and agency approaches to address the needs of children of immigrants and their families amid demographic change and rising immigration enforcement.

Reports
April 2019

The Canadian Express Entry System for Selecting Economic Immigrants: Progress and Persistent Challenges

Since its launch in 2015, the Express Entry system has changed how economic immigration to Canada happens and how it fits into public and political debates. And while it has proven successful in cutting through application backlogs, some challenges remain. This report looks at how and why this points-based system was introduced, what its impact has been, and how it could be further finetuned.

Fact Sheets
April 2019

How Many Unauthorized Immigrants Graduate from U.S. High Schools Annually?

A high school diploma has been a core requirement of proposed DREAM Act legislation and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Yet a fresh estimate of the number of unauthorized immigrants graduating annually from U.S. high schools has long been missing from the debate. This fact sheet provides up-to-date estimates for the United States and top 15 states, estimating 98,000 such students graduate yearly.

Reports
April 2019

Immigrant Families and Child Welfare Systems: Emerging Needs and Promising Policies

With the children of immigrants a growing share of all U.S. children, and federal immigration enforcement and other policies undergoing significant change, some state and local child welfare agencies are developing new ways to improve how they work with immigrant families. This report examines key cultural, linguistic, and legal challenges, and how agencies are adjusting staffing, training, placement, and other policies to tackle them.

Video, Audio
April 16, 2019

Is U.S.-Mexico Cooperation on Migration Possible?

Over recent months, the number of Central American migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border has surged, presenting a critical challenge in the relationship between the two neighboring countries. Experts from a Study Group on U.S.-Mexico Migration convened by El Colegio de México and MPI discuss current trends, policies, and politics surrounding migration from the Northern Triangle of Central America and the U.S.-Mexico relationship, ways to improve U.S. and Mexican asylum systems, possible new approaches to labor migration, ways to address smuggling networks, and modernize border management.

Articles
April 18, 2019

“Us” or “Them”? How Policies, Public Opinion, and Political Rhetoric Affect Immigrants’ Sense of Belonging

Citizenship and integration policies are often thought of as markers for whether a country is welcoming to immigrants. Yet research suggests that public opinion and political rhetoric play a bigger role in immigrants' sense of belonging. This article explores how boundaries between "us" and "them" are drawn through popular conceptions of nationhood and political rhetoric, and their impact on immigrants' belonging.

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. They examine what lies ahead for the Global Compact on Refugees and how adjustments to asylum policies in many high-income democracies are narrowing the paths to protection.

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