E.g., 03/08/2021
E.g., 03/08/2021

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.

Aerial view of Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas
Reports

Building a New Regional Migration System: Redefining U.S. Cooperation with Mexico and Central America

Addressing regional cooperation around migration will be among the immigration challenges and opportunities facing the incoming Biden administration. This report examines how movement between the United States, Mexico, and Central America has evolved in recent decades, and lays out a four-part strategy to expand opportunities for legal migration, address humanitarian protection needs, improve enforcement, and mitigate some of the forces driving people to emigrate.

Recent Activity

Articles
June 25, 2015
Quick Resolution of Challenge over Obama Administration Deportation Relief Programs Is Ever Less Likely
By Muzaffar Chishti, Faye Hipsman, and Sarah Pierce
Reports
June 2015
The Integration Outcomes of U.S. Refugees: Successes and Challenges
By  Randy Capps, Kathleen Newland, Susan Fratzke, Susanna Groves, Michael Fix, Margie McHugh and Gregory Auclair
Articles
June 3, 2015
Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants in the United States in 2013
By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova
Fact Sheets
June 2015
States and Districts with the Highest Number and Share of English Language Learners
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Sarah Hooker and Jeanne Batalova
Fact Sheets
June 2015
Top Languages Spoken by English Language Learners Nationally and by State
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Sarah Hooker and Jeanne Batalova
Articles
May 21, 2015
In Historic Shift, New Migration Flows from Mexico Fall Below Those from China and India
By Muzaffar Chishti and Faye Hipsman
Multimedia
April 28, 2015
Ready to Meet the Needs of All Children? A Closer Look at Diversity in the Early Childhood Workforce
Articles
May 6, 2015
Indian Immigrants in the United States in 2013
By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova

Pages

Feature
February 28, 2011
Re-envisioning Security and the Movement of People

In the post-9/11 era, U.S. policymakers have increasingly used migration policy tools to strengthen national security. This piece highlights civil rights and liberties issues that point to the need to re-envision the relationship between security and mobility, and discusses a proposal to "secure human mobility."

Feature
February 23, 2011
Filling Labor Shortages through Immigration: An Overview of Shortage Lists and their Implications

Many governments use shortage lists to either facilitate or discourage economically-motivated immigration into particular occupations or fields, but the practice of doing so raises a variety of practical and philosophical questions. MPI's Madeleine Sumption discusses the challenges of maintaining shortage lists and developing immigration policies around them.

Policy Beat
February 15, 2011
Quiet Demise of the Virtual Fence
In this month's policy beat, MPI's Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron report on the termination of the Secure Border Initiative Network, the status of the USCIS Transformation project, and more.
Spotlight
February 8, 2011
Immigrants in New-Destination States

Over the past two decades, the settlement patterns of immigrants in the United States have changed as an increasing number of the foreign born are choosing to make states in the southern and middle regions of the country their home. MPI's Aaron Terrazas profiles the immigrants in these "new-destination" states and compares them to the rest of the foreign-born population.

Feature
January 24, 2011
Unaccompanied Immigrant Children: A Growing Phenomenon with Few Easy Solutions

Destination countries of unaccompanied child migrants struggle with many questions related to why children migrate, how they should be received and processed, and whether they should be protected, integrated, or returned to their home countries. Amanda Levinson of ThirdSpace Consulting provides the context within which unaccompanied child migration occurs, and analyzes the policy response of the United States and European destination countries.

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Recent Activity

Articles
June 25, 2015

Quick Resolution of Challenge over Obama Administration Deportation Relief Programs Is Ever Less Likely

As legal challenges continue to impede President Obama's deferred action programs to protect millions of unauthorized immigrants from deportation, it is becoming increasingly clear that the window of opportunity for implementation before the 2016 election is growing ever narrower. Even as advocates continue mobilizing immigrants to apply, attention is shifting to other new policies announced by the president last November.
Reports
June 2015

The Integration Outcomes of U.S. Refugees: Successes and Challenges

Using previously non-public refugee admissions data from the State Department, this analysis finds that even as refugees come to the United States from increasingly diverse origins and linguistic backgrounds, some arriving with very low native-language literacy and education, most integrate successfully over time. The report examines refugees' employment, English proficiency, educational attainment, income and poverty status, and public benefits usage.

Articles
June 3, 2015

Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants in the United States in 2013

Immigration to the United States from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has increased in recent years, rising to a total population of 1.02 million in 2013. Immigrants from the region come from a diverse range of countries and cultures. This data Spotlight delves into the variations among MENA groups on key socioeconomic indicators, from geographic distribution and language proficiency to employment, immigration pathways, and naturalization.

Fact Sheets
June 2015

States and Districts with the Highest Number and Share of English Language Learners

While English Language Learner (ELL) students are spread throughout the United States, their density, or the share they represent of total public school enrollment, varies greatly by state. This fact sheet, drawing upon data from the U.S. Department of Education, examines the states and districts with the highest shares and populations of ELL students and offers a detailed breakdown of some key statistics.

Fact Sheets
June 2015

Top Languages Spoken by English Language Learners Nationally and by State

This fact sheet, drawing upon data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2013 American Community Survey and the U.S. Department of Education, describes the home languages spoken by English Language Learner (ELL) students at national and state levels, providing the top five languages by state.

Articles
May 21, 2015

In Historic Shift, New Migration Flows from Mexico Fall Below Those from China and India

Mexico has lost its long-held status as the top source country of new immigrants to the United States, dropping to third place behind China and India. This historic shift is remarkable for the rapid decline in Mexican inflows combined with a steady rise in Asian immigration, largely through high-skilled visa programs. This Policy Beat explores the reasons behind these trends and their potential impact on U.S. demographics.
Video, Audio, Webinars
April 28, 2015

Ready to Meet the Needs of All Children? A Closer Look at Diversity in the Early Childhood Workforce

On this webinar, MPI analysts present the findings from their report Immigrant and Refugee Workers in the Early Childhood Field: Taking a Closer Look, and discuss the issue with a leading expert in the field of child-care worker employment.

Articles
May 6, 2015

Indian Immigrants in the United States in 2013

Indian immigrants represent the second-largest origin group in the United States, accounting for 4.7 percent of the total foreign-born population. Generally high-skilled and highly educated, more than half of Indian immigrants have arrived since 2000 and largely attain green cards through employment-based pathways. Indians account for 70 percent of H-1B petitions and are the second-largest group of international students in the United States.

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