North America

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.

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

Reports November 2017 Beyond Teaching English: Supporting High School Completion by Immigrant and Refugee Students By Julie Sugarman	Articles November 1, 2017 Building a Mosaic: The Evolution of Canada’s Approach to Immigrant Integration By Andrew Griffith
Fact Sheets October 2017 Differing DREAMs: Estimating the Unauthorized Populations That Could Benefit under Different Legalization Bills By Jeanne Batalova, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Sarah Pierce and Randy Capps	Articles October 19, 2017 Will White House Immigration Wish List Tank Emerging DREAMer Momentum in Congress? By Muzaffar Chishti, Jessica Bolter, and Sarah Pierce
Multimedia October 12, 2017 Are States Recognizing and Responding to the Needs of Their Dual Language Learner Children?	Fact Sheets October 2017 Protecting the DREAM: The Potential Impact of Different Legislative Scenarios for Unauthorized Youth By Jeanne Batalova, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Michelle Mittelstadt
Multimedia September 25, 2017 14th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference	Fact Sheets October 2017 Dual Language Learners: A National Demographic and Policy Profile By Maki Park, Anna O’Toole and Caitlin Katsiaficas

Pages

Policy Briefs November 2005 An Idea Whose Time Has Finally Come? The Case for Employment Verification By Tamar Jacoby	Policy Briefs November 2005 Eligible to Work? Experiments in Verifying Work Authorization By Kevin Jernegan
Fact Sheets November 2005 Legal Immigration to United States Up from Last Year By Julia Gelatt and Deborah W. Meyers	Policy Briefs November 2005 U.S. Border Enforcement: From Horseback to High-Tech By Deborah W. Meyers
Fact Sheets November 2005 Immigration Enforcement Spending Since IRCA By David Dixon and Julia Gelatt	Policy Briefs November 2005 Immigration Enforcement at the Worksite: Making it Work By Marc R. Rosenblum
Fact Sheets October 2005 United States-Canada-Mexico Fact Sheet on Trade and Migration By Deborah W. Meyers	Policy Briefs September 2005 Reflections on Restoring Integrity to the United States Immigration System: A Personal Vision By Demetrios G. Papademetriou

Pages

Profile

March 27, 2013

Guatemalan Migration in Times of Civil War and Post-War Challenges

During recent decades, large-scale international migration has been an external escape valve for Guatemala, a response to the country's multiple internal problems. This article examines Guatemalan migration, primarily to the United States, into the post-war era; U.S. government immigration policies affecting Guatemalans; the impacts of migration within Guatemala; and Guatemala/Mexico migration dynamics.

Spotlight

March 18, 2013

Central American Immigrants in the United States

Since 1990, the number of Central American immigrants in the United States has nearly tripled. This immigrant population grew faster than any other region-of-origin population from Latin America between 2000 and 2010. This article focuses on a wide range of characteristics of Central American immigrants residing in the United States, including the population's size, geographic distribution, admission categories, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

Policy Beat

March 15, 2013

Sequester Affects Immigration Enforcement — and Invites Attention to Detention Policy

Across-the-board federal budget cuts went into effect on March 1, and effects are already being felt in a wide range of immigration functions. This article explores how the sequester has and will be impacting the U.S. immigration system, focusing on the federal government's recent decision to release immigration detainees on bond or to less costly supervision programs. It also takes a look at stateside processing of I-601 waivers, new policy guidance on immigration enforcement at community establishments, and more.

Spotlight

February 28, 2013

Mexican Immigrants in the United States

Over the past five decades, Mexicans have constituted the single largest group of immigrants to the United States originating from Latin America. In 2011, 11.7 million Mexican immigrants resided in the United States, representing 29 percent of the U.S. immigrant population and close to 4 percent of the overall U.S. population. This article examines the latest data on Mexican immigrants in the United States, including population size, geographic distribution, admission categories, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

Policy Beat

February 13, 2013

Immigration Reform Returns to Center Stage of U.S. Politics

Immigration reform is squarely back on the agenda in Washington, with the unveiling of plans for major reform of the U.S. immigration system by the White House and a bipartisan group of senators known as the Gang of Eight. This article explores the policy and political aspects of this fast-moving debate, examines an uptick in apprehensions of illegal crossers, and more.

Recent Activity

Reports

November 2017

Beyond Teaching English: Supporting High School Completion by Immigrant and Refugee Students

Immigrant and refugee students who arrive in the United States during their secondary school years face daunting hurdles as they seek to juggle learning a new language and culture while also trying to quickly close knowledge gaps and get on track to pass the coursework required to graduate high school. This report explores effective program models and services developed by school districts to support newcomer students.

Articles

November 1, 2017

Building a Mosaic: The Evolution of Canada’s Approach to Immigrant Integration

Even as the United States and countries in Europe have made a right turn on immigration in recent years, Canada has remained a largely welcoming country. Underlying this resilience is an approach to immigration focused on active management and refinement of policies as well as long-term economic, social, and political integration, as this article explores.

Fact Sheets

October 2017

Differing DREAMs: Estimating the Unauthorized Populations That Could Benefit under Different Legalization Bills

2017 saw the introduction of several bills—two of them by Senate Republicans in the weeks following the Trump administration’s announcement that it would terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program—that would provide a pathway to conditional and then legal permanent residence to unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children, if they meet a range of edu

Articles

October 19, 2017

Will White House Immigration Wish List Tank Emerging DREAMer Momentum in Congress?

The Trump administration has released a list of hardline immigration demands—including border wall funding, restrictions on federal grants to “sanctuary” cities, and cuts to legal immigration—in exchange for legislation protecting DREAMers. This article examines the prospects for these proposals and more broadly for a legislative fix to resolve the status of unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children.

Video, Audio, Webinars

October 12, 2017

Are States Recognizing and Responding to the Needs of Their Dual Language Learner Children?

Dual Language Learners (DLLs) now make up nearly one-third of all children ages 8 and under in the United States, and on this webinar, MPI analysts outline key findings from a national demographic and policy profile and series of state fact sheets highlighting characteristics of the growing DLL population and the policy context they encounter in state early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems. Panelist discuss the implications for the ECEC programs and systems that seek to provide equitable access and quality for DLLs, and highlight California's response to the growing population of DLLs in the ECEC system.

Fact Sheets

October 2017

Protecting the DREAM: The Potential Impact of Different Legislative Scenarios for Unauthorized Youth

With the Trump administration having announced the end of the DACA program, Congress is facing growing calls to protect unauthorized immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. This fact sheet examines DREAM Act bills introduced in Congress as of mid-2017, offering estimates of who might earn conditional legal status—and ultimately legal permanent residence—based on educational, professional, and other requirements in the legislation.

Video, Audio

September 25, 2017

14th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

In a year when immigration has been prominent in the headlines, the 14th annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference provides timely policy and legal analysis, with expert discussion covering the shifting immigration policy priorities under a new administration, including changes in immigration enforcement, border enforcement, refugee resettlement, the treatment of unaccompanied minors and their families, Temporary Protected Status, and DACA, along with the responses from the judicial and congressional branches, various stakeholders, and state and local governments.

Fact Sheets

October 2017

Dual Language Learners: A National Demographic and Policy Profile

As the share of U.S. children under age 8 who are Dual Language Learners (DLLs) increases, state policies have an important role to play in ensuring all young learners are able to get their education off to a good start. These fact sheets compare key characteristics of DLLs and their peers nationwide and in 30 states, and identify state policies that support equitable access to high-quality early childhood education and care programs.

Programs

Topics see all >

Regions see all >

Data

Featured Publication

Programs

You are here

North America

Recent Activity

Pages

Pages

Pages

Recent Activity

Pages