E.g., 04/16/2024
E.g., 04/16/2024
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.

Graphic image of man's hand touching screen with word skills
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

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Reports
June 2013
Health Care for Immigrant Families: Current Policies and Issues
By  Leighton Ku and Mariellen Jewers
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Policy Briefs
June 2013
Remaking the U.S. Green Card System: Legal Immigration under the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013
By  Madeleine Sumption and Claire Bergeron
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Articles
May 23, 2013
As Congress Tackles Immigration Legislation, State Lawmakers Retreat from Strict Measures
By Muzaffar Chishti, Faye Hipsman
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Articles
May 17, 2013
Counting the Uncountable: Overseas Americans
By Joe Costanzo, Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels
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Multimedia
May 6, 2013
Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: A New View on Migration and Human Capital for the United States, Mexico, and Central America
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Articles
May 2, 2013
South American Immigrants in the United States
By Sierra Stoney, Jeanne Batalova, Joseph Russell
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Reports
May 2013
Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration & Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Doris Meissner and Eleanor Sohnen
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Reports
May 2013
Credential Recognition in the United States for Foreign Professionals
By  Linda Rabben

Pages

Spotlight
September 1, 2006
Spotlight on Temporary Admissions of Nonimmigrants to the United States

The total number of nonimmigrants admitted to the U.S. more than tripled between 1985 and 2005. MPI's Jeanne Batalova outlines the definition of nonimmigrants and takes a detailed look at admissions data.

Feature
September 1, 2006
Why Immigrants Lack Adequate Access to Health Care and Health Insurance

Leighton Ku of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explores the key issues and research concerning immigrants' access to private health insurance, public health insurance, and to health care in general.

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Feature
September 1, 2006
America's Emigrants: U.S. Retirement Migration to Mexico and Panama

Little is known about Americans who have retired to Latin America. MPI's David Dixon, Julie Murray, and Julia Gelatt examine the U.S. retiree population in Mexico and Panama by looking at census and visa data as well as by interviewing American retirees in various communities.

Spotlight
August 1, 2006
Spotlight on Refugees and Asylees in the United States

In 2005, the United States admitted almost 54,000 refugees for resettlement and granted asylum to more than 25,000 people. MPI’s Jeanne Batalova takes a detailed look at refugee and asylum statistics in the United States.

Spotlight
August 1, 2006
Spotlight on Legal Immigration to the United States

The number of new immigrant arrivals has remained relatively stable since 1986. MPI’s Jeanne Batalova looks at data on permanent immigration to the U.S..

Pages

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Recent Activity

Reports
June 2013

Health Care for Immigrant Families: Current Policies and Issues

Low-income immigrant children are less likely than their U.S.-born citizen counterparts to see a doctor even when they are insured. Similarly, immigrant adults are less likely to use emergency rooms than low-income natives. This report examines health care coverage and usage among immigrants and the U.S. born.

Reports
June 2013

Shaping Our Futures: The Educational and Career Success of Washington State’s Immigrant Youth

This report examines the high school completion, college access, and postsecondary success of immigrant youth (ages 16 to 26) in Washington State, where one in four young adults is an immigrant or child of an immigrant. The report provides one of the first cross-system analyses of the educational experiences of first-generation (foreign-born) and second-generation (U.S.-born with immigrant parents) youth in the state.

Articles
May 23, 2013

As Congress Tackles Immigration Legislation, State Lawmakers Retreat from Strict Measures

State-level immigration laws have gradually softened in tone since the Supreme Court in 2012 affirmed federal primacy in immigration enforcement in a landmark Arizona case — a trend further solidified by a changed post-election political calculus on immigration reform. This article examines this unanticipated shift away from restrictive state immigration actions as well as the recent new trend in the passage of immigrant-friendly laws regarding in-state tuition and the granting of driver's licenses to unauthorized immigrants.
Articles
May 17, 2013

Counting the Uncountable: Overseas Americans

The immigration debate in the United States often focuses on how many foreign born enter and reside in the country. Much less attention is paid to Americans who live abroad—a population estimated at anywhere from 2 million to 7 million. This article examines the challenges of enumerating this population and also explores top destinations for American expats, their livelihoods, and motivations for leaving the United States.
Video, Audio
May 6, 2013

Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: A New View on Migration and Human Capital for the United States, Mexico, and Central America

A panel discussion on the release of the Regional Migration Study Group's final report, Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration & Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America, outlining its findings and offering recommendations to policymakers in the region.

Articles
May 2, 2013

South American Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants from South America made up 2.7 million (about 7 percent) of the United States' foreign-born population of 40.4 million in 2011. While the share may seem small, this population has grown 30 times its size since 1960, when about 90,000 South American immigrants resided in the country. This article examines the latest data on South American immigrants in the United States, including population size, geographic distribution, admission categories, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

Reports
May 2013

Credential Recognition in the United States for Foreign Professionals

Focusing on the health care and engineering sectors, this report examines the formal and informal barriers to professional practice that foreign-trained professionals encounter when they migrate to the United States.
Reports
May 2013

Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration & Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America

This final report from the Regional Migration Study Group outlines the powerful demographic, economic, and social forces reshaping Mexico and Central America and changing longstanding migration dynamics with the United States. It offers a forward-looking, pragmatic agenda for the region, focusing on new collaborative approaches on migration and human-capital development to strengthen regional competitiveness.

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