E.g., 12/05/2023
E.g., 12/05/2023
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.

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

President Trump's May 2019 Rose Garden speech
Articles
May 30, 2019
“Merit-Based” Immigration: Trump Proposal Would Dramatically Revamp Immigrant Selection Criteria, But with Modest Effects on Numbers
By Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter
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Policy Briefs
May 2019
Noncitizens in the U.S. Military: Navigating National Security Concerns and Recruitment Needs
By  Muzaffar Chishti, Austin Rose and Stephen Yale-Loehr
2019.5.17EVENTPHOTO
Multimedia
May 17, 2019
"Merit-Based" Immigration: Designing Successful Selection Systems
Two men in military attire stand with a veteran
Articles
May 16, 2019
Immigrant Veterans in the United States
By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova
2019.5.17 EVENT PHOTO Mexicans in Texas
Multimedia
May 9, 2019
A Mirror for the Nation? The Changing Profile of Mexican Immigrants in Texas
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Fact Sheets
May 2019
A Profile of Highly Skilled Mexican Immigrants in Texas and the United States
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee
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Reports
May 2019
Immigration-Related Policy Changes in the First Two Years of the Trump Administration
By  Sarah Pierce
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Reports
May 2019
Eight Key U.S. Immigration Policy Issues: State of Play and Unanswered Questions
By  Doris Meissner and Julia Gelatt

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
cover heritagetourism
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

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Top Ten
December 7, 2015
Shine Wears Off Investor Visa Programs as Questions about Economic Benefits and Fraud Lead to Reforms

A number of countries in 2015 redesigned their immigrant investor visa programs in response to questions about their economic benefits or allegations of fraud. The reforms have in some cases made such programs far more costly and encouraged investment in higher-risk assets. Applications for such visas have fallen signficantly in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as policymakers may have overestimated demand.

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Spotlight
December 1, 2015
European Immigrants in the United States

European migration, once the driving force of U.S. immigration, has steadily declined over the last 50 years. In 2014, 4.8 million European immigrants accounted for 11 percent of the total foreign-born population, down from 75 percent in 1960. Discover key statistics on this population in this Spotlight article, including countries of origin, language proficiency, employment, and more.

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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.

Pages

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MI_EVerify_09
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.
2009.5.15 MPI Symposium on Citizenship screen shot
Video
May 15, 2009

MPI Symposium on Citizenship

MPI's symposium on citizenship examined immigrant civic and political participation, the notion of local voting rights for noncitizens, the concept and practice of dual citizenship, and the role of citizenship in immigrant integration.

Pages

Recent Activity

Articles
May 30, 2019

“Merit-Based” Immigration: Trump Proposal Would Dramatically Revamp Immigrant Selection Criteria, But with Modest Effects on Numbers

The Trump administration’s plan to create a "merit-based" U.S. immigration system, lessening the longstanding focus on family reunification in favor of more economic migrants, has met with a lackluster response from Democrats and Republicans alike. This Policy Beat article explores how the Trump proposal would reshape immigration to the United States, and how it compares to selection systems in other countries and past debates about changing the U.S. system.

Policy Briefs
May 2019

Noncitizens in the U.S. Military: Navigating National Security Concerns and Recruitment Needs

Noncitizens have long served in the U.S. military, often encouraged by the promise of a fast track to U.S. citizenship. In recent years, however, Congress and the Defense Department have made it more difficult for noncitizens to enlist. This brief give context to these policy changes and explores ways the military could better balance concerns about national security and the need for recruits with key cultural and professional skills.

Video, Audio
May 17, 2019

"Merit-Based" Immigration: Designing Successful Selection Systems

With the U.S. administration calling for the United States to adopt a more “merit-based” immigrant selection system, this conversation focused on what policymakers should consider in designing—and managing—immigrant selection systems in a time of intense labor-market and demographic change.

Articles
May 16, 2019

Immigrant Veterans in the United States

Approximately 530,000 foreign-born veterans of the U.S. armed forces resided in the United States in 2018, accounting for 3 percent of the 18.6 million veterans nationwide. Immigrant veterans tend to have higher education levels and household incomes compared to native-born veterans, and the vast majority are naturalized citizens, as this data-rich article explores.

Video, Audio, Webinars
May 9, 2019

A Mirror for the Nation? The Changing Profile of Mexican Immigrants in Texas

At this discussion, experts from MPI and Southern Methodist University’s Texas-Mexico Center offer an overview of trends and key characteristics of highly skilled Mexican adults at the national level and for Texas, including educational levels by legal status and top industries of employment across Texas metro areas. They also discuss the policy implications of these findings.

Fact Sheets
May 2019

A Profile of Highly Skilled Mexican Immigrants in Texas and the United States

U.S. debates about immigration from Mexico often center on the low skilled, but this analysis shows a population in change. Nearly one in five Mexican immigrants arriving between 2013-17 had a college degree, compared to slightly more than 1 in 20 during the 1996-2000 period. Mexicans now make up the fourth-largest group of highly skilled immigrants. This fact sheet explores their characteristics at U.S. and Texas levels.

Reports
May 2019

Immigration-Related Policy Changes in the First Two Years of the Trump Administration

In the two years since President Trump entered office, U.S. immigration policy has changed in many ways. Some actions have received significant media attention and public scrutiny, and others have been implemented with little fanfare. This document chronicles these wide-reaching policy changes, covering immigration enforcement, the immigration courts, humanitarian admissions, visa processing, and more.

Reports
May 2019

Eight Key U.S. Immigration Policy Issues: State of Play and Unanswered Questions

Amid a significant reshaping of immigration policy by the Trump administration, a range of immigration topics that have not been at the forefront of debate merit further information sharing with the public and policymakers. This report examines eight issues areas that are deserving of additional review and could form the basis for future action by Congress, including H-1B reform and treatment of unaccompanied minors.

Pages