E.g., 01/16/2021
E.g., 01/16/2021

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
July 29, 2015
Americans Abroad: A Disillusioned Diaspora?
By Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels
Articles
July 21, 2015
Filipino Immigrants in the United States in 2013
By Keith McNamara and Jeanne Batalova
Commentaries
July 2015
Federal-Local Cooperation on Immigration Enforcement Frayed; Chance for Improvement Exists
By  Marc R. Rosenblum
Reports
July 2015
Understanding the Potential Impact of Executive Action on Immigration Enforcement
By  Marc R. Rosenblum
Articles
July 8, 2015
The Limited English Proficient Population in the United States in 2013
By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova
Multimedia
June 26, 2015
Resettling Increasingly Diverse Refugee Populations in the United States: Integration Challenges and Successes
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

Pages

Spotlight
May 24, 2011
Asian Immigrants in the United States in 2009

Immigrants from Asia accounted for about 28 percent of the total U.S. foreign-born population in 2009. MPI's Jeanne Batalova examines the social and economic profiles of the foreign born from this region.

Policy Beat
May 17, 2011
DHS Announces End to Controversial Post-9/11 Immigrant Registration and Tracking Program

MPI's Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron report on the termination of the NSEERS program, legal challenges to the new Utah laws, the continued controversy surrounding Secure Communities, and more.

Feature
April 27, 2011
Pigments of Our Imagination: The Racialization of the Hispanic-Latino Category

The terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" were originally created for administrative purposes by the U.S. government, but have since come to define a population of 50.5 million people who trace their origins to 20 different countries. Rubén Rumbaut examines the origin and administrative use of the Hispanic-Latino category, and the effect it has had on the identities of people placed into it.

Policy Beat
April 14, 2011
Appeals Court Rules against Arizona Law as Immigration Measures Lose Steam in State Legislatures

MPI's Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron report on the 9th Circuit Court ruling on SB 1070, current trends in immigration legislation at the state level, President Obama's recent comments on executive action and immigration reform, and more.

Spotlight
April 7, 2011
Caribbean Immigrants in the United States in 2009

Immigrants from the Caribbean accounted for about 9 percent of the total U.S. foreign-born population in 2009. MPI's Kristen McCabe examines the social and economic profiles of the foreign born from this region.

Pages

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Recent Activity

Articles
July 29, 2015

Americans Abroad: A Disillusioned Diaspora?

While many countries are increasing engagement with their diasporas, U.S. policy has chiefly focused on U.S.-based diasporas from other countries, despite its own estimated overseas population of 7.6 million. This feature explores results from a survey of more than 1,400 U.S. citizens and 140 former citizens living abroad, many of whom are critical of limited U.S. government engagement with them even as restrictive financial reporting regulations have been imposed.
Articles
July 21, 2015

Filipino Immigrants in the United States in 2013

With more than 1.8 million immigrants living in the United States, the Philippines was the fourth largest country of origin in 2013. Filipino immigrants stand out from other top immigrant groups with their unique historical experience as former nationals due to U.S. annexation of the Philippines in 1899, close historic ties to the U.S. military, and prevalence in health-care professions.

Commentaries
July 2015

Federal-Local Cooperation on Immigration Enforcement Frayed; Chance for Improvement Exists

Long-simmering tensions over federal-local cooperation in immigration enforcement were exposed in the days after the shooting death of a young woman in San Francisco by an unauthorized immigrant who had been deported five times from the United States. This commentary explores the rift over Secure Communities, with more than 360 jurisdictions limiting their cooperation, and the possibility of a reset in federal-local relations.
Reports
July 2015

Understanding the Potential Impact of Executive Action on Immigration Enforcement

This report analyzes how many unauthorized immigrants fall within Department of Homeland Security priority enforcement categories unveiled in November 2014 and how implementation of these priorities could affect the number of deportations from within the United States. The report also examines the replacement of the controversial Secure Communities with a new Priority Enforcement Program, and what PEP could mean for immigration enforcement.

Articles
July 8, 2015

The Limited English Proficient Population in the United States in 2013

In 2013, more than 25 million people in the United States reported limited English proficiency (LEP), an 80 percent increase since 1990. The LEP population, the majority of which is immigrant, is generally less educated and more likely to live in poverty than the English-proficient population. This Spotlight explores key indicators of the LEP population, both U.S. and foreign born, including geographic distribution, language diversity, and employment.

Video, Audio
June 26, 2015

Resettling Increasingly Diverse Refugee Populations in the United States: Integration Challenges and Successes

A discussion of the findings of a new MPI report examining refugee characteristics at arrival for the ten largest national-origin groups resettled between 2002-2013, as well as their integration outcomes with respect to employment and incomes, English proficiency and education levels, and public benefit use.

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.

Pages