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As workers and consumers, immigrants play a role in the labor markets and economies of the countries in which they settle. The research collected here examines how immigrants fare in the labor market, whether they are affected differently than native-born workers during cycles of boom and bust, the role of migration policymaking as a lever of competitiveness, employment of the foreign born by sector and skill, and the fiscal impacts of immigration. MPI's research also assesses the role of temporary workers and the labor recruitment process.

Recent Activity

Articles September 7, 2023 Cuban Immigrants in the United States By Jiaxin Wei and Jeanne Batalova	Articles August 29, 2023 As Nauru Shows, Asylum Outsourcing Has Unexpected Impacts on Host Communities By Julia Morris
Multimedia August 24, 2023 Managing Changing Migration Dynamics and Policies in West Africa for Regional Gain	Articles August 8, 2023 Filipino Immigrants in the United States By Caitlin Davis and Jeanne Batalova
Commentaries August 2023 Investing in the Future: Higher Ed Should Give Greater Focus to Growing Immigrant-Origin Student Population By Jeanne Batalova and Miriam Feldblum	Commentaries July 2023 Canada's New Tech Talent Strategy Takes Aim at High-Skilled Immigrants in the United States By Kate Hooper, Jeanne Batalova and Julia Gelatt
Articles July 11, 2023 Inmigrantes colombianos en los Estados Unidos By Diego Chaves-González y Jeanne Batalova	Articles July 11, 2023 Colombian Immigrants in the United States By Diego Chaves-González and Jeanne Batalova

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Policy Briefs April 2022 Leveraging the Skills of Immigrant Health-Care Professionals in Illinois and Chicago By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix	Reports March 2022 Migración de Huehuetenango en el Altiplano Occidental de Guatemala: Respuestas de políticas públicas y desarrollo By Andrew Selee, Luis Argueta and Juan José Hurtado Paz y Paz
Reports March 2022 Migration from Huehuetenango in Guatemala’s Western Highlands: Policy and Development Responses By Andrew Selee, Luis Argueta and Juan José Hurtado Paz y Paz	Reports March 2022 Promoting the Inclusion of Europe’s Migrants and Minorities in Arts and Culture By Lucía Salgado and Liam Patuzzi
Reports February 2022 Four Years of Profound Change: Immigration Policy during the Trump Presidency By Jessica Bolter, Emma Israel and Sarah Pierce	Policy Briefs December 2021 How Can Europe Deliver on the Potential of Talent Partnerships? By Kate Hooper
Policy Briefs December 2021 The Invisible Work of Family, Friend, and Neighbor Caregivers and Its Importance for Immigrant and Dual Language Learner Families By Maki Park and Jazmin Flores Peña	Reports November 2021 El estado de la política migratoria y de integración de Costa Rica By Diego Chaves-González and María Jesús Mora

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Spotlight

August 8, 2023

Filipino Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants from the Philippines make up the fourth largest foreign-born group in the United States, numbering nearly 2 million people. Compared to other U.S. immigrants, Filipinos are more likely to have strong English skills, be naturalized U.S. citizens, and hold a college degree. This article provides statistics about these and other elements of the Filipino immigrant population.

People carry a giant Colombian flag at a parade in Washington, DC.

Spotlight

July 11, 2023

Colombian Immigrants in the United States

Colombians comprise the largest group of South American immigrants in the United States. More than half live in Florida, New York, or New Jersey. Compared to the overall immigrant population, Colombians are disproportionately likely to be naturalized U.S. citizens and to have obtained a green card through family pathways.

Varias personas portan una bandera gigante de Colombia en un desfile en Washington, DC.

Spotlight

July 11, 2023

Inmigrantes colombianos en los Estados Unidos

Cerca de 855,000 inmigrantes colombianos residían en los Estados Unidos, lo que representa alrededor del 2 por ciento de los 45.3 millones de inmigrantes estadounidenses en general y el grupo más numeroso procedente de Sudamérica. Casi uno de cada cuatro inmigrantes de Sudamérica en los Estados Unidos procedía de Colombia.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at a conference in Tampa.

Policy Beat

June 28, 2023

Activism on Immigration by U.S. States Is Back, with New Tactics and Different Targets

Renewed U.S. state activism on immigration has echoes of the early 2010s, when Arizona’s SB 1070 defined a Republican-led push to increase enforcement that was ultimately muted by the courts and public backlash. Newer strategies rely on a novel array of tactics including migrant busing, litigation, and lawmaking. States are also moving in opposite directions, with some expanding rights for unauthorized immigrants, as this article details.

Feature

June 6, 2023

In Canada’s French-Speaking Quebec, Immigration Sparks Anxieties about Language and Identity

Canada's ambitions to dramatically increase immigration have met resistance in Quebec, the country's only majority-French province, where many worry their identity is under threat. Provincial officials have sought to fortify the role of the French language in society through academic, immigration, and linguistic policies, but the language nonetheless faces demographic threats, as this article explains.

Pages

Video, Audio

March 16, 2022

Understanding Drivers of Irregular Migration from Guatemala

This event explores changing migration patterns from Guatemala, how policymakers and development practitioners can help create livelihood options and address other drivers of migration, and the broader lessons for policy approaches in sending and receiving countries that could help better manage migration and provide alternatives to irregular migration.

Video, Audio

March 16, 2022

Comprendiendo los factores que impulsan la migración irregular desde Guatemala

En este evento de presentación del informe, los ponentes hablan sobre los cambios en los patrones de migración desde Guatemala.

Video, Audio

January 19, 2022

Biden at One: Assessing the Administration’s Immigration Record

This MPI discussion with leading experts, advocates, and a top official from the administration examines the Biden track record on immigration and what lays ahead

Expert Q&A, Audio

December 9, 2021

The Corporate World’s Response to COVID-19 Pandemic, its Omicron Variant, Digital Nomad Visas & More

How has the business world responded to disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic? In this episode of Moving Beyond Pandemic, we speak with two former government officials who are now in the private sector—Ian Robinson of the immigration law firm Fragomen and Brendan Ryan, CEO of Nomadic, about the trends and policy environment shaping business mobility decisions.

Expert Q&A, Audio

November 24, 2021

Thinking Regionally to Act Locally in Immigration Policy

With migration a dynamic phenomenon in the Americas, the U.S. government increasingly is realizing that migration management should be viewed in a regional context. This requires a new set of policies and ways of engagement with countries in North and Central America, and beyond, as MPI President Andrew Selee discusses with colleague Andrea Tanco in this episode of our World of Migration podcast.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs

September 2018

Reimagining Skilled Migration Partnerships to Support Development

While partnerships to facilitate skilled migration have had mixed success in the past, the Global Compact for Migration is advancing a new approach that may change this. This policy brief compares this new partnership model with the traditional one, highlighting the questions policymakers will need to answer if they are to encourage mobility, sustain employer engagement, and see development benefits in countries of origin.

Policy Briefs

August 2018

Deciding Which Road to Take: Insights into How Migrants and Refugees in Greece Plan Onward Movement

EU policy debates about moving asylum seekers from overburdened frontline countries, such as Greece and Italy, to other Member States rarely consider how migrants form and act on preferences for certain destinations—and how difficult it may be to change these views. This issue brief explores decision-making among migrants in Greece, including how living conditions, jobs, and legal status factor in.

Articles

August 15, 2018

Connecting Across Nationalities: Inter-Ethnic Relationships in a Kuwaiti Workplace

In Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, migrants make up a significant share of the private-sector workforce. While mainstream narratives commonly focus on the exploitation and abuse some of these migrant workers experience, their lives and relationships with the native born are much more complex and less unequal than is often perceived, as this article explores.

Reports

August 2018

Tapping the Talents of Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States: Takeaways from Experts Summit

Economists project a shortage of 5 million U.S. workers with postsecondary education and training by 2020. Yet 2 million immigrant college graduates in the United States are either unemployed or work in jobs that require no more than a high school degree. How can this skill underutilization, known as "brain waste," be remedied? MPI asked the experts, and this report summarizes their discussion and recommendations.

Reports

July 2018

A Needed Evidence Revolution: Using Cost-Benefit Analysis to Improve Refugee Integration Programming

European countries have ramped up their investments in helping refugees find work and integrate into society. Yet little hard evidence exists of what programs and policies work best. This report proposes a new framework for thinking smartly about integration programming, using cost-benefit analysis to look beyond short-term, economic outcomes to also measure indirect benefits through a social-value concept.

Articles

July 10, 2018

Immigrants in the U.S. States with the Fastest-Growing Foreign-Born Populations

The immigrant population in the United States grew faster than the national average in a number of states—including Alaska, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, and West Virginia—from 2010 to 2016. This Spotlight offers detailed data on size, origins, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of immigrant populations in the 15 fastest-growing destination states.

Video, Audio

June 5, 2018

Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together

Marking the release of MPI President Andrew Selee's latest book, speakers explore emerging trends in migration, economic interdependence, technology innovation, and cultural exchange that are transforming the relationship between the United States and Mexico, and the policy implications of these changes for the future.

Books

June, 2018

Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together

Wall or no wall, deeply intertwined social, economic, business, cultural, and personal relationships mean the U.S.-Mexico border is more like a seam than a barrier, weaving together two economies and cultures, as MPI President Andrew Selee sketches in this book, which draws from his travels and discussions with people from all walks of life in Mexico and the United States.

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