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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 June 28, 2023 Activism on Immigration by U.S. States Is Back, with New Tactics and Different Targets By Muzaffar Chishti and Julia Gelatt	Multimedia June 7, 2023 Migration Narratives in Northern Central America
Articles June 6, 2023 In Canada’s French-Speaking Quebec, Immigration Sparks Anxieties about Language and Identity By François Rocher	Reports June 2023 Migration Narratives in Northern Central America: How Competing Stories Shape Policy and Public Opinion in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Alejandra Lopez and Alejandro Vélez Salas
Articles June 2, 2023 Inmigrantes centroamericanos en los Estados Unidos By Nicole Ward and Jeanne Batalova	Reports May 2023 Apuesta por la regularidad migratoria: Respuestas de América Latina y el Caribe frente a la crisis del desplazamiento venezolano By Luciana Gandini and Andrew Selee
Reports May 2023 Betting on Legality: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to the Venezuelan Displacement Crisis By Luciana Gandini and Andrew Selee	Policy Briefs May 2023 Understanding Poverty Declines among Immigrants and Their Children in the United States By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix

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Reports November 2021 The State of Costa Rican Migration and Immigrant Integration Policy By Diego Chaves-González and María Jesús Mora	Reports November 2021 Charting a New Regional Course of Action: The Complex Motivations and Costs of Central American Migration By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Rossella Bottone, Jaret Waters, Sarah Williams, Ashley Louie and Yuehan Wang
Policy Briefs November 2021 Invertir en alternativas a la migración irregular desde Centroamérica: Opciones para expandir las vías de empleo en Estados Unidos By Cristobal Ramón	Policy Briefs November 2021 Investing in Alternatives to Irregular Migration from Central America: Options to Expand U.S. Employment Pathways By Cristobal Ramón
Reports October 2021 How We Talk about Migration: The Link between Migration Narratives, Policy, and Power By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Haim Malka and Shelly Culbertson	Policy Briefs September 2021 Immigrants’ U.S. Labor Market Disadvantage in the COVID-19 Economy: The Role of Geography and Industries of Employment By Randy Capps, Jeanne Batalova and Julia Gelatt
Reports September 2021 "Diversifying" Social Investment: European Welfare States and Immigrant Integration in the Wake of the COVID-19 Crisis By Anton Hemerijck and Liam Patuzzi	Reports September 2021 Refugee Resettlement and Complementary Pathways: Opportunities for Growth By Susan Fratzke, Maria Belen Zanzuchi, Kate Hooper, Hanne Beirens, Lena Kainz, Nathan Benson, Eliza Bateman and Jessica Bolter

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Banderas de las naciones centroamericanas en una marcha en San Diego.

Spotlight

June 2, 2023

Inmigrantes centroamericanos en los Estados Unidos

Los centroamericanos representan menos de una décima parte de la población de inmigrantes en Estados Unidos. Pero su número se ha multiplicado por diez desde 1980. Este artículo proporciona una mirada integral a esta población.

People hold flags of Central American nations at a march in San Diego.

Spotlight

May 10, 2023

Central American Immigrants in the United States

Central Americans comprise less than one-tenth of the overall U.S. foreign-born population, but their numbers have grown tenfold since 1980, amid economic challenges, political crises, and natural disasters in their region. This article provides a comprehensive look at this population.

Profile

April 18, 2023

A Pragmatic Bet: The Evolution of Spain’s Immigration System

Historically a country of emigration, Spain rapidly transitioned to become one of Europe’s major immigration destinations in just a few years. Remarkably, this evolution occurred with minimal political backlash, even as the country suffered through a crippling economic and labor crisis. This country profile examines the trends and policies that led to this astonishing development.

An intern examines a newborn baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Spotlight

April 7, 2023

Immigrant Health-Care Workers in the United States

Nearly 2.8 million immigrants worked in the U.S. health-care sector in 2021, representing disproportionately high shares of physicians, surgeons, and home health aides. This article offers a demographic and socioeconomic profile of foreign-born workers in health care.

Feature

March 21, 2023

Can Czechia Capitalize on High-Skilled Immigration amid Influx of Ukrainians?

High-skilled immigration represents a potential major benefit to Czechia, which has undergone rapid economic growth since the transition from communism. The arrival of hundreds of thousands of new Ukrainians, many of whom are well educated, marks a moment for the country to re-evaluate its integration policies, as this article details.

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MPI 20th Anniversary Conference - Antonio Vitorino and Demetrios Papademetriou

Video

November 15, 2021

MPI 20th Anniversary Conference: Migration & Humanitarian Protection in a Rapidly Evolving World

MPI’s 20th Anniversary Conference featured the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration, António Vitorino, in an armchair conversation with MPI co-founder and President Emeritus Demetrios G. Papademetriou, as well as a panel discussion with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and MPI co-founder Kathleen Newland and KIND President Wendy Young.

Expert Q&A, Audio

November 12, 2021

Leveraging the Benefits That Immigration Can Bring

In this World of Migration podcast episode, MPI Senior Fellow Michael Fix speaks with Senior Policy Analyst Julia Gelatt about the fiscal impacts of immigration, the importance of immigrant integration, how a greater focus on credential recognition could allow immigrants to more fully utilize the academic and professional skills they bring with them, and much more.

World of Migration podcast episode 3 tile

Expert Q&A, Audio

October 20, 2021

Building a Modern U.S. Immigration and Asylum System in the National Interest

People on all sides of the policy debate largely agree that the U.S. immigration system is broken. What should a 21st century system that works in the national interest look like? And is this vision achievable amid current political realities?

Expert Q&A, Audio

October 13, 2021

Making Migration Policy in an Ever More Complex World

MPI co-founder Demetrios G. Papademetriou takes on many questions, including whether the role of think tanks has evolved over the last two decades, in this World of Migration conversation with MPI’s Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan. They also look ahead to the challenges that will dominate immigration policymaking in the years ahead.

Video, Audio

August 3, 2021

Movilizando una Solución Internacional para Apoyar a Migrantes y Refugiados Venezolanos

Al reflexionar sobre los desafíos a corto y mediano plazo que enfrentan los venezolanos en Suramérica y el Caribe, líderes de la diáspora venezolana y miembros de la sociedad civil exploran lo que logró la conferencia de donantes y discuten alianzas e iniciativas prometedoras.

Recent Activity

Articles

June 5, 2020

A Warm Welcome for Some: Israel Embraces Immigration of Jewish Diaspora, Sharply Restricts Labor Migrants and Asylum Seekers

Israel has a remarkably open immigration system for anyone who can prove Jewish ethnicity. But as this country profile explores, migration is extremely difficult for non-Jews, including asylum seekers. This article describes immigration flows under the Law of Return and examines labor migration and the rise in asylum seekers, reviewing the main challenges that have emerged within the last three decades.

Fact Sheets

June 2020

COVID-19 and Unemployment: Assessing the Early Fallout for Immigrants and Other U.S. Workers

Even as the pandemic-induced loss of tens of millions of jobs over a period of weeks dealt a devastating blow across the United States, its effects were most pronounced on certain demographic groups: Immigrant women and, regardless whether they were born in or outside the United States, Latinos and workers with less than a high school degree or under age 25.

Articles

May 29, 2020

The U.S. Stands Alone in Explicitly Basing Coronavirus-Linked Immigration Restrictions on Economic Grounds

The U.S. in April became the first country to explicitly justify immigration curbs not on grounds of COVID-19, but to protect the jobs of U.S. workers at a time of skyrocketing unemployment. A Trump administration proclamation limiting green cards for new arrivals was greeted coolly by the president's base, with many expecting the White House would issue new limits for nonimmigrant workers—which could have a more significant impact.

Reports

May 2020

European Cities on the Front Line: New and Emerging Governance Models for Migrant Inclusion

As migration transforms cities across Europe—both large metropolises and small cities—there is a thriving debate about how to support immigrants’ integration into communities, labor markets, and health and education systems. This MPI Europe-International Organization for Migration report explores promising approaches that make the most of local governance tools to optimize migrant inclusion, even in the face of challenges.

Articles

May 14, 2020

Immigrant Health-Care Workers in the United States

Immigrants make up a disproportionately high number of U.S. health-care workers, from doctors and nurses to home health aides. In 2018, more than 2.6 million immigrants worked in the U.S. health-care field. In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, immigrants have played a key role in the frontline response. This article explores the demographics of this group of essential workers by occupation, origin, language, education, and more.

Fact Sheets

May 2020

Barriers to COVID-19 Testing and Treatment: Immigrants without Health Coverage in the United States

As millions of U.S. workers lose jobs and the health insurance associated with them, Medicaid and similar programs are increasingly important for people seeking COVID-19 testing and treatment. Yet many low-income uninsured noncitizens, including green-card holders, are excluded from such programs because of their immigration status, as this fact sheet explores.

Articles

May 1, 2020

Under Lockdown Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Europe Feels the Pinch from Slowed Intra-EU Labor Mobility

Border closures and lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic have put a chill on intra-EU labor mobility, most immediately with the difficulty for European farmers to gain access to much-needed seasonal workers and for health-care institutions to get care workers. This article explores how these workers, who often face difficult situations, may be more vulnerable now. It also takes on implications for intra-EU labor mobility post-pandemic.

Articles

April 24, 2020

Vulnerable to COVID-19 and in Frontline Jobs, Immigrants Are Mostly Shut Out of U.S. Relief

On the frontlines of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic yet also more disproportionately affected by the virus and with reduced health-care access, immigrants in the United States have largely found themselves blocked from federal economic relief. As states and philanthropic groups seek to plug the gap, this article examines conditions and changing policies around immigration and the coronavirus response.

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