E.g., 09/21/2023
E.g., 09/21/2023
Illegal Immigration & Interior Enforcement

Illegal Immigration & Interior Enforcement

Deportations/Returns
Employment Verification
State & Local Enforcement
Worksite Enforcement
_IllegalImm+IntEnforcement

lllegal immigration is a phenomenon confronted by many major immigrant-receiving countries, one that vexes policymakers and publics alike. While much of the focus may be on border enforcement, there are an array of interior enforcement policies aimed at identifying unauthorized immigrants for removal, including worksite enforcement, employment verification, jail-house screening, and state and local law enforcement activity. The research below delves into many facets of illegal immigration and enforcement occcuring away from national borders.

Recent Activity

EVENT PHOTO 2017.8.31 flickr cesar bojorquez Un dia sin migrantes (Tijuana B.C. Mexico)
Multimedia
August 31, 2017
La Situación de Cambio Constante entre EE UU y México: Tendencias y Políticas de Migración, Incluyendo Menores No Acompañados
Tracing the Channels Refugees Use to Seek Protection in Europe
Reports
September 2017
Tracing the Channels Refugees Use to Seek Protection in Europe
By  Susan Fratzke and Brian Salant
Grand Canal in Venice
Articles
August 24, 2017
From Emigration to Asylum Destination, Italy Navigates Shifting Migration Tides
By Angelo Scotto
JuanOsuna Tribute CMS
Commentaries
August 2017
Juan Osuna: A Tribute to an Indispensable Person
By  Doris Meissner
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Policy Briefs
August 2017
The Education and Work Profiles of the DACA Population
By  Randy Capps, Michael Fix and Jie Zong
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Policy Briefs
August 2017
Immigration and Farm Labor: From Unauthorized to H-2A for Some?
By  Philip Martin
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Reports
July 2017
Strengthening Mexico’s Protection of Central American Unaccompanied Minors in Transit
By  Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents take a man into custody.
Articles
July 19, 2017
The Trump Administration at Six Months: A Sea Change in Immigration Enforcement
By Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter

Pages

Feature
March 8, 2007
Arizona Hosts Groups on Both Sides of the Immigration Debate

In no state is the immigration debate more polarized than in Arizona. Malia Politzer examines the proimmigrant and border watch groups active in the state and how they seek to influence policy.

Feature
March 1, 2007
Women Migrants in Transit and Detention in Mexico

Since 2000, Mexico has further intensified efforts to detain and deport irregular migrants. Gabriela Diaz and Gretchen Kuhner investigate the experiences of women migrants, the majority of them from Latin America, who have been detained in Mexico en route to the United States.

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Feature
May 1, 2006
American Immigration Reform from a Scandinavian Perspective
After watching the immigration reform debate intensify in the last few months, Thor Arne Aaas, Norway's Director General of the Department of Migration and a Visiting Fellow at MPI, characterizes the debate as "unfocused, unstructured, and very emotional." More on his views in this interview with Migration Information Source Editor Kirin Kalia.
Feature
September 1, 2005
Regularizing Immigrants in Spain: A New Approach

Spain’s latest regularization program, unlike in the past, is part of a more comprehensive approach to combating illegal immigration and employment. Joaquín Arango of Complutense University of Madrid and Maia Jachimowicz outline the program and provide some preliminary results.

Feature
September 1, 2005
Unauthorized Migrants Living in the United States: A Mid-Decade Portrait

An estimated 10.3 million unauthorized migrants were living in the U.S. in 2004. Jennifer Van Hook, Frank Bean, and Jeff Passell report on who they are, where they live, the work they do, and their levels of education and poverty.

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Recent Activity

Audio
August 31, 2017

La Situación de Cambio Constante entre EE UU y México: Tendencias y Políticas de Migración, Incluyendo Menores No Acompañados

Durante este seminario, ponentes presentaron hallazgos de un reciente informe que utiliza datos de agencias gubernamentales mexicanas, entrevistas con funcionarios clave y relatos de la sociedad civil para examinar el marco legal para la protección de menores no acompañados y su aplicación, al igual que las brechas entre este marco y su aplicación durante los procesos de detención, interrogación y alojamiento. El presidente de MPI, Andrew Selee, también expuso cómo el cambio en la dinámica política en Estados Unidos puede afectar las cuestiones migratorias con México, así como los efectos en la relación bilateral en medio de tensiones sobre el muro fronterizo, la renegociación del acuerdo del TLCAN y una cifra significativa de repatriaciones de migrantes mexicanos.

Reports
September 2017

Tracing the Channels Refugees Use to Seek Protection in Europe

Following the 2015­–16 crisis that saw record numbers of refugees arrive in Europe, policymakers have shown interest in creating managed, legal alternatives to the dangerous, unauthorized journeys many asylum seekers make. While these discussions should be informed by an understanding of current pathways and protection channels, it is "nearly impossible" to know how protection seekers enter and what legal channels are available to them, as this MPI Europe report explains.

Articles
August 24, 2017

From Emigration to Asylum Destination, Italy Navigates Shifting Migration Tides

Long a country of emigration—13 million Italians went abroad between 1880 and 1915—Italy has also experienced significant inflows of Middle Eastern and sub-Saharan African workers in recent decades. Italy has also been on the frontlines of Europe's refugee crisis. This country profile examines Italy's shifting migration patterns, policy responses over time, and debates.

Commentaries
August 2017

Juan Osuna: A Tribute to an Indispensable Person

In this personal tribute, MPI Senior Fellow Doris Meissner honors Juan Osuna, who died in August 2017 after his recent retirement as Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the nation's immigration court system. "As we at MPI ... contemplate work without his store of knowledge and fundamental human decency readily at hand, we mourn that his was a life cut too short, just as we honor him for a life well lived."

Policy Briefs
August 2017

The Education and Work Profiles of the DACA Population

The future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is uncertain, amid skepticism from the Trump administration about its merits and the promise of legal challenge from ten state attorneys general. This issue brief presents a profile of young adults eligible for DACA in terms of their educational attainment and labor force participation, as well as what is at stake should the program be terminated.

Policy Briefs
August 2017

Immigration and Farm Labor: From Unauthorized to H-2A for Some?

U.S. agriculture has long relied on foreign-born workers to fill seasonal and labor-intensive jobs. But who are the immigrants who now make up three-fourths of hired workers on U.S. farms? This policy brief sketches a workforce that is aging and less reliant on unauthorized workers—and employers who are increasingly turning to mechanization and the H-2A guestworker program to fill gaps as Mexican migration slows.

Reports
July 2017

Strengthening Mexico’s Protection of Central American Unaccompanied Minors in Transit

Mexico has apprehended more than 50,000 unaccompanied children since 2014 and introduced ambitious reforms to safeguard their rights. Yet the gap between policy and reality is wide: Most are held in adult detention centers rather than child shelters and report never being told of their right to apply for asylum. This report examines the child protection legal framework in Mexico, its implementation, and the gaps between the two.

Articles
July 19, 2017

The Trump Administration at Six Months: A Sea Change in Immigration Enforcement

Making good on campaign promises to toughen immigration enforcement, the Trump administration has acted swiftly to cast a wider net in the U.S. interior. The actions represent a sea change in enforcement practice, moving from a tight focus on high-priority individuals to an era in which all unauthorized immigrants may be subject to deportation. This article explores the shifts undertaken during President Trump's first six months.

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