Illegal Immigration & Interior Enforcement

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.

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Commentaries March 2019 More Than a DREAM (Act), Less Than a Promise By Julia Gelatt	Articles March 14, 2019 Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States By Jie Zong, Jeanne Batalova, and Micayla Burrows
Articles March 7, 2019 Protection and Reintegration: Mexico Reforms Migration Agenda in an Increasingly Complex Era By Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas	Multimedia February 28, 2019 Una nueva política migratoria para una nueva era: Una conversación con la Secretaria de Gobernación Olga Sánchez Cordero
Multimedia February 28, 2019 A New Migration Policy for A New Era: A Conversation with Mexico's Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero	Articles February 28, 2019 Executive Power Showdown: Congress and White House Quarrel over Immigration Spending By Muzaffar Chishti, Sarah Pierce, and Randy Capps
Explainers April 2019 Explainer: Illegal Immigration in the United States By Jessica Bolter	Multimedia January 31, 2019 Creatividad Dentro de la Crisis: Opciones Legales para Inmigrantes Venezolanos en América Latina

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Reports September 2009 Immigrant Detention: Can ICE Meet its Legal Imperatives and Case Management Responsibilities? By Donald M. Kerwin and Serena Yi-Ying Lin	Reports July 2009 The Next Generation of E-Verify: Getting Employment Verification Right By Doris Meissner and Marc R. Rosenblum
Reports February 2009 Collateral Damage: An Examination of ICE's Fugitive Operations Program By Michael Wishnie, Margot Mendelson and Shayna Strom	Reports February 2009 DHS and Immigration: Taking Stock and Correcting Course By Doris Meissner and Donald M. Kerwin
Reports December 2008 Mandatory Verification in the States: A Policy Research Agenda By Michael Fix, Doris Meissner and Randy Capps	Reports December 2007 Testing the Limits: A Framework for Assessing the Legality of State and Local Immigration Measures By Cristina Rodríguez , Muzaffar Chishti and Kimberly Nortman
Policy Briefs October 2007 Social Security 'No-Match' Letters: A Primer By Claire Bergeron , Aaron Terrazas and Doris Meissner	Fact Sheets June 2007 Document Security Provisions: What's in the Cards?

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Feature

February 16, 2017

The Evolving and Diversifying Nature of Migration to the U.S.-Mexico Border

Two significant migration shifts at the U.S.-Mexico border have been obscured by talk of walls and further border security: Mexicans no longer represent the top unauthorized crossers, replaced by Central Americans seeking protection, and flows are diversifying with increased arrivals of Cubans, Haitians, Asians, and Africans. This article sketches the evolving trends, which have key implications for U.S. and regional migration policy.

Policy Beat

January 26, 2017

The Obama Record on Deportations: Deporter in Chief or Not?

President Obama faced criticism over his administration's handling of immigration enforcement from both the left and the right, labeled "deporter in chief" even as he was also accused of lax enforcement. A closer examination of his administration's record paints a more nuanced picture. This article explores how immigration enforcement practices shifted to achieve two key goals over the course of the Obama era.

Feature

January 18, 2017

Labor Migration from Myanmar: Remittances, Reforms, and Challenges

Having emerged from a long era of military rule, Myanmar's leaders and many citizens are looking outward. In particular, with Burmese labor migration abroad on the rise, policymakers are examining ways in which to harness remittances as a vehicle for economic development, particularly in impoverished rural areas. This article explores Burmese labor migration flows, financial reforms, and challenges on migration and development.

Top Ten

December 19, 2016

As Trump Takes Office, Immigration Enforcement and Policy Poised to Undergo Major Changes

With the incoming Trump administration pledging a crackdown on illegal immigration, construction of border walls, reductions in refugee and immigrant admissions, and greater screening of newcomers, U.S. immigration policy is likely to significant change. With Republicans holding the White House and both chambers of Congress at least through 2018, conditions may be favorable for a major transformation of the U.S. immigration system, as this Top 10 article explores.

Top Ten

December 12, 2016

Crises with Links to Immigration Result in Divergent Policy Responses on Either Side of the Atlantic

While Europe and the United States saw terror attacks in 2016 carried out by radicalized immigrants or members of the second generation, policy responses varied on either side of the Atlantic. The perceived security threat posed by refugees was the main concern in the United States. Meanwhile, European debates centered more on concerns over loss of control of migration flows and lack of social cohesion.

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Commentaries

March 2019

More Than a DREAM (Act), Less Than a Promise

The first bill introduced in the 116th Congress to offer a path to legal status to DREAMers, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019, could legalize nearly 2.7 million unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children, as well as those eligible for Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure, as this commentary explains.

Articles

March 14, 2019

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

Immigrant arrivals to the United States and the makeup of the foreign-born population have been changing in significant ways: Recent immigrants are more likely to be from Asia than from Mexico and the overall immigrant population is growing at a slower rate than before the 2008-09 recession. This useful article collects in one place some of the most sought-after statistics on immigrants in the United States.

Articles

March 7, 2019

Protection and Reintegration: Mexico Reforms Migration Agenda in an Increasingly Complex Era

Mexico is facing a new reality: Rising migration from Central America, the reintegration of returning migrants, and protection of Mexicans in the United States. As President Andrés Manuel López Obrador seeks to shift the country’s migration policy from enforcement to protection, his task is complicated by changing U.S. border policy and the need to avoid domestic backlash over Central American migration to and through Mexico.

Video, Audio

February 28, 2019

Una nueva política migratoria para una nueva era: Una conversación con la Secretaria de Gobernación Olga Sánchez Cordero

Durante su primera visita oficial a Washington, DC, la Secretaria de Gobierno Olga Sánchez Cordero presento un discurso público sobre la nueva política migratoria de México en el Instituto de Políticas Migratorias.

Video, Audio

February 28, 2019

A New Migration Policy for A New Era: A Conversation with Mexico's Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero

On her first official trip to Washington, DC, Secretary of the Interior Olga Sánchez Cordero offered a public address on Mexico’s new approach to migration policy at MPI. Her remarks and the event discussion were mostly conducted in Spanish, and this recording is of the simultaneous English interpretation.

Articles

February 28, 2019

Executive Power Showdown: Congress and White House Quarrel over Immigration Spending

Though a faceoff between the U.S. executive and legislative branches is now in the courts, with President Trump's decision to declare a national emergency so he can allocate more money for construction of a border wall, a less-noted dispute has been taking place over the Department of Homeland Security's decision to add thousands more immigration detention beds than Congress provides annually, as this article explains.

Explainers

April 2019

Explainer: Illegal Immigration in the United States

How has the size of the unauthorized population in the United States changed over time? How is illegal immigration changing, and where do unauthorized immigrants come from? This explainer answers basic questions about illegal immigration, the changing patterns from Mexico, and more.

Audio, Webinars

January 31, 2019

Creatividad Dentro de la Crisis: Opciones Legales para Inmigrantes Venezolanos en América Latina

Convocamos un seminario en línea en la ocasión del lanzamiento del informe que describe donde se han radicado los migrantes venezolanos; las medidas que han utilizado los gobiernos latinoamericanos para regularizar el estatus legal de los migrantes venezolanos; y los esfuerzos por integrar a los recién llegados en sus nuevas comunidades de residencia.

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