Immigration Policy & Law

Immigration legislative and administrative policies, legal statutes and court decisions, and regulations collectively shape nations' immigration systems—from visa allotments and immigrant-selection mechanisms to immigrant integration programs, border controls, and more. As international migration has increased in size and spread and as a number of nations are more flexibly adjusting their immigration systems, the research offered here examines the many permutations of immigration policy and law, often with a comparative lens.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs July 2021 Deepening Labor Migration Governance at a Time of Immobility: Lessons from Ghana and Senegal By Camille Le Coz and Kate Hooper	Multimedia July 21, 2021 Supporting Unaccompanied Children in the U.S. Communities Where They Live
Reports July 2021 Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic By Meghan Benton	Articles July 21, 2021 As Migration and Trade Increase between China and Africa, Traders at Both Ends Often Face Precarity By Daouda Cissé
Reports July 2021 Solidarity in Isolation? Social Cohesion at a Time of Physical Distance By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan and Aliyyah Ahad	Multimedia June 24, 2021 Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States: A Persistent Problem with Increasing Costs
Multimedia June 16, 2021 A First Step Towards Equity for Dual Language Learners in Early Childhood Systems: Identifying Their Language Needs and Characteristics	Commentaries June 2021 A Solvable Challenge: Improving Asylee Access to Health and Other Benefits By Essey Workie, Mark Greenberg and Lillie Hinkle

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Policy Briefs July 2016 The Immigration Act of 1990: Unfinished Business a Quarter-Century Later By Muzaffar Chishti and Stephen Yale-Loehr	Reports June 2016 What’s So Special about Canada? Understanding the Resilience of Immigration and Multiculturalism By Daniel Hiebert
Reports June 2016 Understanding the Creation of Public Consensus: Migration and Integration in Germany, 2005 to 2015 By Friedrich Heckmann	Reports May 2016 Maintaining Public Trust in the Governance of Migration By Demetrios G. Papademetriou
Reports May 2016 Engaging the Anxious Middle on Immigration Reform: Evidence from the UK Debate By Sunder Katwala and Will Somerville	Policy Briefs April 2016 Managing Religious Difference in North America and Europe in an Era of Mass Migration By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Richard Alba, Nancy Foner and Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
Fact Sheets April 2016 Immigrants and WIOA Services: Comparison of Sociodemographic Characteristics of Native- and Foreign-Born Adults in the United States By Margie McHugh and Madeleine Morawski	Reports March 2016 Challenges in Accessing Early Childhood Education and Care for Children in Refugee Families in Massachusetts By Jeff Gross and Christine Ntagengwa

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Feature

July 25, 2018

For Vulnerable Immigrant Children, A Longstanding Path to Protection Narrows

Since fiscal year 2010, more than 70,000 immigrant children have applied for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status, a pathway to a green card for youth who have been abused or neglected by their parents. Based on interviews with SIJ applicants, judges, and attorneys, this article provides an overview of the SIJ program and identifies limitations on access.

Feature

July 18, 2018

A South American Migration Crisis: Venezuelan Outflows Test Neighbors' Hospitality

The deepening of Venezuela's social, economic, and political implosion has resulted in the fastest movement of people across borders in Latin American history. Neighboring countries have responded with a patchwork of policy measures, though the scale and growing diversity of Venezuelan arrivals have challenged regional actors, as this article explores.

Policy Beat

June 29, 2018

In Upholding Travel Ban, Supreme Court Endorses Presidential Authority While Leaving Door Open for Future Challenges

Though the Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a major victory by upholding its much-contested travel ban, less noted has been the fact that the ruling left an opening for future challenges to the policy of barring groups of foreign nationals from the country. This Policy Beat explores the evolution of the travel ban, the justices' arguments for and against, and changes in visa grants from travel-ban countries.

Spotlight

June 7, 2018

Canadian Immigrants in the United States

Though small, the population of Canadians in the United States is quite diverse, and includes students, highly skilled professionals on H-1B or NAFTA visas, family migrants, and retirees. Canadian immigrants have much higher educational attainment and incomes than the native- and overall foreign-born populations. This article offers an interesting data snapshot of Canadians in the United States.

A boy peers through fencing at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Policy Beat

May 24, 2018

Family Separation and “Zero-Tolerance” Policies Rolled Out to Stem Unwanted Migrants, But May Face Challenges

Frustrated by an uptick in migrant apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months, the Trump administration unveiled a set of sweeping changes, aiming to prosecute for federal immigration crimes every migrant apprehended crossing illegally. The policy will likely be hindered by legal challenges and capacity limitations, as this article explores.

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EVENTPH 2014.10.21 11th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conf. USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez

Video, Audio

October 21, 2014

11th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

This conference, keynoted by USCIS Director León Rodríguez, featured panels on local immigrant integration policies; expected executive action on immigration; the treatment of unaccompanied children from Central America; and innovations in government-funded legal counsel and accelerated court cases.

EVENTPH 2014.10.16 The U.S. Deportation System Trends from a Decade of Data

Video, Audio

October 16, 2014

The U.S. Deportation System: Trends from a Decade of Data

MPI researchers, along with analysts from the Government Accountability Office and American Immigration Council, discuss the findings from an MPI report that examines the 3.7 million deportations that have occurred in the United States since establishment of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, as well as lessons that can be learned for future policy and possible administrative action.

EventPH 2014.9.22 Leadership Visions with USCBP from event

Video, Audio

September 22, 2014

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Discusses His Vision for the Agency

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske, who assumed his duties in 2014, lays out his vision and discusses his priorities for the agency as part of MPI's Leadership Visions series.

EVENTPH 2014.9.18 Unpacking the Links between Segregation, Community Cohesion, and Opportunity (YouTube)

Video

September 18, 2014

Unpacking the Links between Segregation, Community Cohesion, and Opportunity: A Transatlantic Discussion

In this webinar, experts and policymakers from Europe and the United States discuss the relationship between immigration, residential segregation, community relations, and economic opportunities.

EVENTPH 2014.9.16 DACA DREAM ED REQ. WEBINAR (USDOEDSC_0079 (1))

Audio

September 16, 2014

Realizing the DACA and DREAM Promise: Actions to Support Educational Attainment of Potentially Eligible Immigrant Youth

A discussion and report release on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, how its educational requirements may be impacting application rates, and recommendations for overcoming the education-success challenges that key subgroups of DACA-DREAM youth face.

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars

January 16, 2019

Promising Strategies for Reintegration of Migrants Returning to Mexico and Central America

This MPI webinar focuses on reception and reintegration services for returning migrants, along with the heightened pressure policymakers in Mexico and Central America are facing to design systems and programs that support both returnees and the communities in which they settle. Authors of a year-long study of reception and reintegration services in Mexico and the Northern Triangle discuss the findings of their fieldwork.

Reports

January 2019

Communicating Strategically about Immigrant Integration: Policymaker Perspectives

When it comes to communicating with constituents on the highly emotive issue of immigrant integration, European policymakers are facing unprecedented challenges. This report explores how the rapidly changing media landscape and heightened attention to migration affect how governments craft communications on these issues, and how these messages resonate (or backfire) with the public. Drawing on past PR successes and failures, it offers guidance on effective strategies.

Commentaries

January 2019

Too Little, Too Late? Contingency Planning for UK Nationals in Case of a No-Deal Brexit

Following the dramatic defeat of Theresa May’s Brexit deal in the UK Parliament this week, all bets are off when it comes to whether the United Kingdom will crash out of the European Union on March 29 without a Brexit deal. A no-deal scenario would have seismic ramifications for the legal residence, work rights, benefits and pensions, and health care for nearly 1 million UK nationals living on the continent.

Reports

January 2019

Doing More with Less: A New Toolkit for Integration Policy

Across Europe, policymakers responsible for immigrant integration are dealing with a rapidly evolving set of challenges—from the diversification of new arrivals and changing European labor markets to rising anti-immigrant sentiment and tight budgets. This report explores promising strategies from other policy areas that could be used to develop, fund, evaluate, and make the case for investing in integration.

Reports

January 2019

Sustainable Reintegration: Strategies to Support Migrants Returning to Mexico and Central America

Reception and reintegration programs for deported and other returning migrants represent a long-term investment for migrant-origin and destination countries, holding the potential to reduce re-migration and permit communities of origin to benefit from the skills migrants learn abroad. This report offers recommendations to make reintegration programs more effective in Mexico and Central America.

Articles

December 21, 2018

As Venezuelan Crisis Deepens, South America Braces for More Arrivals and Indefinite Stays

With an estimated 3 million people having fled the failing Venezuelan state, and predictions another 2 million could join them in 2019, the capacity of South American neighbors to welcome the arrivals became increasingly stretched in 2018. While the region has largely maintained generous reception policies, there were signs during the year that its tolerance was being tested.

Reports

December 2018

Promoting Refugee Integration in Challenging Times: The Potential of Two-Generation Strategies

At a time when the U.S. refugee resettlement system is facing unprecedented challenges, innovative and cost-effective tools for supporting refugee integration are in demand. This report explores how a two-generation approach to service provision could help all members of refugee families—from young children to working-age adults and the elderly—find their footing.

Articles

December 11, 2018

Threat of Hard Brexit Looms as Exit Date Nears

With the United Kingdom’s scheduled March 2019 departure from the European Union around the corner and approval of an exit deal by the UK Parliament in deep disarray, the future for approximately 5 million EU nationals living in the United Kingdom and Britons resident in the EU-27 remained unresolved. This article examines the citizens' rights issues that have arisen and what Brexit, hard or otherwise, might bring.

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