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.

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Multimedia September 5, 2018 Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration	Policy Briefs September 2018 Reimagining Skilled Migration Partnerships to Support Development By Kate Hooper
Fact Sheets August 2018 English Learners in Select States: Demographics, Outcomes, and State Accountability Policies By Julie Sugarman and Courtney Geary	Articles August 29, 2018 El Salvador: Civil War, Natural Disasters, and Gang Violence Drive Migration By Cecilia Menjívar and Andrea Gómez Cervantes
Commentaries August 2018 Through the Back Door: Remaking the Immigration System via the Expected “Public-Charge” Rule By Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and Mark Greenberg	Policy Briefs August 2018 Deciding Which Road to Take: Insights into How Migrants and Refugees in Greece Plan Onward Movement By Katie Kuschminder
Articles August 22, 2018 Once Relatively Obscure, ICE Becomes a Lightning Rod in Immigration Debate By Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter	Articles August 15, 2018 Connecting Across Nationalities: Inter-Ethnic Relationships in a Kuwaiti Workplace By Batul K. Sadliwala

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Reports October 2009 The Politics of Immigration, and the (Limited) Case for New Optimism: Perspectives from a Political Pollster By Jeremy D. Rosner	Reports October 2009 German Public Opinion on Immigration and Integration By Oya S. Abali
Reports October 2009 Immigrating from Facts to Values: Political Rhetoric in the U.S. Immigration Debate By Drew Westen	Reports October 2009 The Evolution of German Media Coverage of Migration By Gualtiero Zambonini
Reports October 2009 Political Rhetoric in the Netherlands: Reframing Crises in the Media By Maarten Hajer and Wytske Versteeg	Reports October 2009 Future Immigration Patterns and Policies in the United Kingdom By Will Somerville
Reports October 2009 The Future of Migration and Integration Policy in Germany By Rita Süssmuth	Reports October 2009 Memo to President Obama Regarding Immigration Policy By Frank Sharry

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Feature

June 13, 2012

Visas for Entrepreneurs: How Countries Are Seeking Out Immigrant Job Creators

For economic and political reasons, more governments are turning to visas to admit select groups of highly skilled immigrants (especially in high-tech and high-growth fields) to their countries to boost entrepreneurship and enhance job creation. A look at the challenges, opportunities, and increasing popularity of these entrepreneur visa programs.

Feature

May 9, 2012

Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States and Europe: The Use of Legalization/Regularization as a Policy Tool

Immigrant legalizations in the United States and Europe ("regularizations" in the EU context) have been used repeatedly for broad and discrete groups of immigrants. A look at how these programs have been implemented historically and the political and policy implications they face today.

Feature

January 4, 2012

Living In Between: The Chinese in South Africa

The past decade has brought tens of thousands of Chinese migrants to Africa, and well over half of all Chinese migrants to the continent head to South Africa. Yoon Jung Park of Rhodes University discusses the history of Chinese migration to South Africa, the various communities of Chinese currently residing in the country, and their levels of political, social, and economic integration.

Feature

November 1, 2010

Hazleton and Beyond: Why Communities Try to Restrict Immigration

Nearly 200 localities in the United States have seriously considered policies intended to restrict immigration or its impact. Kevin O'Neil of Princeton University analyzes the types of laws local governments pursue and the reasons they take action.

Feature

April 29, 2010

Arrested on Entry: Operation Streamline and the Prosecution of Immigration Crimes

Those caught trying to enter the United States illegally in portions of five Southwest border sectors face criminal prosecution under Operation Streamline, which the Department of Homeland Security launched in 2005. MPI's Donald Kerwin and Kristen McCabe examine how Operation Streamline works, highlight trends in the prosecution of immigration offenses, and evaluate the program's outcomes.

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Video

September 5, 2018

Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration

A book discussion with author and veteran journalist Alfredo Corchado, MPI President Andrew Selee, and other experts on the nature of U.S.-Mexico immigration and the role of Mexican immigrants in the United States.

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.

Fact Sheets

August 2018

English Learners in Select States: Demographics, Outcomes, and State Accountability Policies

States are in the midst of designing new policies to hold schools accountable for the education of English Learner (EL) students, as mandated by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This series of fact sheets sketches the characteristics of immigrant and EL students in 25 states, the gaps between their educational outcomes and those of their peers, and the accountability policies each state is developing.

Articles

August 29, 2018

El Salvador: Civil War, Natural Disasters, and Gang Violence Drive Migration

El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America yet the most densely populated. A stagnant economy, high levels of crime and violence, and natural disasters have pushed growing numbers of people to migrate without authorization or seek asylum abroad, mostly in the United States. This article explores historical and contemporary emigration from El Salvador.

Commentaries

August 2018

Through the Back Door: Remaking the Immigration System via the Expected “Public-Charge” Rule

A Trump administration “public-charge” rule expected to be unveiled soon could create the potential to significantly reshape family-based legal immigration to the United States—and reduce arrivals from Asia, Latin America, and Africa—by imposing a de facto financial test that 40 percent of the U.S. born themselves would fail, as this commentary explains.

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 22, 2018

Once Relatively Obscure, ICE Becomes a Lightning Rod in Immigration Debate

With the #AbolishICE movement catching fire among some on the left, critics of the Trump administration's immigration policies have seized on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as their main target—even condemning it for actions taken by other agencies. This article explores the evolution of ICE and resistance to it, as well as actions taken by the agency itself that have made its mission even more controversial.

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.

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