E.g., 06/30/2022
E.g., 06/30/2022
Legalization/Regularization

Legalization/Regularization

_Legalization Regularization

Millions of unauthorized immigrants have been given legal status in Europe and the United States since the mid-1980s through programs and mechanisms variously referred to as legalization or regularization. The policy tool has been used variously to address rising numbers of unauthorized immigrants, regulate underground labor markets, or for humanitarian purposes. Viewed by critics as a spur for more illegal migration, such policies are touted as a humanitarian means of addressing the status of workers and residents living in limbo and of regulating the informal labor market.

Recent Activity

2020 IOM MuseMohammad Border area of Haquillas is home to several Venezuelans
Multimedia
October 27, 2020
Un Diálogo con Miembros de Coalición por Venezuela
coverthumb_brexit pandemic
Policy Briefs
September 2020
Brexit on the Backburner: Citizens’ Rights and the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement in a Pandemic
By  Aliyyah Ahad and Monica Andriescu
coverthumb_venezuelan profile sp
Fact Sheets
August 2020
Un perfil regional de los migrantes y refugiados venezolanos en América Latina y el Caribe
By  Diego Chaves-González and Carlos Echeverría-Estrada
coverthumb_venezuelan profile eng
Fact Sheets
August 2020
Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Regional Profile
By  Diego Chaves-González and Carlos Echeverría-Estrada
Dismantling and Reconstructing the U.S. Immigration System: A Catalog of Changes under the Trump Presidency
Reports
July 2020
Dismantling and Reconstructing the U.S. Immigration System: A Catalog of Changes under the Trump Presidency
By  Sarah Pierce and Jessica Bolter
coverthumb Venezuela Nicaragua Migration2020 ES
Reports
February 2020
Bienvenidas asimétricas: Respuestas de América Latina y el Caribe a la migración venezolana y nicaragüense
By  Andrew Selee and Jessica Bolter
coverthumb Venezuela Nicaragua Migration2020 EN
Reports
February 2020
An Uneven Welcome: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration
By  Andrew Selee and Jessica Bolter
DACA rally in front of Supreme Court
Articles
November 21, 2019
Will Supreme Court Ruling on DACA Finally Force Congress to Break the Ice on Immigration Reform?
By Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter

Pages

cover BadActors TradeOffs
Reports
January 2014
Trade-Offs in Immigration Enforcement
By  Elizabeth Collett and Will Somerville
cover lessons of IRCA
Policy Briefs
January 2014
IRCA in Retrospect: Guideposts for Today’s Immigration Reform
By  Muzaffar Chishti and Charles Kamasaki
Thumb SideXsideSenateHouse
Fact Sheets
August 2013
Side-by-Side Comparison of 2013 Senate Immigration Bill with Individual 2013 House Bills
cover CIR DACA2013
Policy Briefs
August 2013
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals at the One-Year Mark: A Profile of Currently Eligible Youth and Applicants
By  Jeanne Batalova, Sarah Hooker and Randy Capps
RMSG FullSP THUMB
Reports
August 2013
Pensando Regionalmente para Competir Globalmente: Aprovechar la Migración y el Capital Humano en Estados Unidos, México y Centroamérica
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Doris Meissner and Eleanor Sohnen
Cover CIR greencards
Policy Briefs
June 2013
Remaking the U.S. Green Card System: Legal Immigration under the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013
By  Madeleine Sumption and Claire Bergeron
cover CIR_No5 DemProf
Policy Briefs
May 2013
A Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Health Coverage Profile of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States
By  Randy Capps, Michael Fix, Jennifer Van Hook and James D. Bachmeier
cover RSMG final report thumb[1]
Reports
May 2013
Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration & Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Doris Meissner and Eleanor Sohnen

Pages

_Obama3
Top Ten
December 16, 2015
White House Uses Many Levers of Power to Effect Change as Obama and Congress Remain Deadlocked on Immigration

President Obama actively utilized the powers of the executive to reshape U.S. immigration policy in 2015. From signature deportation relief programs and changes to visa waiver eligibility to new grants of Temporary Protected Status and revised enforcement priorities, the administration made sweeping changes that touch all aspects of U.S. immigration policy. The actions prompted pushback, however, with 26 states suing to halt implementation of new deferred action programs.

NoAmnesty KaterKate Flickr cropped
Policy Beat
November 12, 2015
Recent Court Rulings Block Deferred Action Programs and Raise Questions for Accessing Birthright Citizenship

The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to maintain an injunction on President Obama's signature deferred action programs and the timing of the administration's Supreme Court appeal will prove critical amid the 2016 election campaign. This Policy Beat also explores a federal judge's decision not to block a Texas policy refusing to issue birth certificates to the U.S.-born children of unauthorized parents. Should the policy be upheld, it could open the door for further limitations on birthright citizenship.

NicaraguanCoffeePickers IngmarZahorsky Flickr
Feature
August 26, 2015
Business as Usual? Regularizing Foreign Labor in Costa Rica

With the growing urbanization and consolidation of Nicaraguan immigrants in sectors such as construction and domestic service, Costa Rica has shifted its focus from immigration enforcement to integration. Tension has emerged between the government and private sector as a new mechanism for regularizing unauthorized immigrant workers has failed to gain traction.

Youngimmigrantslineupdeportation WBEZ flickr
Policy Beat
June 25, 2015
Quick Resolution of Challenge over Obama Administration Deportation Relief Programs Is Ever Less Likely
As legal challenges continue to impede President Obama's deferred action programs to protect millions of unauthorized immigrants from deportation, it is becoming increasingly clear that the window of opportunity for implementation before the 2016 election is growing ever narrower. Even as advocates continue mobilizing immigrants to apply, attention is shifting to other new policies announced by the president last November.
FundDHSMediaAvail DHS Flickr
Policy Beat
March 13, 2015
All Eyes on U.S. Federal Courts as Deferred Action Programs Halted
Attention is now squarely focused on the U.S. federal courts where the legal battle over President Obama's executive actions on immigration continues. While congressional efforts to roll back the directives appear to have been put aside, at least temporarily, implementation of the signature deferred action programs announced in November 2014 remains blocked. The administration, however, is moving forward with other aspects of the executive order, as this article explores.

Pages

archive >
MI_Pitfalls
Video, Audio
March 19, 2013

Avoiding the Pitfalls on the Road to Reform: Issues that Must Be Addressed to Build an Effective U.S. Immigration System

This discussion covers some of the most difficult issues that must be addressed if the United States is to reform its immigration system in ways that work not only for today’s reality but tomorrow’s future.

MI_FormidableMachinary
Video, Audio
January 7, 2013

Immigration Enforcement in the United States: The Rise of a Formidable Machinery

MPI has released a major study that describes and analyzes today’s immigration enforcement programs, as they have developed and grown in the 25 years since IRCA launched the current enforcement era.

multimedia UpforGrabs
Video, Audio
December 7, 2011

Up for Grabs: The Gains and Prospects of First- and Second-Generation Young Adults

A discussion on the gains that young adult immigrants or the U.S.-born children of immigrants have made in education and employment, with speakers: Michael Fix, Jeanne Batalova, Andrew P. Kelly, Raul Gonzalez, and Margie McHugh.
MI_AssessingLaborMarketEffects
Video, Audio
April 12, 2010

Immigrant Legalization: Assessing Labor Market Effects

Public Policy Institute of California researchers Magnus Lofstrom and Laura Hill discuss their research examining the potential labor market outcomes and other possible economic effects of a legalization program.

IMG_0442
Video
June 24, 2009

6th Annual Immigration Law & Policy Conference

This conference offers law and policy analysis and discussion on cutting-edge immigration issues.

Pages

Recent Activity

Audio, Webinars
October 27, 2020

Un Diálogo con Miembros de Coalición por Venezuela

En dicho diálogo, algunos de los representantes de las organizaciones que conforman la red en Norteamérica, Centroamérica, Sudamérica y el Caribe, comparten la manera como se coordinan, las acciones que se llevan a cabo y las dificultades, retos y desafíos que atraviesan.

Policy Briefs
September 2020

Brexit on the Backburner: Citizens’ Rights and the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement in a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic hit just weeks after the United Kingdom formally left the European Union, delaying plans to implement the withdrawal agreement’s provisions on citizens’ rights. This policy brief assesses the progress countries have made in setting up systems to adjust the status of mobile EU and UK nationals, as well as steps countries can take to make up for lost time.

Fact Sheets
August 2020

Un perfil regional de los migrantes y refugiados venezolanos en América Latina y el Caribe

Los países de América Latina y del Caribe se están enfrentando a un desafío doble. Por un lado, deben manejar un flujo masivo de venezolanos entrando a sus países, mientras que, al mismo tiempo, deben enfocar sus esfuerzos en controlar el virus del COVID-19. Esta ficha técnica presenta un perfil regional de los migrantes y refugiados venezolanos que viajaron a través de 11 países.

Fact Sheets
August 2020

Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Regional Profile

As Latin American and Caribbean countries face a dual challenge—managing large-scale Venezuelan arrivals alongside the COVID-19 pandemic—reliable data on the characteristics of newcomers are essential to policymaking. This MPI-IOM fact sheet offers a profile of refugees and migrants in 11 countries in the region, including their demographics, labor market participation, remittance sending, access to health care, trip details, and intention to return to Venezuela.

Reports
July 2020

Dismantling and Reconstructing the U.S. Immigration System: A Catalog of Changes under the Trump Presidency

Now into its fourth year, the Trump administration has reshaped the U.S. immigration system in ways big and small via presidential proclamations, policy guidance, and regulatory change. This report offers a catalog of the more than 400 administrative changes undertaken in areas such as immigration enforcement, humanitarian admissions, DACA, and visa processing—including a look at measures put in places since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reports
February 2020

Bienvenidas asimétricas: Respuestas de América Latina y el Caribe a la migración venezolana y nicaragüense

El gran desplazamiento forzado de personas en Venezuela y Nicaragua está transformando el panorama migratorio en gran parte de América Latina y el Caribe. Este informe examina las respuestas de las políticas de inmigración e integración de once países, incluyendo vías de regularización y medidas para integrar a los recién llegados en las escuelas y mercados laborales. Este informe acompaña el lanzamiento de un Portal Sobre Migración que ofrece investigación y análisis actualizados sobre tendencias y políticas de inmigración en la región.

Reports
February 2020

An Uneven Welcome: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration

Large-scale displacement from Venezuela and Nicaragua is reshaping the migration landscape in much of Latin America and the Caribbean. This report, accompanied by the launch of a new Migration Portal offering research and analysis on the region, examines the immigration and integration policy responses of 11 countries, including pathways to legal status and measures to integrate newcomers into schools, health-care systems, and labor markets.

Articles
November 21, 2019

Will Supreme Court Ruling on DACA Finally Force Congress to Break the Ice on Immigration Reform?

The fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has ping ponged between all three branches of government. But with the Supreme Court poised to decide DACA's future in spring 2020, Congress may finally be forced to act to resolve the status of DREAMers after nearly two decades of considering various DREAM Act bills. Could this break the long stalemate Congress has had on passing substantive immigration legislation, and pave the way for other actions?

Pages