E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
Selection Systems

Selection Systems

Immigration flows are comprised of various streams: economic-based, family reunification, and humanitarian. Immigrant selection systems—for example points systems or employer-led selection—represent means by which countries determine the types and numbers of permanent and temporary workers they seek to bring in legally. The research offered here examines the various immigrant selection systems that have been tried in major immigrant destinations around the world, analyzing their success, failures, and evolutions.

Recent Activity

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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
Commentaries
June 2016
When the Dust Settles: Migration Policy after Brexit
By  Will Somerville
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Commentaries
June 2016
Blue Card Redux: European Commission Plan to Recast Work Permit for Highly Skilled Holds Question Marks
By  Maria Vincenza Desiderio
Reports
June 2016
What’s So Special about Canada? Understanding the Resilience of Immigration and Multiculturalism
By  Daniel Hiebert
Event PH 2016.5.25 BREXIT WEBINAR
Multimedia
May 25, 2016
Will Britain Leave the EU? The Role of Immigration in Brexit
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Articles
March 31, 2016
Syrian Refugees Receive Green Light from U.S. Courts, Mixed Reception from States and Congress
By Muzaffar Chishti, Faye Hipsman, and Isabel Ball
Reports
March 2016
The Canadian Expression of Interest System: A Model to Manage Skilled Migration to the European Union?
By  Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Kate Hooper
Articles
December 14, 2015
Governments Increasingly Restrict Citizenship
By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan

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Recent Activity

Policy Briefs
July 2016

The Immigration Act of 1990: Unfinished Business a Quarter-Century Later

Twenty-five years after enactment of the Immigration Act of 1990, the law remains the framework for the current U.S. legal immigration system. This issue brief examines the legislation, which sought to admit more immigrants based on their skills and education, finding it has only modestly increased the employment-based immigration share. The law also created the diversity visa program and Temporary Protected Status.

Commentaries
June 2016

When the Dust Settles: Migration Policy after Brexit

While the political and economic ramifications of the UK vote to quit the European Union hit with full force within hours, it will take far more time to sort out what Brexit means for migration policy. In the short term, the rights of EU nationals living in Britain are the most pressing, with border-control negotiations and future immigration levels also high on the agenda. Against a backdrop of deep public skepticism, this commentary suggests the next government should underpromise and overdeliver.

Commentaries
June 2016

Blue Card Redux: European Commission Plan to Recast Work Permit for Highly Skilled Holds Question Marks

The European Commission has unveiled a bold plan to revitalize the Blue Card system, which has proven lackluster in attracting highly skilled international talent and has received little uptake from Member States. This commentary examines the proposal and its possible effects, and discusses possible reactions by EU Member States, many of whom are likely to mount resistance to the plan.

Reports
June 2016

What’s So Special about Canada? Understanding the Resilience of Immigration and Multiculturalism

Despite weathering many of the same economic and political challenges that have affected support for immigration in other countries in recent decades—from recession to threats of terrorism—Canada has managed to maintain a consistently positive public consensus around its immigration system. This report explores the evolution of Canada’s apparently unique attitude toward immigration and diversity.

Video, Audio, Webinars
May 25, 2016

Will Britain Leave the EU? The Role of Immigration in Brexit

A discussion on how the politics and migration policies of the British government influenced the decision to hold the "Brexit" referendum, how public attitudes towards immigration might influence the decision whether the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, and how the outcome might impact migration policy in the United Kingdom and European Union more broadly.

Articles
March 31, 2016

Syrian Refugees Receive Green Light from U.S. Courts, Mixed Reception from States and Congress

The Brussels terrorist attacks have renewed national debate in the United States over whether the U.S. refugee admissions program could be a gateway for terrorists to enter the country. Meanwhile, federal courts have frustrated state efforts to block resettlement of Syrian refugees even as some members of Congress have sought to reform the refugee admissions process through new legislation, as this article explores.

Reports
March 2016

The Canadian Expression of Interest System: A Model to Manage Skilled Migration to the European Union?

This report examines Canada's implementation of Express Entry, a system designed to fast-track for legal immigration the skilled immigrants deemed most likely to achieve economic success and positive integration outcomes. With the European Union seeking ways to better attract global talent, the report explores how the expression of interest system could offer mechanisms to improve the management of highly skilled migration.

Articles
December 14, 2015

Governments Increasingly Restrict Citizenship

Citizenship came under fire in new ways around the world in 2015, with attempts to both restrict who is eligible to become a citizen and who can be deprived of citizenship. Driven by fears of international terrorism, a number of countries proposed or passed legislation making it easier to narrow citizenship and broadening the range of offenses for which individuals can be stripped of their citizenship.

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