E.g., 04/23/2024
E.g., 04/23/2024
Technology & Infrastructure

Technology & Infrastructure

A new border architecture has emerged that seeks to respond effectively to the seemingly competing demands of facilitating mobility while better managing the risks associated with cross-border travel (terrorism, organized crime, and the entry of unwanted migrants). Information and technology are the centerpieces of this new architecture. This research explores the increased collection and sharing of traveler and other data, expanded use of interoperable information databases, and the new border-management technologies and infrastructure used at ports of entry and beyond.

Recent Activity

Cover image for From Jailers to Case Managers: Redesigning the U.S. Immigration Detention System to Be Effective and Fair
Reports
August 2021
From Jailers to Case Managers: Redesigning the U.S. Immigration Detention System to Be Effective and Fair
By  Randy Capps and Doris Meissner
Cover image for Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic
Reports
July 2021
Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic
By  Meghan Benton
President Joe Biden speaks to journalists at the White House.
Articles
April 26, 2021
Border Challenges Dominate, But Biden’s First 100 Days Mark Notable Under-the-Radar Immigration Accomplishments
By Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter
2021.4.8 IOM Muse Mohammed Syrian Refugees Leaving Lebanon Covid
Multimedia
April 8, 2021
A Year of Pandemic: The State of Global Human Mobility & What Is on the Horizon
coverthumb_covid19 global mobility 2020
Reports
April 2021
COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2020
By  Meghan Benton, Jeanne Batalova, Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Timo Schmidt
coverthumb_rethinking regional_esp
Reports
December 2020
Construcción de un nuevo sistema migratorio regional: Redefiniendo la cooperación entre Estados Unidos con México y Centroamérica
By  Andrew Selee and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
coverthumb_rethinking regional migration
Reports
November 2020
Building a New Regional Migration System: Redefining U.S. Cooperation with Mexico and Central America
By  Andrew Selee and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
2020.11.18FLICKRDHSCHADWOLFE2
Multimedia
November 17, 2020
Mission Critical: The Evolution of U.S. Homeland Security in the 21st Century

Pages

coverthumb tcmbenton
Reports
October 2016
Digital Humanitarianism: How Tech Entrepreneurs Are Supporting Refugee Integration
By  Meghan Benton and Alex Glennie
coverthumb bordermetrics
Reports
January 2016
Border Metrics: How to Effectively Measure Border Security and Immigration Control
By  Marc R. Rosenblum and Faye Hipsman
coverthumb ExecAction SCOMM
Reports
July 2015
Understanding the Potential Impact of Executive Action on Immigration Enforcement
By  Marc R. Rosenblum
Cover ManagingBorders
Books
December 2013
Managing Borders in an Increasingly Borderless World
Thumb SideXsideSenateHouse
Fact Sheets
August 2013
Side-by-Side Comparison of 2013 Senate Immigration Bill with Individual 2013 House Bills
Cover CIR2013 SidebySideFramework
Fact Sheets
April 2013
Side-by-Side Comparison of the 2013 Senate Immigration Framework with 2006 and 2007 Senate Legislation
Cover CIR2013Senatebill Side by Side
Fact Sheets
April 2013
Side-by-Side Comparison of 2013 Senate Immigration Bill with 2006 and 2007 Senate Legislation
Cover_Pillars
Reports
January 2013
Immigration Enforcement in the United States: The Rise of a Formidable Machinery
By  Doris Meissner, Donald M. Kerwin, Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron

Pages

TrumpPhoenix GageSkidmore Flickr
Policy Beat
December 1, 2016
Despite Hard-Line Immigration Campaign Pledges, Trump Policy Remains in Flux

Donald Trump has made a series of postelection statements suggesting he may backtrack on several campaign pledges on immigration, including building a wall across the entire U.S.-Mexico border and deporting all 11 million unauthorized immigrants. Still, his choice of top advisors points to a hard-line agenda. This Policy Beat article examines what some of the better known elements of Trump's immigration policy might look like.

BorderWall BBCWorldService Flickr
Feature
October 5, 2016
Borders and Walls: Do Barriers Deter Unauthorized Migration?

Over the past several decades, in response to the uptick in spontaneous migration flows, there has been a surge in construction of border walls and fences. This trend begs several questions: Why now? Did border walls work in the past? Do they work today? This article examines the history of border barriers and assesses how effective they are at deterring unauthorized migration.

_USCapitol3
Policy Beat
January 20, 2016
With Little Debate, Congress Enacts Broad Range of Immigration Changes in Spending Bill

Passed with minimal controversy and public debate, the 2016 spending bill included some of the most substantial immigration policy changes enacted by Congress in the last decade. The changes touched on aspects including temporary worker visas, visa security, and the immigration courts, and could signal a new strategy for legislative change to the immigration system.

KateSteinleImpromptuMemorial ShellyPrevost Flickr
Policy Beat
August 20, 2015
Sanctuary Cities Come Under Scrutiny, As Does Federal-Local Immigration Relationship
The killing of a young woman in San Francisco by an unauthorized immigrant coincided with the Obama administration's rollout of the Priority Enforcement Program, a new vehicle for improving federal-local relations on immigration enforcement. The tragedy has rekindled debate over the role of "sanctuary" cities and propelled illegal immigration to the forefront of the 2016 presidential race.
Cover Top10 5SWborder
Top Ten
December 16, 2014
New Era in Immigration Enforcement at the U.S. Southwest Border

New migration patterns at the U.S. Southwest border, including a shift in border crossers from primarily Mexican men to Central American families, and from the California and Arizona borders to the Rio Grande Valley, have important implications for U.S. border policy and enforcement strategies, raising questions of what consequences might deter unauthorized Central Americans while still meeting international obligations to protect vulnerable migrants.

Pages

archive >
_Airports
Audio
August 26, 2011

Through the Prism of National Security: Major Immigration Policy and Program Changes in the Decade since 9/11

With the ten year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks approaching, the Migration Policy Institute held a conference call to discuss the most significant changes that have occurred in the immigration arena in the decade since the attacks.

testimony DM Mar2011
Video
March 30, 2011

Doris Meissner Testimony Video: Securing the Border

Doris Meissner, Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at MPI, offers her knowledge and expertise regarding border security in this testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

MI_SecuringHumanMobility
Video, Audio
April 22, 2010

Securing Human Mobility in the Age of Risk: New Challenges for Travel, Migration, and Borders

'Securing Human Mobility' book release discussion with Susan Ginsburg, Michael German, Luis Rubio, and Donald M. Kerwin.

multimedia JohnMorton
Video
January 25, 2010

DHS Assistant Secretary John Morton discusses his vision for ICE

During this Leadership Visions address, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary John Morton offered his perspectives on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, its mission, and its future.

Pages

Recent Activity

Articles
June 25, 2020

Mientras Crece el Movimiento para Desfinanciar a la Policía en EUA, el Gasto y las Prácticas de las Autoridades de Inmigración también se Someten a Escrutinio

Los llamados de los activistas a "desbancar a la policía", a raíz de una serie de encuentros mortales para los miembros de la comunidad negra, hacen eco de las demandas anteriores de "abolir el ICE" y reflejar una crítica más amplia de los sistemas de aplicación percibidos como demasiado agresivo.

Articles
June 25, 2020

As #DefundThePolice Movement Gains Steam, Immigration Enforcement Spending and Practices Attract Scrutiny

Calls by activists to "defund the police," in the wake of a string of deadly encounters for Black community members, echo earlier demands to "abolish ICE" and reflect broader criticism of enforcement systems perceived as overly aggressive. Budgets have ballooned at federal immigration agencies and within the immigrant detention system as enforcement has become increasingly muscular in the post-9/11 period.

Commentaries
May 2020

The Rocky Road to a Mobile World after COVID-19

COVID-19 has chilled many forms of human movement, from travel to temporary and permanent migration, refugee resettlement, and returns, among them. While a safe restart of travel is a precondition for a return to economic and societal normalcy, restarting mobility will not be like flicking a switch, particularly amid disagreements over the costs societies can and should absorb in the name of protecting public health, as this commentary explains.

Reports
April 2020

Immigration and U.S. National Security: The State of Play Since 9/11

The U.S. government has made important progress in shoring up weaknesses at the nexus of immigration and national security since September 11, 2001. But as new threats emerge and evolve—including public-health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic—the question is whether the post-9/11 system is up to the task of meeting these challenges, as this report explores.

Video, Audio, Webinars
March 24, 2020

Migration & Coronavirus: A Complicated Nexus Between Migration Management and Public Health

This webinar, organized by MPI and the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility at The New School, discussed migration policy responses around the globe in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and examined where migration management and enforcement tools may be useful and where they may be ill-suited to advancing public health goals. 

Articles
March 11, 2020

As Governments Build Advanced Surveillance Systems to Push Borders Out, Will Travel and Migration Become Unequal for Some Groups?

As governments seek to push their borders out by amassing ever more data on travelers and migrants, their creation of increasingly complex border surveillance systems and use of risk-assessment technologies could ease mobility for some while rendering other groups immobile based on hypothetical risk profiles and decisions that are not publicly known and cannot be challenged, as this article explores.

Articles
October 22, 2019

As More Migrants from Africa and Asia Arrive in Latin America, Governments Seek Orderly and Controlled Pathways

Growing numbers of African and Asian migrants are moving through Latin America, many hoping to reach the United States or Canada after expensive, arduous, and often dangerous journeys that can take months or even years. As more extracontinental migrants transit through South and Central America, Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica have developed the most comprehensive policies to manage these flows, sometimes working in coordination with the U.S. government.

Reports
September 2019

Invertir en el vecindario: Cambios en los patrones de migración entre México y Estados Unidos y oportunidades para una cooperación sostenible

La migración entre México y Estados Unidos ha cambiado dramáticamente en los últimos años, pero las políticas y la retórica política en ambos países no se han actualizado a este contexto a la misma velocidad. Este reporte explora esta nueva realidad migratoria y cómo los dos gobiernos podrían trabajar juntos para abordar los desafíos de políticas públicas que tienen en común.

Pages