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United States

United States

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Historically a nation of immigrants, the United States is home to nearly 45 million immigrants, who represent 13.7 percent of the total population and play a key role in the economic, civic, and cultural life of the country. The research collected here covers many facets of immigration to the United States, by the numbers and how immigrants fare in the country's classrooms and workplaces, the policies and regulations that shape the admission of new immigrants, the enforcement programs and polices in place at U.S. borders and within the interior, and integration policies and efforts taking place in local communities, in states, and at the federal level.

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Reports

How Immigrants and Their U.S.-Born Children Fit into the Future U.S. Labor Market

The level of education and training expected of workers in the United States has increased considerably in recent decades, and this trend looks set to continue. This report explores the forces driving this change and how the education levels of immigrant-origin and other workers compare to those likely to be needed in the future U.S. workforce, overall and in key occupational groups.

A naturalization ceremony at the White House.
Articles

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

Immigration touches on many facets of life in the United States. Get the facts with this useful resource, which compiles in one place answers to some of the most often-asked questions about immigration and immigrants in the United States now and historically. This article contains essential data on the immigrant population, immigration levels, trends in immigration enforcement, and much more.

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Policy Briefs

A New Way Forward for Employment-Based Immigration: The Bridge Visa

U.S. employment-based visa policies, last updated in 1990, are not aligned with the country’s current and future labor market needs. This policy brief outlines MPI’s proposal for a new visa pathway that could help the United States better leverage immigration to meet its labor market needs, boost protections for both U.S.- and foreign-born workers, and flexibly adapt to future economic and demographic changes.

President Joe Biden signs an executive order.
Articles

Biden at the Three-Year Mark: The Most Active Immigration Presidency Yet Is Mired in Border Crisis Narrative

In three years, President Joe Biden has surpassed the number of immigration-focused executive actions taken by the Trump administration throughout its entire four-year term, making his the most active U.S. presidency ever on immigration. Yet the Biden administration has been repeatedly accused of inaction at the U.S.-Mexico border, where record levels of migrant encounters have occurred. This article reviews the Biden track record on immigration.

Recent Activity

FE TPS July2014 Haiti
Articles
July 2, 2014
Temporary Protected Status in the United States: A Grant of Humanitarian Relief that Is Less than Permanent
By Madeline Messick, Claire Bergeron
UAC Webinar Train UNHCR
Multimedia
June 25, 2014
Unaccompanied Minors: A Crisis with Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions
EventPH 2014.06.24 Detained or Deported
Multimedia
June 24, 2014
Detained or Deported: How Parents in the Immigration Enforcement System Can Protect their Children
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Multimedia
June 18, 2014
Improving the Educational Outcomes of California's Immigrant Youth: A National Imperative
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Reports
June 2014
Critical Choices in Post-Recession California: Investing in the Educational and Career Success of Immigrant Youth
By  Sarah Hooker, Margie McHugh and Michael Fix
PB June2014 CentAm Migrants
Articles
June 13, 2014
Dramatic Surge in the Arrival of Unaccompanied Children Has Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions
By Muzaffar Chishti, Faye Hipsman
UnaccompaniedMinors Commentary June2014 PeterHaden
Commentaries
June 2014
What Is the Right Policy Toward Unaccompanied Children at U.S. Borders?
By  Kathleen Newland
EventPH 2014.5.20 Addressing Barriers to Successful Engagement of Immigrant and Refugee Parents of Young Children
Multimedia
June 2, 2014
Addressing Barriers to Successful Engagement of Immigrant and Refugee Parents of Young Children

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Policy Beat
September 17, 2007
Federal Court Halts Sending of "No-Match" Letters

MPI's Aaron Matteo Terrazas reports on ongoing litigation around immigration enforcement rules, immigration enforcement and the decennial census, new estimates of the unauthorized population, and more.

Feature
September 11, 2007
Unauthorized Youths and Higher Education: The Ongoing Debate

Dawn Konet provides an overview of the arguments for and against granting in-state tuition rates to the unauthorized in the United States, and looks at relevant legislation at the state and federal levels.

Spotlight
August 28, 2007
Foreign-Born Wage and Salary Workers in the U.S. Labor Force and Unions

Of the 15.36 million union members in 2006, 12 percent were foreign born. MPI's Chuncui Velma Fan and Jeanne Batalova examine the data on immigrants and labor unions from 1996 to 2006.

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Policy Beat
August 15, 2007
Alternative Immigration Reforms Follow Failed Legislation
MPI's Aaron Matteo Terrazas reports on the decision to increase enforcement of existing immigration law, the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, employment-based green cards, and more.
Policy Beat
July 16, 2007
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Eludes Senate, Again

MPI's Aaron Matteo Terrazas reports on the death of the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform bill, employment visa suspension, delays to land and sea border entry passport requirements, and more.

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Recent Activity

Articles
October 13, 2022

Mexican Immigrants in the United States

Mexicans are by far the largest immigrant group in the United States, accounting for nearly one-fourth of all immigrants. However their numbers have been declining and in 2021 there were 1 million fewer than a decade ago. At the same time, despite years in which more new migrants came from China and India, Mexicans once again count as the largest group of new arrivals. This article outlines the changing shape and composition of this immigrant population.

Fact Sheets
October 2022

Dual Language Learners: Key Characteristics and Considerations for Early Childhood Programs

How many Dual Language Learner (DLL) children live in your state, and what share do they comprise of all children under age 5? What languages are most commonly spoken in their households? Answers to these and other questions that are critical to the design and implementation of early childhood programs that reach all children equitably are presented in a series of state-level data fact sheets.

Policy Briefs
October 2022

Overlooked but Essential: Language Access in Early Childhood Programs

Dual Language Learners (DLLs)—young children with a parent who speaks a language other than English at home—benefit greatly from early childhood programs, but they also enroll at lower rates than their peers. This policy brief looks at federal and state language access policies that aim to make such programs more accessible to DLLs’ families. It also examines persistent gaps in participation and ways to address them.

Policy Briefs
October 2022

Diverging Pathways: Immigrants’ Legal Status and Access to Postsecondary Credentials

As the United States seeks to adapt to trends such as technological change and aging that are reshaping the labor market, increasing productivity and the number of high-skilled workers will be critical. This issue brief explores the characteristics of the 115 million adults without postsecondary credentials, 21 percent of them immigrant, as well as the prospects for credential acquisition for foreign-born subgroups.

Video, Webinars
September 20, 2022

19th Annual Immigration Law & Policy Conference

Focusing on top immigration policy issues at federal and state levels, this 2022 Immigration Law and Policy Conference featured keynotes by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson exploring the growing role states are taking in the national immigration debate. Multimedia of the day's panel discussions will be posted later.

Articles
September 28, 2022

Busing and Flights of Migrants by GOP Governors Mark a New Twist in State Intervention on Immigration

Operations by Texas, Florida, and Arizona to bus or fly asylum seekers and other migrants to Washington, DC, Martha's Vineyard, and other cities have succeeded in drawing attention to the unprecedented pace of U.S.-Mexico border arrivals. Described by some as political pawns, many migrants say the trips have upsides. Consequences aside, the transport of migrants by Republican governors raises the question whether a new era has begun: state-on-state fights over immigration.

Articles
September 15, 2022

Temporary Visa Holders in the United States

COVID-19 and restrictive policies from the Trump administration led to the most dramatic slowdown of temporary immigration to the United States in years, as fewer tourists, temporary workers, and international students arrived. This article reviews the trends in issuance of nonimmigrant visas and arrivals of temporary visitors, including the numbers issued annually over the past five years and the top countries of origin.

Commentaries
September 2022

The Public-Charge Final Rule Is Far from the Last Word

The Biden administration public-charge final rule undoes deep restrictions imposed during the Trump era, codifying much of the policy in place from 1999 to 2019. Yet confusion and fear over triggering negative immigration consequences will continue to keep many immigrants and their U.S.-born relatives from accessing benefits and services for which they are eligible absent a robust educational campaign, this commentary explains.

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