E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
Border Enforcement

Border Enforcement

Border enforcement is more than its widely perceived role of border guards patrolling external boundaries and inspectors admitting traffic through ports of entry. While those are key components, border enforcement represents a more holistic function, integrating resources and information at and between all ports of entry—whether air, land, or sea—with consular operations abroad and more. The research presented here examines these varied facets.

Recent Activity

An image of an immigration boarding line.
Articles
March 17, 2022
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
By Cecilia Esterline and Jeanne Batalova
Cover image for Challenge of Coordinating Border Management Assistance between Europe & the Maghreb
Reports
March 2022
The Challenge of Coordinating Border Management Assistance between Europe and the Maghreb
By  Matt Herbert
A construction crew works on a wall the U.S.-Mexico border.
Articles
March 2, 2022
The World Is Witnessing a Rapid Proliferation of Border Walls
By Élisabeth Vallet
A U.S. government supercomputer.
Articles
February 2, 2022
The Increasing Use of Artificial Intelligence in Border Zones Prompts Privacy Questions
By Hannah Tyler
Cover image for Four Years of Profound Change: Immigration Policy during the Trump Presidency
Reports
February 2022
Four Years of Profound Change: Immigration Policy during the Trump Presidency
By  Jessica Bolter, Emma Israel and Sarah Pierce
Multimedia
January 19, 2022
Biden at One: Assessing the Administration’s Immigration Record
Photo of U.S. President Joe Biden delivering remarks in front of White House.
Articles
January 19, 2022
Biden at the One-Year Mark: A Greater Change in Direction on Immigration Than Is Recognized
By Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter
A Dutch family at Ellis Island between 1915 and 1920.
Articles
January 6, 2022
Immigration Has Been a Defining, Often Contentious, Element Throughout U.S. History
By Jessica Bolter

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Fact Sheets
August 2013
Side-by-Side Comparison of 2013 Senate Immigration Bill with Individual 2013 House Bills
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
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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
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
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Fact Sheets
March 2013
Key Immigration Laws and Policy Developments Since 1986
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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
Cover_RMSG BorderInsecurity
Reports
November 2012
Border Insecurity in Central America's Northern Triangle
By  Ralph Espach and Daniel Haering

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks at a political event in Arizona.
Policy Beat
June 29, 2021
Texas Once Again Tests the Boundaries of State Authority in Immigration Enforcement

Texas seems set to become chief antagonist to President Joe Biden’s immigration agenda. This article explores Governor Greg Abbott's plans to build new barriers along the border, use state and local law enforcement to carry out arrests of unauthorized immigrants, and strip licensing from federally contracted shelters housing unaccompanied children.

A boy walks through a coastal village in Honduras.
Feature
June 10, 2021
Intersecting Crises: Pandemic and Hurricanes Add to Political Instability Driving Migration from Honduras

A disproportionate number of Central American migrants traveling through Mexico to the United States come from Honduras, driven by government corruption, impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, and hurricanes that have devastated communities and livelihoods. This article examine the multiple factors behind migration from the country, drawing from interviews with migrants en route.

Returned migrants participate in development work in Burkina Faso.
Feature
May 6, 2021
Europe’s Tackling of ‘Root Causes’ of African Migration Has a Mixed Record

The European Union has tried to leverage development assistance to address root causes of migration from Africa, including poverty, instability, and conflict. The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, unveiled in 2015, has supported more than 250 programs totaling nearly 5 billion euros across 26 countries, but has had only partial success addressing the underlying drivers of migration, as this article explains.

President Joe Biden speaks to journalists at the White House.
Policy Beat
April 26, 2021
Border Challenges Dominate, But Biden’s First 100 Days Mark Notable Under-the-Radar Immigration Accomplishments

During his first 100 days in office, U.S. President Joe Biden took more than three times as many executive actions on immigration as predecessor Donald Trump. While rising encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border have captured major attention, Biden has been remarkably active in areas that have received far less attention, including interior enforcement. This article explores the administration's actions during its first three months.

Migrants arrive in Greece on a crowded boat from Turkey.
Feature
April 8, 2021
The EU-Turkey Deal, Five Years On: A Frayed and Controversial but Enduring Blueprint

The European Union’s landmark 2016 migration deal with Turkey offered aid and other benefits in exchange for Turkey's assistance in helping reduce arrivals of asylum seekers and other migrants. At its fifth anniversary, the EU-Turkey deal remains one criticized by human-rights advocates and has met frustration from Turkey, but in many ways created a blueprint for other externalization arrangements, as this article outlines.

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EVENT PH 2016.7.7 BREXIT WEBINAR
Audio
July 14, 2016

Beyond Brexit: The Policy and Political Lessons for Immigration-Anxious Countries

The UK vote to exit the European Union has given new momentum to euroskeptic, anti-immigration movements elsewhere. Experts discuss the political and policy lessons that can be learned from Brexit and applied to debates in Europe and North America, including how to address public anxiety over immigration and identity while managing migration in a globalized economy.

Event PH 2016.5.25 BREXIT WEBINAR
Video, Audio
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.

Event PH 2016.2.17 Demetri at Europe Migration Crisis
Video, Audio
February 17, 2016

Europe’s Migration Crisis: A Status Report and the Way Forward

MPI's Demetrios Papademetriou discusses the current policy responses to the refugee and migration crisis at EU and national levels, and possible options for dealing more effectively with the crisis and longer-term integration challenges.

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Webinars
December 11, 2015

Reception and Reintegration Services in Central America: Ending the Deportee Revolving Door

A webinar releasing a report examining deportations to Central America and reception and reintegration services in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

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Video, Audio
October 29, 2015

12th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

This annual discussion offered political and policy analysis on key immigration topics, including family detention, unaccompanied child migrants, executive action, and the presidential campaigns, along with featured keynotes by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres.  

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Recent Activity

Articles
May 31, 2023

Global Spending on Immigration Enforcement Is Higher than Ever and Rising

Budgets for border security and interior immigration enforcement have been on the rise in places including the United States and the European Union. The spending is a result of the heightened focus on securitization by the Global North and has led to a ballooning private industry. This article explains the trend.

Articles
May 25, 2023

U.S. Border Asylum Policy Enters New Territory Post-Title 42

The United States entered a new era with the end of the pandemic-era Title 42 expulsions policy. The government’s hopes of maintaining order at the U.S.-Mexico border post-Title 42 may be complicated by factors including authorities’ limited capacity, ongoing litigation, and cooperation from other countries. This article reviews the Biden administration's changing border policies and possible challenges ahead.

Expert Q&A, Audio
May 18, 2023

The U.S.-Mexico Border Becomes More High-Tech

MPI President Andrew Selee and two colleagues who joined him at the U.S.-Mexico border to examine increasingly sophisticated U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations discuss the evolution of policies and procedures to address asylum seekers and other migrants arriving at official ports of entry.

Articles
May 18, 2023

Tense Neighbors, Algeria and Morocco Have Divergent Migration Histories

Algeria and Morocco sit along a crucial migration corridor between Africa and Europe and have often been defined by their rivalry. Although both have been reluctant to welcome large numbers of sub-Saharan African migrants, their motivations have been different. And historically, their approaches to emigration have been a study in contrasts. This article explores the factors driving migration policy in these two countries.

Articles
May 10, 2023

Central American Immigrants in the United States

Central Americans comprise less than one-tenth of the overall U.S. foreign-born population, but their numbers have grown tenfold since 1980, amid economic challenges, political crises, and natural disasters in their region. This article provides a comprehensive look at this population.

Commentaries
May 2023

Regional Processing Centers: Can This Key Component of the Post-Title 42 U.S. Strategy Work?

Amid a potentially dramatic rethink in the U.S. approach to management of migration from the Western Hemisphere, the creation of Regional Processing Centers (now known as Safe Mobility Offices, or SMOs) across Latin America will be central to the post-Title 42 strategy, as this commentary explains.

Commentaries
April 2023

A Post-Title 42 Vision for Migration Management Comes into Focus

Facing a dramatically different reality arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border with the end of a pandemic-era policy that resulted in more than 3 million expulsions, the Biden administration unveiled a policy vision that marries expanded legal pathways with stiff consequences for those seeking to enter without authorization. The strategy can succeed, but speedier while still fair border asylum decisionmaking must be an essential component, this commentary argues.

Articles
April 27, 2023

Roxham Road Meets a Dead End? U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement Is Revised

The revised U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement closes what critics call a loophole that incentivizes unauthorized border crossings of asylum seekers. While responding to Canadian concerns of increasing irregular arrivals from the United States, the change—taken in tandem with U.S. moves at the U.S.-Mexico border—suggests that the Biden administration increasingly wants to rely on neighboring countries to respond to rising asylum claims.

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