E.g., 06/07/2026
E.g., 06/07/2026
Collection of MPI Analysis Related to Trump Administration Actions on Immigration

Collection of MPI Analysis Related to Trump Administration Actions on Immigration


(Photo: White House via Facebook)

In his first term, President Trump and his administration proposed and implemented policies on a wide range of immigration issues, touching on everything from asylum to deportation policy, refugee resettlement, and admissions from certain majority-Muslim countries.

During the second Trump administration, this page will feature MPI research and data resources from both terms that offer context to policy changes achieved and proposed, as well as the populations they affect.

 

Second Trump Term

Click through the tabs below to view resources by topic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Trump Term

For a comprehensive record of immigration developments during the first Trump term, check out this resource: Four Years of Profound Change: Immigration Policy during the Trump Presidency.

Click through the tabs below to view resources by topic.

REPORT: Four Years of Profound Change: Immigration Policy during the Trump Presidency

REPORT: Obscure but Powerful: Shaping U.S. Immigration Policy through Attorney General Referral and Review

ARTICLE: The U.S. Presidential Campaign Cements Political Parties’ Deepening Schism on Immigration

ARTICLE: Impending USCIS Furloughs Will Contribute to a Historic Drop in U.S. Immigration Levels

SHORT READ: Millions of U.S. Citizens Could Be Excluded under Trump Plan to Remove Unauthorized Immigrants from Census Data

SHORT READ: USCIS Budget Implosion Owes to Far More than the Pandemic

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

ARTICLE: Crisis in the Courts: Is the Backlogged U.S. Immigration Court System at Its Breaking Point?

REPORT: Eight Key U.S. Immigration Policy Issues: State of Play and Unanswered Questions

ARTICLE: Despite Flurry of Actions, Trump Administration Faces Constraints in Achieving Its Immigration Agenda

ARTICLE: Executive Power Showdown: Congress and White House Quarrel over Immigration Spending

ARTICLE: Sessions: The Trump Administration’s Once-Indispensable Man on Immigration

ARTICLE: Census Citizenship Question Triggers Legal and Political Fallout

SHORT READ: The Trump Immigration Plan: A Lopsided Proposal

REPORT: Trump's First Year on Immigration Policy: Rhetoric vs. Reality

REPORT: In the Age of Trump: Populist Backlash and Progressive Resistance Create Divergent State Immigrant Integration Contexts

ARTICLE: Tens of Thousands in United States Face Uncertain Future, as Temporary Protected Status Deadlines Loom

REPORT: Building a New Regional Migration System: Redefining U.S. Cooperation with Mexico and Central America
(Para leer este reporte en español, haga clic aquí).

POLICY BRIEF: Rethinking the U.S.-Mexico Border Immigration Enforcement System: A Policy Road Map

ARTICLE: Interlocking Set of Trump Administration Policies at the U.S.-Mexico Border Bars Virtually All from Asylum

ARTICLE: Supreme Court Asylum Ruling Latest Sign Judiciary Is Not the Brake on the Trump Administration that Immigration-Rights Activists Sought

REPORT: From Control to Crisis: Changing Trends and Policies Reshaping U.S.-Mexico Border Enforcement

SHORT READ: Strategic Solutions for the United States and Mexico to Manage the Migration Crisis
(Para leer este foco analítico en español, haga clic aquí).

SHORT READ: International Experience Suggests Safe Third-Country Agreement Would Not Solve the U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis

SHORT READ: Policy Solutions to Address Crisis at Border Exist, But Require Will and Staying Power to Execute

ARTICLE: Remain in Mexico Plan Echoes Earlier U.S. Policy to Deter Haitian Migration

ARTICLE: Trump Administration’s Unprecedented Actions on Asylum at the Southern Border Hit Legal Roadblock

SHORT READ: Asylum Reform, Not Troops, Is the Solution to Current Border Reality

ARTICLE: Trump Administration’s New Indefinite Family Detention Policy: Deterrence Not Guaranteed

REPORT: The U.S. Asylum System in Crisis: Charting a Way Forward

SHORT READ: Far from a Retreat, the Trump Administration’s Border Policies Advance its Enforcement Aims

ARTICLE: Family Separation and “Zero-Tolerance” Policies Rolled Out to Stem Unwanted Migrants, But May Face Challenges

ARTICLE: National Guard Heads to Southern Border Amid Differing Reality from Earlier Deployments

POLICY BRIEF: Trump Executive Order and DHS Implementation Memo on Border Enforcement: A Brief Review

ARTICLE: Borders and Walls: Do Barriers Deter Unauthorized Migration?

SHORT READ: Anticipated “Chilling Effects” of the Public-Charge Rule Are Real: Census Data Reflect Steep Decline in Benefits Use by Immigrant Families

ARTICLE: The “Trump Effect” on Legal Immigration Levels: More Perception than Reality?

SHORT READ: Broad and Blunt, the Trump Administration’s H-1B Changes Miss the Opportunity for Real Reform

REPORT: A Rockier Road to U.S. Citizenship? Findings of a Survey on Changing Naturalization Procedures

ARTICLE: The U.S. Stands Alone in Explicitly Basing Coronavirus-Linked Immigration Restrictions on Economic Grounds

ARTICLE: Crisis within a Crisis: Immigration in the United States in a Time of COVID-19

SHORT READ: The Public-Charge Rule: Broad Impacts, But Few Will Be Denied Green Cards Based on Actual Benefits Use

SHORT READ: Health Insurance Test for Green-Card Applicants Could Sharply Cut Future U.S. Legal Immigration

SHORT READ: Millions Will Feel Chilling Effects of U.S. Public-Charge Rule That Is Also Likely to Reshape Legal Immigration

ARTICLE: “Merit-Based” Immigration: Trump Proposal Would Dramatically Revamp Immigrant Selection Criteria, But with Modest Effects on Numbers

POLICY BRIEF: Gauging the Impact of DHS’ Proposed Public-Charge Rule on U.S. Immigration

ARTICLE: Even as Congress Remains on Sidelines, the Trump Administration Slows Legal Immigration

SHORT READ: A Path to Citizenship for 1.8 Million DREAMERs? Despite Talk, No Proposal Would Do So

SHORT READ: Legalization for DREAMers: A Realistic Appraisal of Potential Chain Migration

SHORT READ: The RAISE Act: Dramatic Change to Family Immigration, Less So for the Employment-Based System

SHORT READ: Leaked Draft of Possible Trump Executive Order on Public Benefits Would Spell Chilling Effects for Legal Immigrants