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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.

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.

A man in a high-visibility jacket and gloves at work
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.

Inadmissible migrants, some seeking asylum, are processed by CBP officers
Reports

Outmatched: The U.S. Asylum System Faces Record Demands

The U.S. humanitarian protection system, known for its long history of assisting those in need, has come under incredible pressure in recent years. The asylum adjudications system, which is under-resourced, is struggling to keep up with record asylum seeker arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border. This report examines the state of the asylum system, including changes under the Biden administration and potential lessons for other countries.

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

Beyond Teaching English: Supporting High School Completion by Immigrant and Refugee Students
Reports
November 2017
Beyond Teaching English: Supporting High School Completion by Immigrant and Refugee Students
By  Julie Sugarman
Cover_Differing DREAM FS October2017
Fact Sheets
October 2017
Differing DREAMs: Estimating the Unauthorized Populations That Could Benefit under Different Legalization Bills
By  Jeanne Batalova, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Sarah Pierce and Randy Capps
Trump at a rally in Phoenix.
Articles
October 19, 2017
Will White House Immigration Wish List Tank Emerging DREAMer Momentum in Congress?
By Muzaffar Chishti, Jessica Bolter, and Sarah Pierce
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Multimedia
October 12, 2017
Are States Recognizing and Responding to the Needs of Their Dual Language Learner Children?
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Fact Sheets
October 2017
Protecting the DREAM: The Potential Impact of Different Legislative Scenarios for Unauthorized Youth
By  Jeanne Batalova, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Michelle Mittelstadt
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Multimedia
September 25, 2017
14th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference
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Fact Sheets
October 2017
Dual Language Learners: A National Demographic and Policy Profile
By  Maki Park, Anna O’Toole and Caitlin Katsiaficas
BurmeseFamilyAtlanta Evelyn Hockstein IRC
Commentaries
September 2017
The U.S. Falls Behind as Others Take on New Leadership Amid Record Humanitarian Pressures
By  Kathleen Newland

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Top Ten
December 1, 2012
Obama Administration Action Benefitting DREAMers a Game-Changer in U.S. Immigration Debate

The Obama administration in 2012 sidestepped the legislative gridlock that has existed in Washington for more than a decade over immigration policymaking and reframed the debate in a significant way with the launch of a program that provides a two-year reprieve from deportation for eligible unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.

Spotlight
November 28, 2012
Temporary Admissions of Nonimmigrants to the United States

There were more than 53 million nonimmigrant (temporary) admissions to the United States in 2011. MPI's Qingqing Ji and Jeanne Batalova outline the definition of nonimmigrants and take a detailed look at admissions data and data limitations in this spotlight.

Policy Beat
November 21, 2012
U.S. Election Realigns Stars for Immigration Reform, But Significant Hurdles Remain

MPI's Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron report on the prospects for immigration reform in the 113th Congress, delays in the creation of a racial profiling statistical monitoring tool for Secure Communities, an increase in Mexican asylum seekers, and more.

Spotlight
October 24, 2012
Green Card Holders and Legal Immigration to the United States

In 2011, more than 1 million people were granted lawful permanent resident status in the United States. Nearly two-thirds of new LPRs were immigrants with family ties in the United States, report MPI's Joseph Russell and Jeanne Batalova in this updated look at the latest statistics on legal immigration.

Policy Beat
October 16, 2012
Same-Sex Partners Steadily Gain Recognition in Immigration Benefits

The Obama administration has announced a new policy recognizing same-sex relationships in immigration matters – the latest of several such developments since 2011. This article explores the expansion in same-sex couple recognition; it also reports on the STEM visa bill's fate, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's position on deferred action, Taiwan's inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program, and more.

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Recent Activity

Reports
November 2017

Beyond Teaching English: Supporting High School Completion by Immigrant and Refugee Students

Immigrant and refugee students who arrive in the United States during their secondary school years face daunting hurdles as they seek to juggle learning a new language and culture while also trying to quickly close knowledge gaps and get on track to pass the coursework required to graduate high school. This report explores effective program models and services developed by school districts to support newcomer students.

Fact Sheets
October 2017

Differing DREAMs: Estimating the Unauthorized Populations That Could Benefit under Different Legalization Bills

2017 saw the introduction of several bills—two of them by Senate Republicans in the weeks following the Trump administration’s announcement that it would terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program—that would provide a pathway to conditional and then legal permanent residence to unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children, if they meet a range of edu

Articles
October 19, 2017

Will White House Immigration Wish List Tank Emerging DREAMer Momentum in Congress?

The Trump administration has released a list of hardline immigration demands—including border wall funding, restrictions on federal grants to “sanctuary” cities, and cuts to legal immigration—in exchange for legislation protecting DREAMers. This article examines the prospects for these proposals and more broadly for a legislative fix to resolve the status of unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children.

Video, Audio, Webinars
October 12, 2017

Are States Recognizing and Responding to the Needs of Their Dual Language Learner Children?

Dual Language Learners (DLLs) now make up nearly one-third of all children ages 8 and under in the United States, and on this webinar, MPI analysts outline key findings from a national demographic and policy profile and series of state fact sheets highlighting characteristics of the growing DLL population and the policy context they encounter in state early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems. Panelist discuss the implications for the ECEC programs and systems that seek to provide equitable access and quality for DLLs, and highlight California's response to the growing population of DLLs in the ECEC system. 

Fact Sheets
October 2017

Protecting the DREAM: The Potential Impact of Different Legislative Scenarios for Unauthorized Youth

With the Trump administration having announced the end of the DACA program, Congress is facing growing calls to protect unauthorized immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. This fact sheet examines DREAM Act bills introduced in Congress as of mid-2017, offering estimates of who might earn conditional legal status—and ultimately legal permanent residence—based on educational, professional, and other requirements in the legislation.

Video, Audio
September 25, 2017

14th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

In a year when immigration has been prominent in the headlines, the 14th annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference provides timely policy and legal analysis, with expert discussion covering the shifting immigration policy priorities under a new administration, including changes in immigration enforcement, border enforcement, refugee resettlement, the treatment of unaccompanied minors and their families, Temporary Protected Status, and DACA, along with the responses from the judicial and congressional branches, various stakeholders, and state and local governments. 

Fact Sheets
October 2017

Dual Language Learners: A National Demographic and Policy Profile

As the share of U.S. children under age 8 who are Dual Language Learners (DLLs) increases, state policies have an important role to play in ensuring all young learners are able to get their education off to a good start. These fact sheets compare key characteristics of DLLs and their peers nationwide and in 30 states, and identify state policies that support equitable access to high-quality early childhood education and care programs.

Commentaries
September 2017

The U.S. Falls Behind as Others Take on New Leadership Amid Record Humanitarian Pressures

The Trump administration’s decision to set the refugee ceiling at 45,000 for fiscal 2018 marks the lowest level since the refugee resettlement program was created in 1980. At a time of record humanitarian pressures, with more than 22.5 million refugees worldwide, the United States appears to be abandoning its leadership role and other traditional resettlement countries are shouldering a bigger load, as this commentary explores.

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