1. International Migration: Trends, Issues and Future Prospects
Aaron Terrazas
Policy Analyst – Migration Policy Institute
Monday, June 27, 2011
University of Chicago, Center for International Studies

2. About the Migration Policy Institute
The Global Context
Focus on the United States
Issues and Future Prospects

3. The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank in Washington, DC dedicated to the analysis of the movement of people worldwide.
MPI is guided by the philosophy that international migration needs active and intelligent management. When such policies are in place and are responsibly administered, they bring benefits to immigrants and their families, communities of origin and destination, and sending and receiving countries.

4. MPI’s policy research and analysis proceeds from four central propositions:
Fair, smart, transparent and rights-based immigration and refugee polices can promote social cohesion, economic vitality, and national security.
Given the opportunity, immigrants become net contributors and create new social and economic assets.
Sound immigration and integration policies result from balanced analysis, solid data, and the engagement of a spectrum of stakeholders.
National policymaking benefits from international comparative research.

5. US Immigration Policy
Transatlantic Council on Migration
Regional Migration Study Group
National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy
Migrants, Migration, and Development
International Diaspora Engagement Alliance
Refugee Protection
Labor Markets Working Group
National and International Data Hub

6. Online Resources MPI Website: www.migrationpolicy.org
Migration Information Source:
Migration Data Hub:
International Diaspora Engagement Alliance:

7. About the Migration Policy Institute
The Global Context
Focus on the United States
Issues and Future Prospects

8. Origins and destinations of international migrants, circa 2000 (View 1)
Source: United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report 2009.

9. Origins and destinations of international migrants, circa 2000 (View 2)
Sources: United Nations Population Division, The World Bank, The New York Times.

10. Origins and destinations of international migrants, circa 2000 (View 3)
Sources: United Nations Population Division, The World Bank, WorldMapper.

11. South-South Migration is Greater than South-North Migration in Three Regions
Sources: Dilip Ratha and William Shaw, South-South Migration and Remittances (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007).

12. Emigration rate by level of human development
Contrary to popular perception, the poorest of the poor typically do not migrate
Emigration rate by level of human development
(e.g., D.R. of Congo to Cote d’Ivoire)
(e.g., Myanmar to Gabon)
(e.g., Cuba to Bahrain)
(e.g., Barbados to Lichtenstein)
Note: The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite measure of individual wellbeing in a country that takes into consideration life expectancy, adult literacy rates, education enrollment, and per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Source: United Nations Development Program (UNDP) calculations based on data from “Global Migrant Origin Database (Version 4),” Development Research Center on Migration, Globalization and Poverty, University of Sussex.

13. US share of world migrant stock
About one-fifth of the world’s international migrants reside in the United States*
US share of world migrant stock
Note: *Share of total excluding the Former Soviet Union.
Source: United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs, Population Division, Estimates of World Migrant Stock 2008.

14. Global Remittance Flows
Source: United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report 2009.

15. Total Remittances

16. Remittances as a share of GDP

17. About the Migration Policy Institute
The Global Context
Focus on the United States
Issues and Future Prospects

18. Issues: Immigrants in the US
Population growth
Changing origins
Geographic dispersion
Labor market impacts
Generational shift

19. The number and share of immigrants in the United States has grown since 1970
40 million
(2010)
38 million
(2008)
13%
(2010)
14.8%
12.5%
(2008)
4.7%

20. How big is 40 million? Immigrants in the US 40 million Canada
Virginia
7.9 million
France
62.6 million
California
36.9 million
Texas
24.8 million
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009; World Bank, World Development Indicators.

21. Immigrant Stock:
Source: MPI analysis of the Monthly Basic Current Population Survey, 3-month moving average.

22. Major immigration laws
Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882
Immigration and Naturalization Act, 1924
Alien Registration Act, 1940
Immigration and Nationality Act, 1965
Immigration Reform and Control Act, 1986
Immigration Act, 1990

23. Children of immigrants...
Immigrants are ...
1 in 8 US residents
1 in 2 new workers in 1990s
Children of immigrants...
23% of all children in US
30% of all low-income children
84% are US citizens

24. Legal status of the foreign born
Unauthorized immigrants
(11.1 million) 28%
Legal temporary
migrants
(1.4 million) 4%
Legal permanent
residents (LPRs)
(12.4 million) 31%
Naturalized citizens
(14.6 million) 37%
39.4 million* foreign born in March 2009
* Includes estimate of undercounted immigrants
Source: Passel, Jeffery S., and D’Vera Cohn US Unauthorized Immigration Flows Are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center.

25. The top countries of origin of recent immigrants are in Latin America and Asia
1960
2008
Source: US Census Bureau, 1960 Census; 2008 American Community Survey.

26. Over the past decade, immigration has evolved from a “5-state” to a national story

27. A third of adult immigrants lack a high school education
Source: MPI calculations from 2008 American Community Survey.

28. Highly Skilled Immigrants
in US Workforce,*
1 in 4 doctors
2 in 5 medical scientists
1 in 3 computer software engineers
1 in 5 computer programmers
1 in 5 postsecondary teachers
are immigrants
Notes: *Refers to persons in the civilian labor force, ages 25 and older.
Source: American Community Survey (pooled ).

29. Key Industries Men Women
Construction, extraction, and transportation (25.9%)
Services (17.4%)
Manufacturing, installation, and repair (14.6%)
Management, business, and finance (10.7%)
Services (25.7%)
Administrative support (14.7%)
Sales (10.5%)
Management, business, and finance (10.4%)

30. Immigrant and Native Employment over the Recession and Recovery
Source: MPI analysis of the Monthly Basic Current Population Survey, 3-month moving average.

31. Involuntary part-time work is on the rise among immigrants…
…And wages have fallen, in contrast to natives.
Source: MPI analysis of the Monthly Basic Current Population Survey, 3-month moving average.

32. Children with immigrant parents: USA
(millions)
Source: Migration Policy Institute analysis of data from the 1990 and 2000 US Censuses and from the 2008 American Community Survey

33. Share of children with immigrant parents
Source: Migration Policy Institute analysis of data from the 1990 and 2000 US Censuses and from the 2008 American Community Survey

34. Citizenship and civic engagement
K-12 and post-secondary education
Adult English acquisition and workforce development
Poverty and public benefits
Healthcare access and treatment
State and local immigration regulation

35. About the Migration Policy Institute
The Global Context
Focus on the United States
Issues and Future Prospects

36. Motivating Issues Stagnant low-wage labor market
Prospect of a long, slow recovery; possible shift in structural unemployment
Changing labor force behavior of native born
Shifting drivers of global economic growth
Demographic change and human capital investments in Mexico and Central America
If the US economy adds about 208,000 jobs per month, the average monthly rate for the best year of job creation in the 2000s, it will take until November 2022 to close the current job gap; even under unrealistically optimistic scenarios, the US economy will not achieve prerecession employment levels until early 2016

37. Questions? Thank you. Aaron Terrazas, Policy Analyst