Immigration

Immigration FAQ

Immigration is among the most important economic and political issues and a main topic of discourse and debate among policymakers and the public. But misperceptions persist about many fundamental aspects of this crucial topic.

This FAQ addresses essential background and facts, as well as frequently asked questions, with short answers that include relevant data and extensive citations to key sources.

Facts and FAQ

Immigrants and the economy

In this section we answer the questions: How many immigrants reside in the United States? What are the immigration statuses that immigrants have? What is the makeup of the U.S. immigrant population in terms of race and ethnicity? Go to the FAQ

Facts and FAQ

Unauthorized immigrants and the economy

This section clears up common misconceptions about unauthorized immigrants. Find answers to these questions: How many unauthorized immigrants live and work in the U.S.? Which industries do they work in? How would mass deportations affect the U.S. economy? Go to the FAQ

Facts and FAQ

Immigration enforcement and the workplace

In this section we look at the types of actions that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) takes to enforce immigration laws at workplaces. What happens when DHS raids a workplace? How do raids affect workers and employers? What is E-Verify? Go to the FAQ

More to come!

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A note about terminology

In the first 3 sections of the FAQ, we have mostly used the term “immigrant” in the broad sense in which it is often used in the United States, to mean anyone who is foreign-born.

However, the term “immigrant” in U.S. law has a specific meaning. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security defines an immigrant as “Any person lawfully in the United States who is not a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or person admitted under a nonimmigrant [visa] category as defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 101(a)(15).”

In practical terms, U.S. law defines an immigrant much more narrowly than common usage does as a lawful permanent resident with a green card. According to common usage, someone who is foreign-born and previously held a green card but has become a naturalized U.S. citizen is also an immigrant.

The word “migrant” is a broader term that can encompass anyone who is foreign-born and may have arrived in the United States in any of the other pathways, such as with a temporary visa or without authorization or who is in a quasi-status that provides temporary protection from deportation. But the term “migrant” can also include immigrants in some cases or is sometimes used interchangeably with the term “immigrant.” Ideally, persons who arrive through humanitarian pathways like asylum-seekers, asylees, and refugees should be specified as such, but common usage of the term “migrant” (for example, in news reports) often labels them simply as migrants, especially when their status or method of arrival is unknown.

In sections 4-7 of the FAQ, which focus on the different immigration statuses and pathways, such as green cards, temporary work visas, and different humanitarian protections, we do our best to refer to green card holders as immigrants and people in other temporary statuses as migrants, and to specify the humanitarian pathway or status—such as asylum-seeker or refugee—when applicable.

Acknowledgments

The Immigration FAQ was a collaborative effort among EPI researchers. In addition to the listed coauthors, the first two sections, “Immigrants and the economy” and “Unauthorized immigrants and the economy,” included significant contributions from Ismael Cid-Martinez, Monique Morrissey, and Daniel Perez.