Immigration

EPI proposes reforms that would allow the immigration system to respond and adjust to the shifting needs of the U.S. labor market while improving wages and safeguarding labor standards for American and immigrant workers.

The Cost of Deportations Calculator

· August 5, 2026
The Trump administration is spending billions of taxpayer dollars on mass deportations. This new EPI tool asks the question: What could this money be used for instead?

State fact sheets on immigration and the economy

· September 16, 2026

Immigration FAQ

Daniel Costa, Josh Bivens, and Ben Zipperer · April 15, 2025
Upcoming webinar

Mass Deportations: An Anti-Worker Agenda that Harms Everyone

Thursday, October 15 at 1:00 p.m.
Register today →

The Cost of DHS Attacks on Immigrants

· June 25, 2026

Immigrants are not hurting U.S.-born workers: Six facts to set the record straight

Trump attacks on temporary immigration protections like TPS hurt the economy and strip millions of their workplace rights

The farmworker wage gap: Farmworkers earned 40% less than comparable nonagricultural workers in 2022

Programming

H-1B visas and prevailing wage levels: A majority of H-1B employers—including major U.S. tech firms—use the program to pay migrant workers well below market wages

Decorative graphic: A black-and-white line drawing of a Federal seal, representing the agencies and bureaus of the Executive, on a gray background with red horizontal wavy lines

ICE and IRS reach agreement to share taxpayer information of suspected undocumented immigrants

Everything you need to know about H-1B and H-2B visa programs

Decorative graphic:A black-and-white line drawing of the White House on a gray background with red horizontal wavy lines

Trump creates $100K entry fee for H-1B visas, directs DOL and DHS to update H-1B wage and lottery rules

The H-2B visa program has ballooned without being fixed. Expanding it to year-round jobs like meatpacking would lower wages and revenue: A high-road employment strategy that includes green cards would raise wages and spur investment instead

Tech and outsourcing companies continue to exploit the H-1B visa program at a time of mass layoffs: The top 30 H-1B employers hired 34,000 new H-1B workers in 2022 and laid off at least 85,000 workers in 2022 and early 2023

As the H-2B visa program grows, the need for reforms that protect workers is greater than ever: Employers stole $1.8 billion from workers in the industries that employed most H-2B workers over the past two decades

The Biden administration can stop H-1B visas from fueling outsourcing: Half of the top 30 H-1B employers were outsourcing firms in 2021

New evidence of widespread wage theft in the H-1B visa program: Corporate document reveals how tech firms ignore the law and systematically rob migrant workers

The H-1B visa program remains the “outsourcing visa”: More than half of the top 30 H-1B employers were outsourcing firms

Claims of labor shortages in H-2B industries don’t hold up to scrutiny: President Biden should not expand a flawed temporary work visa program

Temporary work visa programs and the need for reform: A briefing on program frameworks, policy issues and fixes, and the impact of COVID-19

Programming

H-1B visas and prevailing wage levels: A majority of H-1B employers—including major U.S. tech firms—use the program to pay migrant workers well below market wages