The broken nature of the U.S. immigration system is nearly universally acknowledged, and solutions have proven elusive for administrations and Congress for the past two decades despite multiple attempts to enact legislation. The evidence of dysfunction is apparent everywhere: Lengthy backlogs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, vastly oversubscribed categories for employment visas, growing tensions between Washington and state and local governments over immigration enforcement and policy priorities, poisonous and unresolved debates over what to do with a long-settled unauthorized population, and most recently, chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Even as the United States remains mired in a never-ending debate, its legal immigration system resting on the pillars of 1965 and 1990 laws, other major immigrant-destination countries have created more flexible, modern immigration systems. What changes can meet U.S. economic and security interests and respond to the current system’s failings, while also embodying U.S. values and democratic principles?

To answer these questions, the Migration Policy Institute is launching a major new initiative—Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy—that will generate a big-picture, evidence-driven vision of the role immigration can and should play in America’s future in order to leverage a comparative advantage for the nation. This multi-year initiative will analyze evidence and design reforms—both administrative and legislative—needed to address current failings in critical policy areas, including employment based-immigration, humanitarian programs, and immigration enforcement. 

Historically, immigration legislation has only succeeded through across-the-aisle cooperation and consensus-building. But in an era characterized by deepening polarization and mistrust, is a centrist solution possible? This initiative is animated by a commitment to re-energizing that bipartisan tradition and reclaiming the center to generate feasible solutions. Please join us as we launch this initiative with a discussion with high-profile voices from both political parties.