With so much conflicting information about immigrants, how do you get to the truth?
The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. launched the Public Education Institute in 2003 to help answer this question. We have commissioned 13 research reports on immigrants as entrepreneurs, workers and consumers, and we continue to develop fact sheets about the contributions of the foreign-born to Massachusetts.
National-level research and customizable datasheets are generated by the Institute for Immigration Research, a joint venture between The ILC and George Mason University launched in 2012.
To make sense of all the information available about immigrants and to identify the credible research from the questionable, we maintain a searchable, online library of Immigration Research and Information drawn from respected research institutions across the United States.
The Institute for Immigration Research (IIR), a joint venture between The Immigrant Learning Center and George Mason University, produces interdisciplinary research on immigrants and immigration to the United States. Projects include Immigrant Nobel Prize Winners, mapping immigrant populations, surveys of high-skilled immigrant professionals, Twitter analyses of the immigration discussion and more. The IIR also offers free customized datasheets through Immigration Data on Demand.
Latest Research: A Profile of Immigrants from Travel Ban-Affected Countries in the United States
The data show that immigrants from the travel ban-affected countries are typically employed, highly educated, have high incomes, are homeowners and make economic contributions to the United States. While the social and economic contributions made by these immigrants did not occur overnight, with time these immigrants overcame challenges to make significant contributions to the United States. All of this suggests that barring future nationals from these countries could have a negative economic and social impact.
Immigration Data on Demand (iDod)
Immigration Data on Demand (iDod) provides information to academics, policy-makers and the public with unbiased and objective research related to immigrants and immigration in the United States. This service is provided free of charge to help individuals and institutions examine the immigrant populations of their particular geography.
Featured Research
from the Immigration Research & Information library
The Effect of Proposed Changes in Federal Public Charge Policy on Latino U.S. Citizen Children in Massachusetts
This paper by the The Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at UMass Boston estimates the number of U.S.-born Latino children that could be potentially affected by proposed Trump Administration changes greatly expanding the scope of the “public charge” test as a basis for denying non-citizens admission to the U.S. or adjustment to lawful permanent resident status. Their estimates show that between 7,000 and 17,000 U.S.-born Latino children could be expected to drop MassHealth coverage in Massachusetts if this proposed policy were to take effect. A drop in coverage of this magnitude could increase the percentage of uninsured U.S.-born Latino children in Massachusetts from 2.6 percent to a figure between 16 and 35 percent.
America is Home: How Individuals, Families, Cities & Countries Benefit by Investing in Citizenship
This report highlights the efforts of the more than 65 participating cities and counties in Cities for Citizenship that are working to increase citizenship among eligible U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents. When someone becomes a U.S. citizen, they are more likely to secure employment and access higher paying jobs, earning eight to 11 percent more than individuals who are eligible to naturalize but haven’t yet done so. In addition to a host of benefits for individuals, naturalization can have important macroeconomic benefits for local communities. These include a growth in spending power, higher GDP and increased tax revenues, all of which can boost local economies.
March 2012
Massachusetts Immigrants by the Numbers, Second Edition: Demographic Characteristics and Economic Footprint
Full Report (PDF)
December 2005
Immigrant Homebuyers in Lawrence and Lowell, Massachusetts: Keys to the Revitalization of Cities
Full Report (PDF)
Entrepreneurship
APRIL 2013
Immigrant Entrepreneurs Creating Jobs and Strengthening the U.S. Economy in Growing Industries: Transportation, Food and Building Services
with a Regional View of Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania and a Focus on the Green Economy
Fast Facts
Full Report (PDF)
November 2010
Massachusetts Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Engines for Economic Growth, Wealth and Job Creation
Full Report (PDF)
December 2005
Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Neighborhood Revitalization: Studies of the Allston Village, East Boston and Fields Corner Neighborhoods in Boston
Full Report (PDF)
Industry Sector Studies
JUNE 2016
Immigrants in Health Care: Keeping Americans Healthy Through Care and Innovation
Full Report (PDF)
June 2010
Impact of Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Workers in Leisure and Hospitality Businesses: Massachusetts and New England
Full Report (PDF)
March 2009
Immigrant Workers in the Massachusetts Health Care Industry: A Report on Status and Future Prospects
Full Report (PDF)