Immigration Issues

Hispanics are more likely than the general U.S. public to believe in the American dream – that hard work will pay off and that each generation is better off than the one prior.

The number of people living in sub-Saharan Africa who were forced to leave their homes due to conflict reached a new high of 18.4 million in 2017, up sharply from 14.1 million in 2016 – the largest regional increase of forcibly displaced people in the world.

A record 276,500 foreign graduates received work permits under the Optional Practical Training program in the U.S. in 2017, up from 257,100 in 2016.

The U.S. has taken in 3 million of the more than 4 million refugees resettled worldwide since 1980. But in 2017, the U.S. resettled 33,000 refugees, the country’s lowest total since the years following 9/11.

While there has been considerable attention on illegal immigration into the U.S. recently, opinions about legal immigration have undergone a long-term change.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans favor granting permanent legal status to immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally when they were children.

As the U.S. is on track to admit its smallest number of refugees in decades, opinions about whether the U.S. has a responsibility to accept refugees have become more polarized.

Explore the movement of international graduates in the 61 metro areas where at least 5,000 foreign graduates applied and were approved for OPT.

Sortable table that provides details on the 113 U.S. metro areas that had 2,000 or more foreign students approved for the U.S. government's Optional Practical Training (OPT) program from 2004 to 2016.

The federal Optional Practical Training program saw a 400% increase in foreign students graduating and working in STEM fields between 2008 and 2016.