About Global Migration

In the last year alone:

• In 2024 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained 277, 913 people and in 2025 so far have detained 66,886 people in the U.S.
• In 2024, ICE expelled 271,484 people, and 71,405 people in 2025. 

Source: ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Statistics | ICE

Top countries of origin for new U.S. immigrant as of 2025:

• Mexico- 23% of the immigrant population
• India- 6% of immigrant population
• China- 5% of immigrant population
• Phillipines- 4% of the immigrant population

Source: Migration Policy Institute (2025)

Mexico is welcoming Mexican deportees with open arms with their "Mexico te Abraza" program in every Mexican border city, Juárez included.

• Original Plan, January 28th: México te abraza 
• What measures does the "Mexico Te Abraza" plan include to support its deported or repatriated population? | Alianza Americas

Migrants stuck in the shelters in Juárez are still hopeful and finding new ways to cope with their current realities (e.g. kids going to school, Abara Huellas program open to neighbors to start creating a sense of community, etc.).

On July 15, 2025, representatives Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX) introduced the “Dignity Act” -which is an updated version of a previous version introduced in 2021 (H.R. 4393)- with the goal to reform the current immigration system. This bipartisan bill is the first serious immigration solution introduced in Congress in decades. 

The bill has the following key provisions:

Border Security 

*Enhanced physical barriers at the Southern border; improve the technology used to secure the border.

Interior Enforcement

*Implements nationwide mandatory E-verify; increases the penalties for illegal border crossers; it increases the penalties for child sex trafficking; requires DNA testing for family verification

Asylum

*Ends catch-and-release; build humanitarian campuses near the southern border to process asylum seekers in federal custody; expedites asylum processing (determinations within 60 days); increase the penalties for asylum fraud

Dignity Program

*This program would offer a 7-year temporary legal status for undocumented immigrants that have been 5 years or more (since before 2021).

American Workers and the Economy

*Creates a new $70 billion fund  for training and upskilling American workers, which includes grants for apprenticeships, on the job training and higher education; supports American industries by addressing the labor shortages; ensures having the necessary agricultural workforce to keep grocery stores stocked and food affordable.

Economic Growth and Prosperity

*Reduces backlogs for high-skilled Employment Based (EB) workers visas; allocates funding to Ports of Entry to increase legal commerce and expedite cross-border trade; pays down U.S. debt by at least $50 billion.

Resources/ Additional Resources to learn more about the Dignity Act:

• The Dignity Act Detailed Summary
• The Dignity Act | Representative Maria Salazar
• Read the bill here
• Section by section analysis of the Dignity Act 
• The Dignity Act of 2025: Bill Summary - National Immigration Forum

H.R. 1, known as the “ One Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025.

One of the key provisions on this bill is to allocate an increased amount of funding to border security matters.

It will provide $170.7 billion in additional funding for immigration and border enforcement related activities to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its sub-agencies: ICE, CBP, and DOD.

Resources/Additional Resources:

• One-Big-Beautiful-Bill-Act-Immigration-Provisions.pdf
• What's in the Big Beautiful Bill? Immigration & Border Security Unpacked - American Immigration Council
• H.R. 1: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act – Immigration Provision Summary

As of the end of 2024, the most recent reporting period (UNHCR), 123.2 million people had been forced to flee their homes globally due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order.

Among them were nearly 42.7 million refugees. In addition, there were 73.5 million people displaced within the borders of their own countries (IDPs) and 8.4 million asylum-seekers. 

There are also 4.4 million stateless people, who have been denied a nationality and lack access to basic rights such as education, health care, employment and freedom of movement. (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)

Children account for 29% of the world’s population, but 40% of all forcibly displaced people are children. (UNHCR)

UNHCR estimates that 2.4 million children were born into refugee life between 2018 and 2024, equivalent to some 338,000 children per year. (UNHCR)

There are three commonly attempted solutions to forced displacement—but all have serious limitations:

• Return home – This requires resolution of the conditions that caused displacement. However, most refugee-producing situations last over 26 years, making return impossible for many.
• Integrate into the country of refuge – 86% of refugees are hosted by developing nations that often lack the capacity to provide sustainable integration.
• Resettle in another country – Fewer than 1% of the world’s refugees are resettled each year, due to limited global participation and political will.

Displacement and loss have deeply impacted children across the U.S. and Latin America:

• Along the U.S.–Mexico border, up to 67% of all children who lost a parent or caregiving grandparent identify as Hispanic.
• In states like Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, up to 57% of COVID-19 orphans identify as Black.
• In South Dakota, New Mexico, Montana, Oklahoma, and Arizona, the majority of COVID-19 orphans are Native American.

Stateless people are not recognized as citizens by any country. At least 4.3 million people are officially stateless, though the true number is likely much higher.

Abara describes migration as being driven by conflict, hope, and a future. People often migrate due to:

• Push factors: violence, poverty, persecution, or systemic injustice
• Pull factors: safety, opportunity, or family reunification

Migration is shaped by both personal realities and global systems—including unjust policies, economic interdependence, and misinformation. Few people want to leave their homeland, but many are forced to by circumstances beyond their control.

As described by scholar Sarah Quezada, migration often follows these paths:

• Blood – Family-based immigration
• Sweat – Employment-based immigration
• Tears – Refugee or asylee status
• Chance – Diversity visa lottery

Yes. Undocumented immigrants contribute around $11.74 billion annually in state and local taxes. The loss of undocumented labor would cost the U.S. economy an estimated $5 trillion over a decade.

• 65% of US adults believe that “violence in home country” is a major reason for why large numbers of migrants are seeking to enter at the border with Mexico. - PEW Research Center
• More than any other religious group, white evangelicals believe that the large migrant flow at the Southern border is contributing to more crime in the US (82%). White catholics (70%) and white non-evangelical protestants (69%) are the only other two religious groups in which the majority believe this to be true.  - PEW Research Center
• Only 43% of Americans support increasing facilities for holding immigrants in the country illegally while they await decisions about deportation - PEW Research Center
• 59% of Americans disapprove of ending Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for those who already had it approved -  PEW Research Center
• 61% of Americans disapprove of sending immigrants in the U.S. Illegally to a prison in El Salvador - PEW Research Center
• 78% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents approve of the administration’s approach to immigration, including 51% who strongly approve. Just 12% disapprove. In contrast, 81% of Democrats and Democratic leaners disapprove, with 63% strongly disapproving. Just 9% approve. - PEW Research Center
• Half of Americans say the administration’s approach to deporting immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally is “too careless.” In June of 2025, about four-in-ten (39%) say the administration’s approach has been about right, while 9% say it’s been too careful. PEW Research Center
• As has long been the case, the majority of Americans (65%) say that there should be a way for undocumented immigrants to stay in the country legally, with 36% saying these immigrants should be eligible for citizenship if they meet certain requirements. PEW Research Center
• Today, 41% of Republicans and 89% of Democrats say there should be a way for undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S. legally. In 2017, 61% of Republicans said this, as did 88% of Democrats. PEW Research Center
• The share of Republicans saying there should be a national effort to deport those in the country illegally has grown substantially over the last eight years – 56% say this in 2025, up from 34% in 2017. - PEW Research Center
• A 56% majority of Americans now favor expanding the wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, up from 46% in 2019. PEW Research Center

Top countries of origin for new U.S. immigrants as of 2025:

• Mexico: 23% 
• India: 6%
• China: 5%
• Philippines: 4%

Source: Migration Policy Institute (2025)