Private prisons: Research, data and controversies
Do private prisons save money? At what cost to inmates and society? We review the research on a host of related policy questions.
immigration
Tip sheets, research roundups, articles and explainers to inform journalistic coverage of immigration issues
Expert Commentary
Sanctuary cities and federal funds: Interpreting Trump’s executive order
Shortly after taking office, President Trump ordered federal funds withheld from so-called “sanctuary cities.” We look at the legal debates and what these communities could lose.
Expert Commentary
Immigrants to the U.S. before WWI made today’s communities richer, better educated
Immigrants to the United States before the First World War made their new communities richer and better educated over the long-term, new research shows.
Expert Commentary
Skilled foreigners with H-1B visas take U.S. jobs, but help reduce prices
Highly skilled foreigners are behind some of America’s most celebrated innovations. A new study suggests they drive down native workers’ wages, but benefit consumers overall.
Expert Commentary
The consequences of bilingual employment policies
A new study suggests the proportion of government employees who were black or white and spoke only English fell after a major U.S. city adopted a bilingual employment policy.
Expert Commentary
Immigrant children: How age of arrival impacts academic, job success
Teenage immigrants have a harder time adjusting to their new country than young children. They attend fewer years of school and earn less money as adults, a new study finds.
Expert Commentary
Food stamp use by Mexican immigrant families: Welfare reform research
Research in Social Science Research indicates poor Mexican immigrant families are far less likely than poor U.S. native families to participate in the federal food stamp program.
Expert Commentary
U.S.-Mexico border enforcement: Has it been effective?
A 2016 study from Princeton, published in The American Journal of Sociology, aims to show that U.S. border enforcement has not been effective in stemming the tide of illegal immigration.
Expert Commentary