Mass Migration Policies

Extracted Attributes

• Definition

  The movement of large groups of people from one geographical area to another, distinct from individual or seasonal migration.

• US 1965 Policy Shift

  Replaced national origins with a preference system for family unity and skilled workers.

• European Regulatory Focus

  Content moderation of speech criticizing migration policies under the OSA and DSA.

• US Historical Quota System

  The 1921 and 1924 acts favored immigrants from Northwestern Europe based on past census figures.

• Economic Impact (US Mass Deportation)

  A 10-year full removal policy is projected to increase primary deficits by $861.8 billion.

Timeline

• Start of the 'Great Wave' of migration to the U.S., with nearly 24 million arrivals through 1920. (Source: Historical Overview of Immigration Policy)

  1900-01-01

• U.S. Congress passes the national-origins quota system to limit immigration. (Source: Historical Overview of Immigration Policy)

  1921-01-01

• Creation of the U.S. Border Patrol within the Bureau of Immigration. (Source: Historical Overview of Immigration Policy)

  1924-01-01

• The U.S. replaces the national origins system with a preference system, shifting immigrant sources to Asia and Latin America. (Source: Historical Overview of Immigration Policy)

  1965-01-01

• Passage of the Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE) Act, a mini-amnesty for certain unauthorized immigrants. (Source: Historical Overview of Immigration Policy)

  2000-01-01

• Proposed commencement of mass deportation policy scenarios analyzed by the Wharton Budget Model. (Source: Mass Deportation of Unauthorized Immigrants: Fiscal and Economic Effects)

  2025-01-01

Mass migration

Mass migration refers to the migration of large groups of people moves from one geographical area to another. Mass migration is distinguished from individual or small-scale migration; and also from seasonal migration, which may occur on a regular basis.

Web Search Results

• Mass Deportation of Unauthorized Immigrants: Fiscal and Economic ...

  Policies: We examine two distinct policy scenarios regarding the deportation of unauthorized immigrants: (i) A 4-year policy where 10 percent of unauthorized immigrants are removed annually over four years (2025 – 2028), with unauthorized immigration returning to baseline levels in 2029; (ii) A 10-year policy where 10 percent of unauthorized immigrants are removed each year for a period of ten years, ultimately removing all unauthorized immigrants and preventing the entry of new unauthorized immigrants thereafter. In both scenarios, immigration laws concerning authorized workers remain unchanged. [...] Population Size Without the mass deportation policies, including those policies in the 2025 OBBBA, Table 1 shows that the population is projected to rise from 337.2 million at the end of 2025 to 379 million by 2054, with the number of unauthorized immigrants projected to increase from 11.5 million in 2025 to 12.3 million in 2054.1 Table 1: Change in Population Sizes under the Deportation Policies (in millions of people) [...] The 10-year policy (Table 3B) extends deportation through 2034, increasing outlays by $561.4 billion over ten years. These new required outlays are in addition to the $170 billion already allocated in the 2025 OBBBA for enhanced border security, interior enforcement, and deportation. With a greater reduction in population compared to the 4-year policy, the loss in revenue grows proportionately to the number of unauthorized immigrants no longer paying taxes. Revenues would decline by $300.4 billion from 2025 to 2034. Primary deficits would increase by more $861.8 billion over the 10-year budget window. With dynamic effects, primary deficits increase to $986.8 billion. Economic Effects Table 4 presents the economic impacts of both deportation policies.

• Historical Overview of Immigration Policy

  ## 1900 to 1950s From 1900 to 1920, nearly 24 million immigrants arrived during what is known as the “Great Wave”. The outbreak of World War I reduced immigration from Europe, but mass immigration resumed upon the war's conclusion, and Congress responded with a new immigration policy: the national-origins quota system passed in 1921 and revised in 1924. Immigration was limited by assigning each nationality a quota based on its representation in past U.S. census figures. This quota favored immigrants from Northwestern Europe in particular. Congress also created the U.S. Border Patrol within the Bureau of Immigration in 1924. [...] ## 1960s In 1965, Congress replaced the national origins system with a preference system designed to unite immigrant families and attract skilled immigrants to the United States. This bill drastically shifted the source countries of immigrants away from Northwestern Europe. The majority of applicants for immigration visas in the following decades started coming from Asia and Latin America rather than Europe. As a result of this legislation, the number of immigrants arriving each year would more than triple from approximately 320,000 in the 1960s to over a million per year by the 21st century. ## 1980s [...] ## 2000s The most recent amnesty, passed in 2000, was the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act (LIFE). The LIFE Act was a mini-amnesty aimed at those illegal aliens who hoped to become green card holders through marriage, employment or other categories, but who were not anywhere near approval yet, due to the long line of people ahead of them. It was sold as a way around the growing processing backlogs that were the result of previous amnesties. During the time of this legislation, from 1994 to 2000, millions of hopeful legal immigrants waited in line overseas.

• Unleashing Power in New Ways: Immigration.. | migrationpolicy.org

  government databases to track down noncitizens, the administration has blown through normative guardrails to make mass deportations a central element of government functions. [...] Hofstetter, Jacob. 2025. Shifting Priorities: How the Official English Executive Order Could Affect Language Access Efforts. Migration Policy Institute (MPI) short read, March 2025. Available online. Hubler, Shawn. 2025. Appeals Court Says Trump Must End Los Angeles Deployment by Monday. The New York Times, December 13, 2025. Available online. Joffe-Block, Jude. 2025. Immigration Agents Have New Technology to Identify and Track People. National Public Radio (NPR), November 8, 2025. Available online. Kang-Brown, Jacob and Brian Nam-Sonenstein. 2025. New ICE Arrest Data Show the Power of State and Local Governments to Curtail Mass Deportations. Prison Policy Initiative, December 11, 2025. Available online. [...] To accomplish the administration’s mass deportation goal, Trump advisor Stephen Miller and other aides dismantled longstanding norms. The White House invoked archaic statutes, enlisted support from state and local law enforcement as well as federal agencies that historically had no immigration enforcement role, and pressured foreign governments to receive deportees. Perhaps most visibly, it militarized immigration enforcement: Scenes of troops and masked federal agents roaming U.S. streets, lobbing tear gas and in some cases violently—and even fatally—subduing individuals, have garnered global attention and profoundly changed how many residents go about their daily lives. Among other changes, some U.S. citizens now feel compelled to carry identification with them at all times.

• The legal and normative framework of international migration

  of all States to lessen barriers to the movements of these factors. Yet, there is growing consensus that a well-regulated and more comprehensive framework for managing international migration would be in the best interest of both States and migrants. There is no inherent conflict between policies that protect State interests and security and those that protect the rights of migrants. In fact, to be sustainable, international migration laws and policies must address a wide range of issues, including but not limited to the following: [...] • Legal channels for migration of persons seeking work opportunities in other countries; • Protection of the rights of migrants and their families, including persons who have been smuggled or trafficked; • Protection of refugees and durable solutions to refugee problems; 4 • Prevention and prosecution of human smuggling and human trafficking operations; and • Return, readmission and reintegration of persons who do not have, or no longer have, authorization to remain in a destination country. A well-regulated system must also provide avenues for international cooperation in managing the flows of people from source, through transit, to destination countries and, often, back to the source country or onto another destination country. 5 INTRODUCTION [...] competent authorities of other States Parties involved in such migration; (c) The provision of appropriate information, particularly to employers, workers and their organizations on policies, laws and regulations relating to migration and employment, on agreements concluded with other States concerning migration and on other relevant matters; (d) The provision of information and appropriate assistance to migrant workers and members of their families regarding requisite authorizations and formalities and arrangements for departure, travel, arrival, stay, remunerated activities, exit and return, as well as on conditions of work and life in the State of employment and on customs, currency, tax and other relevant laws and regulations. Further, although almost all States have some emigration

• Migration Policy Institute | migrationpolicy.org

  U.S. immigration policy, practice, and enforcement changed dramatically over the first year of President Donald Trump's second term, touching most corners of the immigration system. The government has cracked down on unauthorized immigration in the U.S. interior and at the border, expanded scrutiny of immigrants of all legal statuses, and erected barriers for would-be arrivals. This article provides a sweeping overview of the changes that have taken place and assesses their impacts. Read Article iStock.com Short Reads January 2026 # Trump Administration Actions Jeopardize Decades of Progress in Adult Education and Immigrant Integration