Scientists, Managers, and Tourists: The Changing Shape of European Migration to the United States

In Scientists, Managers, and Tourists: The Changing Shape of European Migration to the United States (Download EuropeanMigration[1]), Migration Policy Institute (MPI) Policy Analyst Madeleine Sumption and Xiaochu Hu detail the characteristics of European immigrants in the United States, and find that immigrants from European Union Member States represent about 10 percent of all permanent immigrants in the country, down from 90 percent in the mid-19th century. Of those immigrants, the lion’s share earn better wages, are more highly educated, are strongly represented as scientists, professionals, businesspeople, and have greater English proficiency than other immigrant groups. They also tend to be older and are more likely to be naturalized citizens than others. Migration flows from European Union Member States have mostly maintained a low profile, in part because of their relatively discrete number and high-end nature. However, the Visa Waiver Program — a visa-free travel program primarily assisting Europeans — has figured more prominently in the immigration policy debate with the advent of tighter border security measures. At the same time, policies to facilitate labor mobility across the Atlantic and other areas of potential cooperation have perhaps received less attention than they deserve.

KJ