Julia Gelatt

Associate Director, U.s. Immigration Policy Program at Migration Policy Institute

Dr. Gelatt previously worked as a Research Associate at the Urban Institute, where her mixed-methods research focused on state policies toward immigrants; barriers to and facilitators of immigrant families’ access to public benefits and public prekindergarten programs; and identifying youth victims of human trafficking. She was a Research Assistant at MPI before graduate school. Dr. Gelatt earned her PhD in sociology, with a specialization in demography, from Princeton University, where her work focused on the relationship between immigration status and children’s health and well-being. She earned a bachelor of arts in sociology/anthropology from Carleton College. Source

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Articles

The Unauthorized Immigrant Population Expands amid.. | migrationpolicy.org

Feb 2, 2025 | migrationpolicy.org | Jennifer Van Hook |Julia Gelatt |Ariel G. Ruiz Soto

The U.S. unauthorized immigrant population stood at 13.7 million as of mid-2023. The result of strong U.S. economic recovery from the pandemic and displacement in Latin America, the increase in the size of the unauthorized population is accompanied by a diversifying makeup in nationalities. As Mexico's share of the overall unauthorized population has declined, the shares from
The Overlooked Impact of Immigration on the Size o.. | migrationpolicy.org

Nov 4, 2024 | migrationpolicy.org | Jeanne Batalova |Michael Fix |Julia Gelatt

Immigrant-origin individuals have been the driving force behind U.S. demographic growth in the United States over the past two decades. Changing immigration policy could significantly influence how this population helps the country manage its demographic shifts and rising old-age dependency ratio. This short read and accompanying data tool offer first-ever projections of the
Explainer: Immigrants and the U.S. Economy | migrationpolicy.org

Oct 24, 2024 | migrationpolicy.org | Julia Gelatt

The question of whether immigration represents a net cost or a net benefit to the U.S. economy has been a major source of contention, even as the research literature and thinking among economists has been quite clear. A strong body of research and consensus by most economists finds that immigration, on balance, is a net positive for the U.S. economy. This explainer walks
Article: A Century Later, Restrictive 1924 U.S. Im.. | migrationpolicy.org

May 15, 2024 | migrationpolicy.org | Muzaffar Chishti |Julia Gelatt

ARTICLE: The Immigration Act of 1924 shaped the U.S. population over the course of the 20th century, greatly restricting immigration and ensuring that arriving immigrants were mostly from Northern and Western Europe. The century-old law was one of the most restrictive in U.S. history and helped create the framework for key provisions of the U.S. immigration system that remain
Research: A New Way Forward for Employment-Based I.. | migrationpolicy.org

Feb 21, 2024 | migrationpolicy.org | Julia Gelatt |Muzaffar Chishti

RESEARCH: U.S. employment-based visa policies, last updated in 1990, are not aligned with the country’s current and future labor market needs. This policy brief outlines MPI’s proposal for a new visa pathway that could help the United States better leverage immigration to meet its labor market needs, boost protections for both U.S.- and foreign-born workers, and flexibly adapt