CONTROLLER IMMIGRATION RESOURCES & CITY RESPONSE

Resources - National Immigration Law Center

Explore NILC’s resources. Check out expert-curated guides, toolkits, policy briefs, and more addressing key issues impacting immigrant communities.

Hunkering Down: Immigration Enforcement’s Economic Cost | Great Cities Institute | University of Illinois Chicago

Hunkering Down: The Hidden Economic Cost of Federal Immigration Enforcement in Cook County, IL examines how heightened federal immigration enforcement beginning in January 2025 affected travel and commercial activity across Cook County. The report finds that residents of neighborhoods with relatively high shares of Latin America–born residents substantially reduced trips to retail stores and restaurants in other parts of Cook County after enforcement intensified. These “cross-community” trips had been a routine part of the county’s economy before January 2025, connecting immigrant communities with businesses and commercial corridors throughout the region.

Unauthorized Immigration Effects on Local Labor Markets

The large increase and subsequent decline of unauthorized immigrant workers in recent years have raised questions about the impact of these changes on local labor markets across the United States. New analysis linking immigration data with employment data for specific areas suggests that the rapid rise in unauthorized immigrant worker flows increased local employment roughly one-for-one. Extending the analysis to the industry level further suggests that the slowdown of net immigration had a large negative impact on local employment, particularly for construction and manufacturing.

Immigration Enforcement in Los Angeles Under the Second Trump Administration – Deportation Data Project

We rely on our online visual tools to create this report, which means that you can click on any one of the figures and adjust time periods, breakouts, and other aspects to dig into the data in more detail. You can also swap out the Los Angeles ICE area of responsibility for another region to reproduce these figures for your own area of interest.

Community Alert: Immigration Arrests at Airports

This resource provides travel safety tips and other resources for immigrants traveling through U.S. airports.

The Federal Change Map

The Impact Map provides timely data on policy, funding, and workforce changes and their localized effect.

Immigrant Deportations: Trends and Impacts | Econofact

Research on previous episodes of increased immigration enforcement sheds light on the impact deportations can have on labor markets, crime, and civic life.

Immigration Enforcement Dashboard

Interactive dashboards visualizing ICE arrests, detainers, detentions, and removals across the United States.

Mesoamerican Migration Project and Latin American Migration Project

The Mesoamerican Migration Project (MMP) is a continuation and expansion of the Mexican Migration Project which was created in 1982 by an interdisciplinary team of researchers to further our understanding of the complex process of Mexican migration to the United States. The Mesoamerican Migration Project collects and analyzes data on migration from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to the United States.

Deportation Data Project

The Deportation Data Project obtains, posts, and analyzes internal U.S. government immigration enforcement data via public records litigation.

Foreign aid and the ‘root causes’ of migration

Foreign aid is often used to address the root causes of migration as a way to reduce migrant flows. However, the effectiveness of such approaches remains unclear. This column combines individual survey data with data on World Bank projects and on bilateral migration flows to examine how foreign aid influences migration preferences and flows. Results show that aid can temporarily reduce irregular migration but may lead to increased regular migration as conditions improve over time. Policymakers should consider these dynamics when designing migration strategies to balance immediate and long-term effects.

Solidarity Guide for Defending Immigrant Communities

This solidarity guide is designed to help everyone continue to fight back with practical guidance to help protect your immigrant neighbors, your community, and yourself.

Business Immigration & Work Visa Services | Jobbatical

End-to-end work visas, permits, renewals & compliance for HR teams across 45+ countries. Trusted by 1,000+ companies for 17,000+ relocations. Get a quote.

Toolkit: Lost in the US immigration detention system — Freedom for Immigrants

Below are some scenarios where your friend or loved one might be depending on how they interacted with immigration enforcement: