Meghan Benton
Meghan Benton is Director of the Global Program at MPI, with responsibility for the strategic direction of the Global Program and its flagship Transatlantic Council on Migration, the Latin America and Caribbean Initiative, the Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative, and other international work. She is also on the board of MPI Europe.
Dr. Benton regularly advises governments across key immigration destinations, and is working to expand MPI’s global reach and depth of knowledge of regional mobility systems. Her expertise spans a range of areas including labor mobility, immigrant integration, border management, and humanitarian protection. She has a particular interest in how digital technology is reshaping immigration and asylum systems, and in how innovations can lay the groundwork for a more managed, predictable migration system. In 2016, she co-founded MPI Europe’s Integration Futures Working Group, which seeks to develop a forward-looking agenda for integration policy in Europe. She also co-convenes the Transatlantic Council on Migration.
She previously was a Senior Researcher at Nesta, the United Kingdom’s innovation body, where she led projects on digital government and the future of local public services. Prior to joining Nesta, she was a Policy Analyst at MPI from 2012 to 2015, where she co-led an MPI-International Labor Organization six-country project on pathways to skilled work for newly arrived immigrants in Europe. She also worked on Project UPSTREAM, a four-country project on mainstreaming immigrant integration in the European Union. Previously, she worked for the Constitution Unit at University College London and the Institute for Public Policy Research.
Dr. Benton received her PhD in political science from University College London in 2010, where her PhD research focused on citizenship and the rights of noncitizens. She also holds a master’s degree in legal and political theory (with distinction) from University College London, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and literature from Warwick University.
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Explore Content by Meghan Benton
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A New Prime Minister, a New Deal: Time for an ambitious UK–EU pact on small boats
The arrival of a new UK Prime Minister offers a window to strike an ambitious UK-EU deal on Channel crossings, trading increased returns for humanitarian routes from Europe.
Beyond Control Signalling: Designing integration policies for better outcomes and public trust
In many high-income countries, governments are scrambling to prove they are in control of immigration. While some policies signal toughness, they do not necessarily improve outcomes.
Countries Are Pushing Borders Outward to Expand Deterrence and Protection Alike
Externalization—the enlistment of partner countries to manage migration before people arrive or assist with removals and returns—has shifted from the policy fringe into the mainstream. Models range from deterrence to protection.
Why Is Immigration Policy So Hard to Get Right?
Can immigration policy ever balance economic, humanitarian, and social goals in a way that publics find fair and credible?
Humanitarian Protection at a Crossroads: What Future for the Strained Refugee System?
How can a refugee protection system built after World War II adapt to today’s large-scale, mixed migration movements?
Immigration and Democracy: Rebuilding Trust in a Changing Europe
How does immigration shape democratic trust in Europe and elsewhere? This discussion explores research on public attitudes, integration approaches, and the future of institutional confidence.
Mending, Not Ending, the Refugee Convention Could Save the Protection System and Restore Public Trust
The humanitarian protection system created through the 1951 Refugee Convention is a remarkable accomplishment. Yet this legal instrument that has saved millions of lives is showing its age. This short read explores ways to update the Convention, without opening Pandora's box, through a possible new Protocol that could address gaps and help better meet today's challenges.
Small Boats, Big Stakes: Options for a UK-EU deal on migration and asylum
Small boat crossings to the United Kingdom have surged since 2018; a post-Brexit readmissions deal with the EU, paired with managed pathways, could help address them.
Migration Governance in Unsettled Times: How Policymakers Can Plan for Population Change
Aging economies are growing more reliant on immigrants, but populist backlash and short-term firefighting are crowding out long-term, whole-of-government migration planning.
Legal Pathways and Enforcement: What the U.S. Safe Mobility Strategy Can Teach Europe about Migration Management
The Biden administration's ambitious migration management strategy, which combined increased regional cooperation and expanded lawful pathways with a more orderly system for border arrivals, eventually led to a significant drop in irregular migration to the U.S.-Mexico border. The strategy holds promise for governments in Europe also tackling mixed migration flows—however sequencing matters, among other lessons.
