International Program

Commentaries

March 2024

As Europe and the United States Face Similar Migration Challenges, Spain Can Act as a Bridge

Image of female worker at the Boqueria market in Barcelona making a crepe

Marcel Crozet/ILO

Spain and the United States both receive their greatest number of immigrants from Latin America, and have worked collaboratively together on displacement crises and other migration issues. As shared immigration challenges dominate debate on both sides of the Atlantic, Spain can serve as a vital bridge in the policy conversation, this commentary notes.

Policy Briefs

March 2024

Lessons from COVID-19: Managing Borders in the Next Global Public-Health Crisis

Volunteer hands out food to migrant workers returning to their hometowns in Vietnam

IOM/Red Cross Vietnam

The COVID-19 pandemic both shocked the global mobility system and reaffirmed the centrality and resiliency of human mobility. Four years on, public and political attention to COVID-19’s unprecedented consequences for cross-border movement has waned. Yet if countries are to manage mobility more effectively in future public-health crises, this is an important moment for reflection and learning, as this issue brief explores.

Reports

February 2024

Leaving No One Behind: Inclusive Fintech for Remittances

A woman in Nigeria smiles while using her mobile phone

iStock.com/Wirestock

Remittances are a vital lifeline for migrants’ families around the world and an important source of revenue for many low- and middle-income countries, especially in times of crisis. As more people turn to digital financial technologies for these money transfers, this shift holds the potential to shake up the rigid remittance industry and boost development benefits. But it also brings new challenges, as this report explores.

Policy Briefs

February 2024

The Mobility Key: Realizing the Potential of Refugee Travel Documents

Three refugee students at airport security check

Travel documents are critical facilitators of mobility. But for refugees, who cannot safely use a passport issued by their origin country, the lack of a usable travel document can shut them out of work, study, or other opportunities beyond their first country of asylum. This policy brief examines alternative documents that can facilitate refugees’ movement, key barriers to acquiring them, and strategies for overcoming these challenges.

Reports

January 2024

Expanding Protection Options? Flexible Approaches to Status for Displaced Syrians, Venezuelans, and Ukrainians

Ukrainian adults and children arrive at a train station in Hungary

IOM/Muse Mohammed

The massive and rapid displacement of Syrians, Venezuelans, and Ukrainians presented neighboring countries with an impossible task: providing legal status and assistance, even though their asylum systems lacked the capacity to handle such a large influx. This report examines the costs and benefits of the flexible approaches taken to providing status in these three cases, identifying lessons for future crises.

Policy Briefs

December 2023

Consolidating Gains: Lessons and Priorities for Promoting Fair and Ethical Recruitment

A migrant worker cuts through a metal rod at a construction site in Qatar

Apex Image/ILO

With more people moving abroad for work and events such as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar highlighting the risks migrant workers can face, questions about how international recruitment occurs have received increased scrutiny. This policy brief explores the notable progress that has been made in establishing fair and ethical recruitment standards, and identifies key areas for future attention by governments, employers, and recruiters.

A Haitian child looks over his mother's shoulder in Panama

Commentaries

Addressing the Next Displacement Crisis in the Making in the Americas

The next major displacement of people in the Americas is in the making, and it is going unnoticed. The response to the steady emigration from Haiti seen since a devastating 2010 earthquake has been largely haphazard and may not stand the test of new spikes as the country unravels further. This commentary suggests a way forward, based on a model used for the Venezuelan displacement crisis.

Image of passport page with variety of stamps

Articles

Top Statistics on Global Migration and Migrants

Looking for some of the most often-sought information on global migration? This statistics-rich article draws on the most current data sources to offer a primer on international migration, highlighting its types, the size of the migrant population and growth over time, and major sending and receiving countries and regions. Beyond looking at labor and humanitarian migrants and international students, the article examines remittances and more.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs November 2021 Invertir en alternativas a la migración irregular desde Centroamérica: Opciones para expandir las vías de empleo en Estados Unidos By Cristobal Ramón	Policy Briefs November 2021 Investing in Alternatives to Irregular Migration from Central America: Options to Expand U.S. Employment Pathways By Cristobal Ramón
Multimedia October 27, 2021 Climate Change and Environmental Migration: View from the IOM	Multimedia October 14, 2021 Bienvenida a los Migrantes Venezolanos, Innovaciones en las Políticas de Integración en Colombia
Articles October 22, 2021 The Resettlement Gap: A Record Number of Global Refugees, but Few Are Resettled By Benedicta Solf and Katherine Rehberg	Reports October 2021 How We Talk about Migration: The Link between Migration Narratives, Policy, and Power By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Haim Malka and Shelly Culbertson
Commentaries October 2021 As the United States Lifts Travel Restrictions, Its New Vaccination Requirements Could Shape the Future of Global Mobility By Meghan Benton	Multimedia October 13, 2021 Making Migration Policy in an Ever More Complex World

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Reports February 2016 Emigration from Portugal: Old Wine in New Bottles? By David Justino	Reports February 2016 Emigration Trends and Policies in China: Movement of the Wealthy and Highly Skilled By Biao Xiang
Reports February 2016 Reaching a “Fair Deal” on Talent: Emigration, Circulation, and Human Capital in Countries of Origin By Kate Hooper and Madeleine Sumption	Reports February 2016 Getting the Balance Right: Strengthening Asylum Reception Capacity at National and EU Levels By Michael Kegels
Reports December 2015 The Changing Face of Emigration: Harnessing the Potential of the New Greek Diaspora By Jennifer Cavounidis	Policy Briefs December 2015 Shortage Amid Surplus: Emigration and Human Capital Development in the Philippines By Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza
Reports December 2015 Welcoming Engagement: How Private Sponsorship Can Strengthen Refugee Resettlement in the European Union By Judith Kumin	Reports December 2015 Stopping the Revolving Door: Reception and Reintegration Services for Central American Deportees By Victoria Rietig and Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas

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Feature

June 20, 2019

Digital Litter: The Downside of Using Technology to Help Refugees

Several years after a flurry of tech innovations arose to respond to the 2015-16 European migration crisis and assist asylum seekers, "digital litter"—now-dormant websites, broken links, and poor-quality information spread through apps and social media—is floating around. At best, digital litter is a nuisance. At worst, it can place refugees and migrants in harm's way and undermine their decision-making, as this article explores.

Profile

June 6, 2019

Migration and Integration in Czechia: Policy Advances and the Hand Brake of Populism

Since regaining its independence in 1989, the Czech Republic has transformed from a country of emigration to one of rising immigration, amid growing labor market needs. Even as Czechia received few asylum seekers during the 2015-16 European migration crisis, the country has taken a harder line on immigration, and public opinion and political stances have grown more negative towards immigrants and refugees.

Feature

February 21, 2019

A Fragile Situation: Will the Syrian Refugee Swell Push Lebanon Over the Edge?

Lebanon is home to more refugees per capita than any other country. The arrival of approximately 1 million refugees from neighboring Syria has created tensions not only with the native population, but also with long-established Palestinian refugee communities in Lebanon. A lack of integration and resources, plus a complex domestic context, suggest further hardship may lie ahead for recent and earlier-arrived refugees alike.

Feature

February 6, 2019

On the Move in a War Zone: Mixed Migration Flows to and through Yemen

War and impending famine in Yemen have captured significant attention. Yet often overlooked is the country’s role as the epicenter of one of the world’s busiest mixed migration routes, linking Africa, Asia, and Europe. This article examines the migration pathways to and through the country, push and pull factors, and the impact of civil war on human movement.

Registration of Nigerian migrants for voluntary return

Feature

January 10, 2019

An “Informal” Turn in the European Union’s Migrant Returns Policy towards Sub-Saharan Africa

The European Union's focus on formal readmission agreements with migrant-origin countries to manage the return of irregular migrants and failed asylum seekers has given way since 2016 to informal arrangements. This article explores the potential effect that nonbinding readmission pacts could have on migrant returns to sub-Saharan Africa, where return rates from EU Member States have been low.

Pages

Video, Audio

March 24, 2020

Migration & Coronavirus: A Complicated Nexus Between Migration Management and Public Health

This webinar, organized by MPI and the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility at The New School, discussed migration policy responses around the globe in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and examined where migration management and enforcement tools may be useful and where they may be ill-suited to advancing public health goals.

Video, Audio

February 11, 2020

¿Se Están Cerrando las Puertas? Respuestas a la Migración Venezolana en América Latina y el Caribe

MPI llevó a cabo un seminario para marcar el lanzamiento de: Un portal sobre Migración en América Latina y el Caribe y un informe que examina los efectos de las políticas migratorias y de integración en 11 países en América Latina y el Caribe ante el aumento de la migración venezolana y nicaragüense.

IOM MuseMohammed Venezuelan refugees and migrants cross the Puente Internacional Simon Bolivar

Video, Audio

February 11, 2020

Is the Door Closing? Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan Migration

This webinar marked the launch of a Latin American and Caribbean Migration Portal, and a report examining migration and integration policy responses towards massive Venezuelan displacement.

EVENT PHOTO 2019.10.29 Latin American Response to Venuzuealan and Nicaraguan Migration Crises

Video, Audio

October 29, 2019

Respuestas latinoamericanas a las crisis migratorias venezolanas y nicaragüenses

Responsables de políticos principales y partes interesadas de América Latina, así como representantes de instituciones internacionales claves, ofrecen sus puntos de vista sobre los desafíos futuros mientras gobiernos latinoamericanos buscan establecer las estrategias para responder a flujos migratorios forzados a gran escala, como los de Venezuela y Nicaragua.

Video, Audio

October 29, 2019

Latin American Responses to the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration Crises

Leading policymakers and key stakeholders from Latin America, as well as representatives of major international institutions, offer their views on the challenges ahead as Latin American governments seek to chart strategies for responding to large-scale forced migration flows, such as those from Venezuela and Nicaragua. Spanish and English versions of the remarks are available.

Recent Activity

Articles

November 2, 2022

Living in Limbo: Displaced Ukrainians in Poland

Poland hosts millions of Ukrainians who fled Russia’s invasion. While the new arrivals have tended to have been greeted warmly, many have questions about the future. As the months pass, many displaced Ukrainians wonder when and if they will return to their native country. This article, based on interviews with dozens of displaced Ukrainians in Poland, examines their experiences.

Commentaries

October 2022

Why Financing Responses to Climate Migration Remains a Challenge

Despite years of alarmist discourse that climate change will lead to hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people moving to the Global North, funding the scale of efforts needed to address climate migration remains a persistent challenge. This commentary examines the gaps between climate donors and migration actors and offers recommendations to begin to break the silos.

Reports

October 2022

Rebooting the Asylum System? The Role of Digital Tools in International Protection

There has been a flurry of digital activity in the asylum field since the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily halted protection operations, and it has led officials to rethink how everything from registration to case adjudication happens. But what does this increasing use of technology mean for the people and processes involved? This report explores this question, as well as the challenges of balancing technology’s potential benefits with measures to mitigate its risks.

Articles

October 19, 2022

Spain’s Decentralized Immigration System Allows Local Integration Policies to Lead the Way

Spain has an unconventional immigration system. The national government is primarily responsible for border control, granting legal status to migrants, and other issues, but integration is mostly handled by regional and local governments, allowing for some pioneering policies at the subnational level. This article explores what this system has meant for Catalonia and its capital, Barcelona, which have been considered to be a model throughout Europe.

Articles

October 5, 2022

Rollback of 'Golden Passports' Shows Their Elusive Shine

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 ushered in renewed scrutiny of citizenship by investment programs, which allow wealthy Russian investors and others to become citizens of foreign countries. Some nations are now re-evaluating these "golden passport" schemes, which they developed to boost their economies. This article discusses the history of these programs and their evolution, why they have become controversial, and the main beneficiaries.

Articles

September 22, 2022

Romanian Migration to Spain: Explaining an Unexpected Migrant Flow

Romanians comprise the second largest immigrant community in Spain. This population grew at a dramatic rate during the early 2000s, driven by a variety of economic, policy, and other factors. The number of Romanian immigrants peaked in 2012 and has steadily declined ever since. This article analyzes the drivers behind the growth and relative decline of this population and its role in the Spanish labor force.

Articles

September 8, 2022

Disinformation on Migration: How Lies, Half-Truths, and Mischaracterizations Spread

Disinformation and misinformation about migrants, refugees, and minority groups adapts to the shifting news cycle while also appealing to people’s pre-existing convictions and current worries. Events such as the war in Ukraine act as a catalyst, enabling coordinated groups to grab people’s attention, stoke fears, and in some cases even dictate political discourse. This article traces the long history of conspiracy theories around immigrants and how they spread today.

Articles

August 17, 2022

Rise of X: Governments Eye New Approaches for Trans and Nonbinary Travelers

In 2022, the United States joined a growing list of countries that allow for a third gender option (the “X” marker) in passports. This article examines the introduction of the X marker, the impacts of third gender markers for transgender and nonbinary travelers and migrants as well as border management systems, and the evolving policy landscape ahead.

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