E.g., 04/16/2024
E.g., 04/16/2024
International Program

International Program

Border Security
Immigrant Profiles & Demographics
Employment & the Economy
Illegal Immigration & Interior Enforcement
Immigration Policy & Law
International Governance
Pause
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.

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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.

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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.

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Policy Briefs
February 2024

The Mobility Key: Realizing the Potential of Refugee Travel Documents

Three refugee students at airport security check
© UNHCR/Alessandro Penso

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

flickr Credit 2010CIAT NeilPalmer
Multimedia
June 29, 2020
Climate Change and Migration: Converging Issues, Diverging Funding
Flickr IOM Arrival of Returnees from Khartoum 7201505076_4a40649469_c
Multimedia
June 25, 2020
Rethinking and Restarting: What Should the Returns Process Look Like Post-Pandemic?
Flickr UNMEER IOM Mobile Clinic 16369812974_e6abb8a783_c
Multimedia
June 15, 2020
Migrants in Africa & COVID-19: From Emergency Measures to Inclusive Social Protection Systems
flickr Pompeo and Mexican Foreign Secretary 48339070726_fce1d4d7d7_c (1)
Multimedia
June 8, 2020
Beyond the Border: U.S.-Mexican Migration Accord Has Ushered in Sweeping Change in Mexico in Its First Year
A gathering in Tel Aviv for asylum seeker rights
Articles
June 5, 2020
A Warm Welcome for Some: Israel Embraces Immigration of Jewish Diaspora, Sharply Restricts Labor Migrants and Asylum Seekers
By Rebeca Raijman
Coverthumb OneYearAfterUS MexAgreement ES
Policy Briefs
June 2020
Un año después del Acuerdo Estados Unidos-México: La transformación de las políticas migratorias mexicanas
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Coverthumb OneYearAfterUS MexAgreement EN
Policy Briefs
June 2020
One Year after the U.S.-Mexico Agreement: Reshaping Mexico’s Migration Policies
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Source Panda ClimateChange Bishnu Sarangi Pixabay
Articles
May 22, 2020
Climate Change, Displacement, and Managed Retreat in Coastal India
By Architesh Panda

Pages

Cover NationalIdentity book[1]
Books
November 2012
Rethinking National Identity in the Age of Migration
Cover_RMSG BorderInsecurity
Reports
November 2012
Border Insecurity in Central America's Northern Triangle
By  Ralph Espach and Daniel Haering
Cover_RMSG transnationalCrime
Reports
November 2012
Transnational Crime in Mexico and Central America: Its Evolution and Role in International Migration
By  Steven Dudley
Cover_RMSG AlbaCastillo
Reports
October 2012
New Approaches to Migration Management in Mexico and Central America
By  Francisco Alba and Manuel Ángel Castillo
cover_rmsg_centam_development
Reports
August 2012
Central American Development: Two Decades of Progress and Challenges for the Future
By  Hugo Beteta
cover_rmsg_mexico_underperformance
Reports
August 2012
Understanding Mexico's Economic Underperformance
By  Gordon H. Hanson
cover_canadianexceptionalism
Reports
July 2012
Understanding 'Canadian Exceptionalism' in Immigration and Pluralism Policy
By  Irene Bloemraad
cover_tcm_correa
Reports
July 2012
Contested Ground: Immigration in the United States
By  Michael Jones-Correa

Pages

Feature
July 29, 2010
Time to Temper the Faith: Comparing the Migration and Development Experiences of Mexico and Morocco

With about 10 percent of Moroccan and Mexican citizens living abroad, remittances have become a vital source of income and poverty alleviation for both countries. Hein de Haas and Simona Vezzoli of the International Migration Institute, University of Oxford explore how migration has affected development and ways to reframe the migration-development debate.

Profile
June 30, 2010
Nigeria: Multiple Forms of Mobility in Africa's Demographic Giant

This West African nation deals with a range of migration issues, from massive internal and regional migration to brain drain and a large, well-educated diaspora in the West that its government sees as key to future development. Blessing U. Mberu of the African Population and Health Research Center and Roland Pongou of Brown University take a comprehensive look at migration issues in Africa's most populous country.

Profile
June 16, 2010
Jamaica: From Diverse Beginning to Diaspora in the Developed World

This former British colony in the Caribbean, once a destination for forced and indentured labor from across the globe, has experienced large emigration flows of both skilled and unskilled workers and their families to the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada over the last half century. As Alex Glennie and Laura Chappell of the Institute for Public Policy Research explain, the Jamaican government has a number of strategies to limit brain drain and to encourage return.

Profile
February 25, 2010
Mexico: A Crucial Crossroads

The recent recession has affected Mexicans in the United States, new flows northward, and remittances to Mexico. Francisco Alba of El Colegio de México examines the latest trends as well as Mexican government policies toward the diaspora, Mexico's role as a transit country, and immigrants and refugee and asylees in Mexico.

Top Ten
December 1, 2009
The World Is Talking about Climate Change and Migration

Discussions about climate change and migration ramped up in 2009, in large part due to a number of conferences and reports surrounding the highly anticipated United Nations (UN) Climate Change conference in Copenhagen.

Pages

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EventPH2 2014.8.13 Giving Cities and Regions a Greater Voice in Immigration Policy
Video
August 13, 2014

Giving Cities and Regions a Greater Voice in Immigration Policy

MPI researchers and representatives from London and Detroit discuss the policies and strategies used—at national and local levels—to attract immigrants into local economies.
_LampedusaMigrants
Audio
June 18, 2014

Has EU Immigration and Asylum Policy Failed? Can It Ever Succeed?

This MPI Europe telebriefing, releasing the brief "Strengthening Refugee Protection and Meeting Challenges: The European Union’s Next Steps on Asylum," examines Europe's current reality with respect to migration and asylum and assesses the possibilities for future development of EU immigration policy.

EventPH 2014.5.20 Syrians on the Edge The Status of Refugees in Neighboring Countries
Video, Audio
May 20, 2014

Syrians on the Edge: The Status of Refugees in Neighboring Countries

A discussion with findings from an ORSAM report that evaluates the effect of the Syrian refugee crisis on Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq, as well as on the more than 3 million Syrians who have fled their homeland to become refugees in neighboring countries.

EVENTPH 2014.5.8 A Discussion on the Global Forum on Migration and Development Perspectives from Asia and the Pacific2
Audio
May 8, 2014

A Discussion on the Global Forum on Migration and Development: Perspectives from Asia and the Pacific

Offering insights on migration issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region today, this event launches an issue brief that explores Asia-Pacific priorities for the 2014 Global Forum on Migration and Development and examines ways the GMFD can be a results-oriented forum.

EventPH 2014.4.30 Global Forum on Migration and Development placeholder
Audio
April 30, 2014

The 2014 Global Forum on Migration and Development: Setting the Agenda for International Cooperation

A discussion focused the 2014 Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD): its agenda, the policy areas that seem ripe for action, and what impact the discussions will have on the post-2015 development agenda.

Pages

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
June 29, 2020

Climate Change and Migration: Converging Issues, Diverging Funding

This MPI Europe discussion explored different migration policy options related to climate adaptation and the evolving landscape of climate finance tools. Speakers also examined what funding gaps and opportunities exist for collaboration with partner countries and what funding instruments might address the most pressing needs. The conversation also explored the implications of COVID-19 for migration and climate adaptation funding approaches.

Video, Audio, Webinars
June 25, 2020

Rethinking and Restarting: What Should the Returns Process Look Like Post-Pandemic?

This MPI Europe webinar showcases speakers from Belgium's Fedasil, the French Office of Immigration and Integration, and IOM discussing the counselling of (potential) returnees to increase the uptake of voluntary return—a return option that is generally seen as more humanitarian, practical, and less expensive.

Video, Audio, Webinars
June 15, 2020

Migrants in Africa & COVID-19: From Emergency Measures to Inclusive Social Protection Systems

This MPI Europe discussion explores what emergency measures have been deployed by African governments and aid actors in response to COVID-19 to assist migrants in need, along with what the health crisis says about social protection systems, the incentives for inclusionary systems for all, and how to make some of these measures sustainable.

Video, Audio, Webinars
June 8, 2020

Beyond the Border: U.S.-Mexican Migration Accord Has Ushered in Sweeping Change in Mexico in Its First Year

Amid rising Central American migration to the United States, the U.S. and Mexican governments in June 2019 signed a joint declaration pledging to work together to manage and reduce irregular migration. At the agreement’s one-year anniversary, MPI researchers engaged in discussion with former U.S. and Mexican Ambassadors and a veteran journalist about the changes sparked. 

Articles
June 5, 2020

A Warm Welcome for Some: Israel Embraces Immigration of Jewish Diaspora, Sharply Restricts Labor Migrants and Asylum Seekers

Israel has a remarkably open immigration system for anyone who can prove Jewish ethnicity. But as this country profile explores, migration is extremely difficult for non-Jews, including asylum seekers. This article describes immigration flows under the Law of Return and examines labor migration and the rise in asylum seekers, reviewing the main challenges that have emerged within the last three decades.

 

Policy Briefs
June 2020

Un año después del Acuerdo Estados Unidos-México: La transformación de las políticas migratorias mexicanas

El acuerdo de cooperación migratoria firmado por los gobiernos de México y Estados Unidos en junio de 2019 marcó el comienzo de un intenso período de cambio en las políticas mexicanas, con efectos en su frontera compartida. Un año después, el informe examina cambios en los sistemas de control migratorio y protección humanitaria de México. También explora cómo la pandemia del COVID-19 ha afectado la frontera y destaca oportunidades para el desarrollo de políticas en el futuro.

Policy Briefs
June 2020

One Year after the U.S.-Mexico Agreement: Reshaping Mexico’s Migration Policies

The migration cooperation agreement signed by the Mexican and U.S. governments in June 2019 ushered in an intense period of policy change in Mexico, with effects at their shared border. One year on, this brief takes stock of changes in Mexico’s immigration enforcement and asylum systems. It also explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the border and highlights opportunities for future policy development.
Articles
May 22, 2020

Climate Change, Displacement, and Managed Retreat in Coastal India

Coastal communities in India are confronting the effects of sea-level rise, erosion, flooding, and cyclones. This article examines displacement and migration from Odisha, the Sundarbans delta, and Majuli island in the state of Assam, examining national and state responses and the principles that could inform the design of policies to address displacement due to climate-related hazards.

Pages