Transatlantic Council on Migration

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.

Reports

March 2022

The Central Role of Cooperation in Australia’s Immigration Enforcement Strategy

iStock.com/Михаил Руденко

Cooperation with other countries has become a central part of Australian border enforcement. Partnerships with countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia, Nauru, and Papua New Guinea have helped Australia curb irregular maritime migration, but also come at significant costs. This report explores the current and future role of cooperation in Australian immigration enforcement policy.

Reports

March 2022

The Challenge of Coordinating Border Management Assistance between Europe and the Maghreb

Vehicles drive down a road near the Tunisia-Libya border with the sun in the background

IOM/Renato Fogal

To address cross-border challenges, the European Union and its Member States have increasingly partnered with neighboring countries, with those in the Maghreb region of northern Africa playing a particularly important role. This report examines the border security situation in the Maghreb and European efforts to work with Maghrebi partners to strengthen border management. It finds a mismatch in priorities stymies cooperation.

Reports

January 2022

Coming Together or Coming Apart? A New Phase of International Cooperation on Migration

At least 20 flags of different countries fly in the wind outside of two large buildings

Faced with the pandemic and its economic fallout, many countries have looked inward. Yet the nature and scale of the crisis has vividly illustrated the necessity of working across borders to address transnational challenges. This Transatlantic Council on Migration statement examines how the context for international cooperation has shifted since the Global Compact for Migration was adopted, and reflects on a way forward for migration cooperation.

Reports

January 2022

The Winding Road to Marrakech: Lessons from the European Negotiations of the Global Compact for Migration

People walk along the road to the Menara Gardens in Marrakech, Morocco

Eloi_Omella/iStock.com

In the months leading up to the adoption of the Global Compact for Migration in 2018, what had been a quiet negotiation process suddenly became front-page news, drawing unprecedented public attention and sparking protests across Europe. This report explores how the compact negotiations triggered a multilayered institutional and political crisis in the European Union, and how this breakdown continues to affect EU external migration policy.

Policy Briefs

September 2021

Migration Management and Border Security: Lessons Learned

Glenn Fawcett/CBP

What strategic lessons can be learned from the migration- and border-management challenges North America and Europe have faced in recent years? This reflection by a former high-ranking homeland security official explores a range of timely issues, including the need to rethink multilateralism and improve international cooperation, address migrant smuggling, and engage in advanced planning to avoid future crises.

Recent Activity

Reports January 2014 Securing Borders: The Intended, Unintended, and Perverse Consequences By Randall Hansen and Demetrios G. Papademetriou	Reports January 2014 Spheres of Exploitation: Thwarting Actors Who Profit from Illegal Labor, Domestic Servitude, and Sex Work By Meghan Benton
Reports January 2014 A Strategic Framework for Creating Legality and Order in Immigration By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Will Somerville	Reports January 2014 Trade-Offs in Immigration Enforcement By Elizabeth Collett and Will Somerville
Reports November 2013 Maximizing Human Capital in a Rapidly Evolving Economic Landscape (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou	Reports November 2013 Building New Skills: Immigration and Workforce Development in Canada By Karen Myers and Natalie Conte
Reports November 2013 The Immigrant Workforce in Germany: Formal and Informal Barriers to Addressing Skills Deficits By Stefan Speckesser	Multimedia October 21, 2013 The Ongoing Challenge of Ensuring Human Rights for Migrants in the European Union and United States

Pages

Reports February 2012 The Role of the State in Cultural Integration: Trends, Challenges, and Ways Ahead By Christian Joppke	Reports February 2012 Multiculturalism: Success, Failure, and the Future By Will Kymlicka
Reports February 2012 Rethinking National Identity in the Age of Migration (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou	Reports December 2011 Irregular Migration in Europe By Christal Morehouse and Michael Blomfield
Reports December 2011 Restoring Trust in the Management of Migration and Borders (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou	Books November 2011 Improving the Governance of International Migration
Reports September 2011 The Governance of International Migration: Defining the Potential for Reform in the Next Decade (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou	Reports March 2011 Immigrant Integration in Europe in a Time of Austerity By Elizabeth Collett

Recent Activity

Reports

January 2014

Trade-Offs in Immigration Enforcement

Policymakers confront significant constraints in addressing the population of unauthorized migrants, including tackling illegal migration. This report, part of a Transatlantic Council on Migration series focused on migration "bad actors," explores the trade-offs that policymakers face with respect to comprehensive enforcement efforts.

Reports

January 2014

A Strategic Framework for Creating Legality and Order in Immigration

This report analyzes how governments ought to best allocate their resources to address the risks associated with migration—the "immigration harms" that undermine the positive economic and social benefits of immigration—including choosing which threats to tackle and where to prioritize enforcement efforts. Immigration policymakers can learn from other public policy regulation efforts to ensure that regulatory actions advance the public interest.

Reports

January 2014

Spheres of Exploitation: Thwarting Actors Who Profit from Illegal Labor, Domestic Servitude, and Sex Work

This report analyzes the exploitation of migrants in three spheres: the domestic care sector, the labor market, and the sex industry. It details several obstacles governments face in their efforts to weaken the "bad actors" that profit from exploitation, and shows how one of the biggest challenges facing law enforcement is that serious criminals and lawbreakers often operate on the edge of legality and exploit legal routes wherever possible.

Reports

January 2014

Securing Borders: The Intended, Unintended, and Perverse Consequences

This report outlines the security-related challenges that borders are intended to address—including terrorism, human smuggling and trafficking, illegal migration, and drug trafficking—and, in turn, the perverse consequences that tighter border enforcement can generate. As states implement extensive border controls and deterrence measures to prevent illegal migration, they indirectly push unauthorized migrants into the hands of smugglers and traffickers.

Reports

November 2013

Maximizing Human Capital in a Rapidly Evolving Economic Landscape (Transatlantic Council Statement)

This statement outlines the guiding principles and recommendations of the ninth plenary meeting of the Transatlantic Council on Migration, which focused on how public and private-sector actors can make smart investments in underutilized workers, including immigrants. A key goal: how to maximize the potential of those with skills of all types, including the often-overlooked middle skills.

Reports

November 2013

The Immigrant Workforce in Germany: Formal and Informal Barriers to Addressing Skills Deficits

This report evaluates the participation of immigrants in the German workforce development system, highlighting that immigrants are less likely than nonimmigrants to engage in further education or skills training, detailing the various barriers immigrants face in accessing programs for skills development, and proposing policy reforms to reduce these barriers.

Reports

November 2013

Building New Skills: Immigration and Workforce Development in Canada

An examination of Canada's workforce development system and policies at a time of high unemployment among Canada's immigrants, this report covers why a growing number of policymakers think that the system may need reform. It also offers recommendations for more effective workforce development policies.

Video, Audio

October 21, 2013

The Ongoing Challenge of Ensuring Human Rights for Migrants in the European Union and United States

In this panel discussion, Morten Kjaerum, Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), discussed the state of rights protection in Europe as well as his agency’s role in this evolving arena, and speakers discussed shared challenges and opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.

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