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 August 2014 The Human-Capital Needs of Tech City, London By Max Nathan	Reports August 2014 Revitalizing Detroit: Is There a Role for Immigration? By Steve Tobocman
Reports July 2014 Giving Cities and Regions a Voice in Immigration Policy: Can National Policies Meet Local Demand? By Madeleine Sumption	Reports July 2014 Migration’s Local Dividends: How Cities and Regions Can Make the Most of Immigration (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou
Reports May 2014 How Migration Can Advance Development Goals (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Kathleen Newland	Reports February 2014 'Donkey Flights:' Illegal Immigration from the Punjab to the United Kingdom By Nicola Smith
Reports February 2014 Human Smuggling and Trafficking into Europe: A Comparative Perspective By Louise Shelley	Reports February 2014 Curbing the Influence of "Bad Actors" in International Migration (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou

Pages

Reports March 2013 The Netherlands: From National Identity to Plural Identifications By Monique Kremer	Books November 2012 Rethinking National Identity in the Age of Migration
Reports July 2012 Understanding 'Canadian Exceptionalism' in Immigration and Pluralism Policy By Irene Bloemraad	Reports July 2012 Contested Ground: Immigration in the United States By Michael Jones-Correa
Reports May 2012 Building a British Model of Integration in an Era of Immigration: Policy Lessons for Government By Will Somerville and Shamit Saggar	Reports May 2012 The Relationship Between Immigration and Nativism in Europe and North America By Cas Mudde
Reports May 2012 French National Identity and Integration: Who Belongs to the National Community? By Patrick Simon	Reports February 2012 The Centrality of Employment in Immigrant Integration in Europe By Randall Hansen

Recent Activity

Reports

August 2014

The Human-Capital Needs of Tech City, London

This report analyzes the importance of human capital to the development of London's Tech City and sets this discussion in a broader framework linking cities, digital sectors, and highly skilled immigration. Skilled migrants can play critical roles in economic development in high-tech clusters, but policies sometimes make it difficult for firms to make the most of immigration.

Reports

August 2014

Revitalizing Detroit: Is There a Role for Immigration?

Immigration alone cannot save Detroit, which has become a byword for urban decline and economic decay. But if carefully managed in the context of a broader economic development strategy, immigration may be a promising tool for boosting Detroit’s economic prospects, stemming population decline, and replenishing diminished city resources.

Reports

July 2014

Giving Cities and Regions a Voice in Immigration Policy: Can National Policies Meet Local Demand?

Employer-sponsored immigration and subnational visa programs are the two major routes to channel new immigrant arrivals toward particular destinations where their labor is thought to be in high demand. This report assesses regional nomination programs in Australia and Canada, and the efficacy of employer-sponsored immigration in meeting the needs of cities and regions.

Reports

July 2014

Migration’s Local Dividends: How Cities and Regions Can Make the Most of Immigration (Transatlantic Council Statement)

While cities and regions experience both the positive and negative effects of immigration firsthand, they are typically at arm’s length, at best, from the policy reins that enable and shape these movements. Immigration policies are rarely calibrated to regional, let alone local, needs. This Transatlantic Council on Migration Statement examines how policymakers at all levels can work together to get more out of immigration.

Reports

May 2014

How Migration Can Advance Development Goals (Transatlantic Council Statement)

International migration and development are inextricably linked. This Transatlantic Council on Migration statement distills the Council’s discussions on the connection between migration and development, focusing on the most promising areas for international cooperation and offering evidence-based recommendations for improving the development outcomes of migration.

Reports

February 2014

Curbing the Influence of "Bad Actors" in International Migration (Transatlantic Council Statement)

This Transatlantic Council on Migration Statement assesses the continuum of policies needed to disrupt illegal migration-related activities and addresses the conditions that make them possible. It examines the role of migration "bad actors"—human traffickers and unscrupulous employers, among them—who operate and profit in this environment, and considers how governments can deploy resources to discourage their actions.

Reports

February 2014

Human Smuggling and Trafficking into Europe: A Comparative Perspective

This report examines human trafficking and smuggling trends and routes to Europe, and profiles the facilitators and clients/victims of such activities. It also offers a menu of policy options that are likely to reduce trafficking and smuggling flows, noting that such policies must be multifaceted to address a variety of contributing factors simultaneously.

Reports

February 2014

'Donkey Flights:' Illegal Immigration from the Punjab to the United Kingdom

This report, based on an undercover exposé of Punjabi visa agencies by The Sunday Times, sketches one immigration loophole into Europe: so-called “donkey flights” by which Indian migrants obtain a tourist visa for a Schengen-zone country in order to enter the United Kingdom through the back door. Thousands of visa agencies operate in the Punjab region alone, with varying degrees of legality, some having links to criminal smuggling networks across Europe.

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