E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
Refugees & Resettlement

Refugees & Resettlement

The world has millions of refugees who are unable to go home or unwilling to do so in the face of persecution. Resettlement to a third country is considered for only a fraction of refugees, those whose conditions are so perilous or whose needs cannot be met in the country where they first sought protection. Only a small number of states take part in UNHCR resettlement programs—among them the United States, Australia, Canada, the Nordic countries, and increasingly some countries in Europe and Latin America. The research here examines refugee protection and resettlement policies.

Recent Activity

Photo of a mural at Las Americas, a legal assistance nonprofit in El Paso, Texas
Commentaries
May 2023
Regional Processing Centers: Can This Key Component of the Post-Title 42 U.S. Strategy Work?
By  Andrew Selee
A Palestinian woman in Bani Naeem, in the West Bank.
Articles
May 3, 2023
Generations of Palestinian Refugees Face Protracted Displacement and Dispossession
By Nathan Citino, Ana Martín Gil, and Kelsey P. Norman
Multimedia
April 11, 2023
Meeting Global Skills and Talent Needs in Changing Labor Markets
Multimedia
March 30, 2023
New Avenues to Help Refugees Get to Safety and Restart Their Lives
A flag hangs at the vice president's residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, DC.
Articles
March 14, 2023
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
By Nicole Ward and Jeanne Batalova
Cover image for Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean
Reports
March 2023
Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean: A Policy Review
By  Valerie Lacarte, Jordi Amaral, Diego Chaves-González, Ana María Sáiz and Jeremy Harris
Multimedia
February 14, 2023
Ukrainian Displacement in Europe, One Year Later
Asylum seekers from Venezuela in Texas.
Articles
February 15, 2023
Venezuelan Immigrants in the United States
By Ari Hoffman and Jeanne Batalova

Pages

Cover of the report Volunteers and Sponsors: A Catalyst for Refugee Integration?
Reports
November 2019
Volunteers and Sponsors: A Catalyst for Refugee Integration?
By  Susan Fratzke and Emma Dorst
Cover of report Creating a Home in Canada: Refugee Housing Challenges and Potential Policy Solutions
Reports
November 2019
Creating a Home in Canada: Refugee Housing Challenges and Potential Policy Solutions
By  Damaris Rose
coverthumb Social Innovation Refugee Inclusion 2019
Reports
June 2019
Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: From Bright Spots to System Change
By  Liam Patuzzi, Meghan Benton and Alexandra Embiricos
Coverthumb ImmigrationChangesTrumpAdministration
Reports
May 2019
Immigration-Related Policy Changes in the First Two Years of the Trump Administration
By  Sarah Pierce
Coverthumb MPI ImmigrationIssues2019
Reports
May 2019
Eight Key U.S. Immigration Policy Issues: State of Play and Unanswered Questions
By  Doris Meissner and Julia Gelatt
Preparing for the Unknown: Designing Effective Predeparture Orientation for Resettling Refugees
Reports
May 2019
Preparing for the Unknown: Designing Effective Predeparture Orientation for Resettling Refugees
By  Susan Fratzke and Lena Kainz
Coverthumb ECEC Trauma Informed Care
Policy Briefs
April 2019
Mitigating the Effects of Trauma among Young Children of Immigrants and Refugees: The Role of Early Childhood Programs
By  Maki Park and Caitlin Katsiaficas
Coverthumb MPI StrengtheningRefugeeProtection
Policy Briefs
February 2019
Strengthening Refugee Protection in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
By  Susan Fratzke and Camille Le Coz

Pages

An image of an immigration boarding line.
Spotlight
March 17, 2022
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

Need information about U.S. immigration trends or the makeup of the country's immigrant population? This useful, stats-rich article answers the most common questions about the size, shape, and changing nature of the U.S. foreign-born population. It also offers data on immigration enforcement actions, backlogs, and other elements of the U.S. immigration system.

Photo of U.S. President Joe Biden delivering remarks in front of White House.
Policy Beat
January 19, 2022
Biden at the One-Year Mark: A Greater Change in Direction on Immigration Than Is Recognized

While Donald Trump’s presidency is perceived as being the most active on immigration, touching nearly every aspect of the U.S. immigration system, President Joe Biden’s administration has far outpaced his predecessor in the number of executive actions taken during his first year in office—even as the pace of change has gone largely unnoticed, as this article explores.

A Dutch family at Ellis Island between 1915 and 1920.
Profile
January 6, 2022
Immigration Has Been a Defining, Often Contentious, Element Throughout U.S. History

As host to more immigrants than any other country, the United States has been shaped and reshaped by immigration over the centuries, with the issue at times becoming a flashpoint. This article covers the history of U.S. immigration and the major laws governing immigration, and provides a comprehensive overview of the present-day immigrant population.

Two boys pose in an informal settlement east of Johannesburg largely populated by immigrants.
Profile
November 18, 2021
South Africa Reckons with Its Status as a Top Immigration Destination, Apartheid History, and Economic Challenges

South Africa hosts the most immigrants of any African country. Yet it faces conflicting pressures, including the legacy of apartheid, a steady outflow of well-educated South Africans, and the need to juggle bilateral labor mobility schemes at a time of economic insecurity and high unemployment. This article traces these pressures and how they have developed over time.

Somali refugees in Ethiopia attend a class.
Feature
October 22, 2021
The Resettlement Gap: A Record Number of Global Refugees, but Few Are Resettled

There are more refugees than ever globally, but each year only a tiny share get selected for resettlement to new countries. This “resettlement gap” has grown due to political pressures in resettlement countries and procedural challenges throughout the process, as this article explains.

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MPI 20th Anniversary Conference - Antonio Vitorino and Demetrios Papademetriou
Video
November 15, 2021

MPI 20th Anniversary Conference: Migration & Humanitarian Protection in a Rapidly Evolving World

MPI’s 20th Anniversary Conference featured the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration, António Vitorino, in an armchair conversation with MPI co-founder and President Emeritus Demetrios G. Papademetriou, as well as a panel discussion with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and MPI co-founder Kathleen Newland and KIND President Wendy Young.

Video
October 14, 2021

Welcoming Venezuelan Migrants, Innovations in Integration Policies in Colombia

In this webinar, speakers examine issues of integration and social cohesion in Colombia, and explore how the international community can support Colombia and other countries receiving significant numbers of Venezuelan migrants and refugees. They also discuss Colombian initiatives that seek to improve the situation for migrants as well as the host communities where they reside.

Video, Audio
October 4, 2021

Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion (SI4RI): Sowing Innovation in the Cracks of Crisis

This virtual conference explores how the diverse landscape of partnerships, social enterprises, participatory models, and community-led initiatives spearheading social innovation for inclusion has fared during COVID-19. It also focuses on how this ecosystem can emerge strengthened from the pandemic, and be a vital force in addressing new humanitarian challenges.

Video, Audio
September 27, 2021

18th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

The 2021 annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference featured a keynote conversation with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas and analysis by top experts on the early months of the Biden administration and how immigration law and policy can respond to our changing world in a manner that is humane and in the national interest.

Video, Audio
September 20, 2021

s, M, l, xl ¿Cómo es la bienvenida de los migrantes en las ciudades de tamaño mediano en la región?

En esta conversación, líderes de ciudades medianas examinan las respuestas sociales de la region que han resultado en la integración de nuevos migrantes en comunidades locales.

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Recent Activity

Explainers
April 2019

Explainer: How the U.S. Legal Immigration System Works

Through which visa categories can immigrants move temporarily or permanently to the United States? What are the main channels by which people come, and who can sponsor them for a green card? Are there limits on visa categories? And who is waiting in the green-card backlog? This explainer answers basic questions about temporary and permanent immigration via family, employment, humanitarian, and other channels.

Video, Audio
April 10, 2019

International vs. National Protection for Refugees: Diverging Trends?

MPI's Kathleen Newland, Refugee Council USA's Mary Giovagnoli, and David Scott FitzGerald, author of Refuge beyond Reach, discuss how and why international and national responses to the rising challenge of refugee displacement are diverging. They examine what lies ahead for the Global Compact on Refugees and how adjustments to asylum policies in many high-income democracies are narrowing the paths to protection.

Policy Briefs
April 2019

Mitigating the Effects of Trauma among Young Children of Immigrants and Refugees: The Role of Early Childhood Programs

The first years of a child’s life are a time of immense growth, and exposure to trauma—if left unaddressed—can have significant, lifelong effects. This issue brief examines how young children of refugees and other immigrants may be affected by trauma, and what early childhood education and care programs, health-care providers, and others can do to mitigate its adverse effects.

Articles
March 14, 2019

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

Immigrant arrivals to the United States and the makeup of the foreign-born population have been changing in significant ways: Recent immigrants are more likely to be from Asia than from Mexico and the overall immigrant population is growing at a slower rate than before the 2008-09 recession. This useful article collects in one place some of the most sought-after statistics on immigrants in the United States.

Video, Audio
March 6, 2019

A Conversation with António Vitorino, the Director General of the International Organization for Migration

In his first public address during his inaugural formal visit to Washington, DC, IOM Director General António Vitorino discussed his vision for the agency, reforms in the UN system designed to address migration matters better, and the operational steps IOM is taking to respond to forced migration and displacement in hotspots around the world.

Video, Audio
February 28, 2019

A New Migration Policy for A New Era: A Conversation with Mexico's Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero

On her first official trip to Washington, DC, Secretary of the Interior Olga Sánchez Cordero offered a public address on Mexico’s new approach to migration policy at MPI. Her remarks and the event discussion were mostly conducted in Spanish, and this recording is of the simultaneous English interpretation. 

Articles
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.

Articles
February 13, 2019

Caribbean Immigrants in the United States

Caribbean immigrants represent 10 percent of the 44.5 million immigrants in the United States, with the vast majority coming from just five countries: Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago. Depending on their origin country and period of arrival, immigrants from the Caribbean have varying skill levels, racial composition, language background, and motivations for migration, as this article explores.

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