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E.g., 04/24/2024
Refugee & Asylum Policy

Refugee & Asylum Policy

Asylum Seekers
Refugees & Resettlement
_RefugeeAsylumPolicy credit

Tens of millions of people around the globe have been forcibly displaced by conflict, natural disaster, or persecution, seeking refuge either within or beyond the borders of their country. Humanitarian protection, whether for refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced persons (IDPs), represents a key policy area for many major immigrant-receiving countries as well as nations bordering locations where war, political upheaval, or natural disaster have disrupted daily life. The research offered here relates to the law and practice of protecting refugees and IDPs in areas of conflict as well as in industrialized nations, with a focus on secure solutions and effective institutional arrangements for comprehensive protection.

Recent Activity

A Haitian child looks over his mother's shoulder in Panama
Commentaries
October 2023
Addressing the Next Displacement Crisis in the Making in the Americas
By  Valerie Lacarte
A Vietnamese family in the kitchen.
Articles
October 11, 2023
Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States
By Jeanne Batalova
Migrantes en la aldea de Canaán Membrillo, en el Tapón del Darién, Panamá.
Articles
October 9, 2023
Cómo el peligroso Tapón del Darién se convirtió en la encrucijada migratoria de las Américas
By Caitlyn Yates y Juan Pappier
Sign for the 2019 Global Refugee Forum in Geneva
Commentaries
September 2023
Achieving Meaningful International Cooperation on Displacement: Can the 2023 Global Refugee Forum Deliver?
By  Susan Fratzke and Hannes Einsporn
Multimedia
September 26, 2023
The Power of Refugee Sponsorship: A Sponsor’s Story
New York City Mayor Eric Adams meeting with asylum seekers.
Articles
September 27, 2023
New York and Other U.S. Cities Struggle with High Costs of Migrant Arrivals
By Muzaffar Chishti, Julia Gelatt, and Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh
Multimedia
September 14, 2023
Strengthening Refugee Engagement in Community Sponsorship Programs
Calle Ocho en el barrio de la Pequeña Habana de Miami.
Articles
September 21, 2023
Inmigrantes cubanos en los Estados Unidos
By Jiaxin Wei y Jeanne Batalova

Pages

Cover image for Relaunching the Central American Minors Program: Opportunities to Enhance Child Safety and Family Reunification
Reports
December 2021
Relaunching the Central American Minors Program: Opportunities to Enhance Child Safety and Family Reunification
By  Mark Greenberg, Stephanie Heredia, Kira Monin, Celia Reynolds and Essey Workie
Cover image for El estado de la política migratoria y de integración de Costa Rica
Reports
November 2021
El estado de la política migratoria y de integración de Costa Rica
By  Diego Chaves-González and María Jesús Mora
Cover image for The State of Costa Rican Migration and Immigrant Integration Policy
Reports
November 2021
The State of Costa Rican Migration and Immigrant Integration Policy
By  Diego Chaves-González and María Jesús Mora
cover image for How We Talk about Migration: The Link between Migration Narratives, Policy, and Power
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
Cover image for Migración africana a través del continente americano
Reports
October 2021
Migración africana a través del continente americano: impulsores, rutas y respuestas normativas
By  Caitlyn Yates and Jessica Bolter
Cover image for African Migration through the Americas: Drivers, Routes, and Policy Responses
Reports
October 2021
African Migration through the Americas: Drivers, Routes, and Policy Responses
By  Caitlyn Yates and Jessica Bolter
Cover image for Toward a Better Immigration System: Fixing Immigration Governance at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Reports
October 2021
Toward a Better Immigration System: Fixing Immigration Governance at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
By  Doris Meissner and Ruth Ellen Wasem
Cover image for Migration Management and Border Security: Lessons Learned
Policy Briefs
September 2021
Migration Management and Border Security: Lessons Learned
By  Alan D. Bersin

Pages

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at a conference in Tampa.
Policy Beat
June 28, 2023
Activism on Immigration by U.S. States Is Back, with New Tactics and Different Targets

Renewed U.S. state activism on immigration has echoes of the early 2010s, when Arizona’s SB 1070 defined a Republican-led push to increase enforcement that was ultimately muted by the courts and public backlash. Newer strategies rely on a novel array of tactics including migrant busing, litigation, and lawmaking. States are also moving in opposite directions, with some expanding rights for unauthorized immigrants, as this article details.

A refugee family in Phoenix.
Spotlight
June 15, 2023
Refugees and Asylees in the United States

U.S. refugee resettlement is slowly increasing after hitting a historic low, rebounding from the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce humanitarian migration as well as pandemic-era restrictions on movement and processing slowdowns. This article offers recent and historical data about refugees resettled in the United States, as well as asylum seekers and asylees.

A busy street in Old Montreal
Feature
June 6, 2023
In Canada’s French-Speaking Quebec, Immigration Sparks Anxieties about Language and Identity

Canada's ambitions to dramatically increase immigration have met resistance in Quebec, the country's only majority-French province, where many worry their identity is under threat. Provincial officials have sought to fortify the role of the French language in society through academic, immigration, and linguistic policies, but the language nonetheless faces demographic threats, as this article explains.

Banderas de las naciones centroamericanas en una marcha en San Diego.
Spotlight
June 2, 2023
Inmigrantes centroamericanos en los Estados Unidos

Los centroamericanos representan menos de una décima parte de la población de inmigrantes en Estados Unidos. Pero su número se ha multiplicado por diez desde 1980. Este artículo proporciona una mirada integral a esta población.

A double border wall leads to a boat launch in Yuma, Arizona.
Feature
May 31, 2023
Global Spending on Immigration Enforcement Is Higher than Ever and Rising

Budgets for border security and interior immigration enforcement have been on the rise in places including the United States and the European Union. The spending is a result of the heightened focus on securitization by the Global North and has led to a ballooning private industry. This article explains the trend.

Pages

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_CBPOfficer
Commentaries
March 2017
The Revised Trump Travel Ban: Who Might Be Affected from the Six Targeted Countries?
By  Sarah Pierce
_Refugees
Commentaries
March 2017
The Migration Crisis Is Over: Long Live the Migration Crisis
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou
_TunisiaCamp
Commentaries
February 2017
New EU Partnerships in North Africa: Potential to Backfire?
By  Elizabeth Collett
_ObamaCastro
Commentaries
January 2017
Taking Action to Reflect Current Reality: Obama Administration Ends “Wet Foot, Dry Foot” Policies on Cuban Migration
By  Doris Meissner
Syrians NickOza IRC
Commentaries
January 2017
The U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program Is an Unsuitable Target
By  Kathleen Newland and T. Alexander Aleinikoff
_SouthSudaneseRefugee
Commentaries
September 2016
The UN Refugee Summit: What Can Be Achieved?
By  T. Alexander Aleinikoff
UNrefugeesummit
Commentaries
September 2016
Global Refugee Summits Offer Reasons for Both Disappointment and Hope
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Susan Fratzke
SyrianChildren UNHCR Flickr
Commentaries
April 2016
Children: The Forgotten Aspect of the EU-Turkey Deal
By  Hanne Beirens and Paul Clewett
Boat SteveEvans Flickr
Commentaries
March 2016
The Paradox of the EU-Turkey Refugee Deal
By  Elizabeth Collett
_MathStudent
Commentaries
November 2015
Meeting the Education Needs of Rising Numbers of Newly Arrived Migrant Students in Europe and the United States
By  Julie Sugarman

Pages

Expert Q&A, Audio
December 15, 2022

A Century of Climate Migration Upheaval? An Audacious Prediction for the Future

As the planet’s temperature warms, award-winning environmental journalist Gaia Vince thinks humanity is facing a chaotic century of mass migration spurred by climate change? In this episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration, she contemplates a future in which hundreds of millions of people move from one part of the globe to another.

Video, Audio
December 13, 2022

The Ukrainian Displacement Crisis: A Conversation with the European Commission's Director General for Migration and Home Affairs

Monique Pariat, the European Commission’s Director General for Migration and Home Affairs, spoke to the DC policy community on Europe’s rapid response to the Ukrainian displacement crisis, lessons learned, and considerations for future policies.

Lviv, Ukraine. Jesuit houses sheltering families
Video, Audio
October 11, 2022

Migrant Integration: Learning from What Works in Times of Uncertainty

With millions fleeing war-torn Ukraine, questions about how to effectively promote migrant integration are again front and center.

Video
September 20, 2022

19th Annual Immigration Law & Policy Conference

Focusing on top immigration policy issues at federal and state levels, this 2022 Immigration Law and Policy Conference featured keynotes by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson exploring the growing role states are taking in the national immigration debate.

Evacuees prepare to board a C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, Aug. 18, 2021
Video, Audio
August 10, 2022

One Year On: The Situation for At-Risk Afghans in Afghanistan and Abroad

Marking the one-year withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, this webinar reflects on the humanitarian and development challenges in Afghanistan and for neighbors, the difficult choices facing aid donors, and what needs to be done to ensure at-risk Afghans can reach safety.

Pages

Recent Activity

Expert Q&A, Audio
July 27, 2023

Displacement in the Sahel: Exploring Rising Migration and Responses in West Africa

MPI Europe Associate Director Camille Le Coz discusses rising displacement in the Sahel, which is experiencing multiple crises, with development economist Alexandra Tapsoba.

Articles
July 27, 2023

Technology Can Be Transformative for Refugees, but It Can Also Hold Them Back

While smartphones and other technologies can assist decision-making, they do not always improve migrants’ journeys or lives. Forcibly displaced populations can face barriers in the form of limited internet access and low levels of digital literacy. Digital tools may also expose them to government surveillance and raise anxiety about social relations with loved ones. This article underscores refugees' complex relationships with technology.

Video, Webinars
July 20, 2023

Straining under the Backlog: Fixing a U.S. Immigration Court System in Crisis

As the U.S. immigration court system struggles with record case backlogs, decisions take years, immigration enforcement is delayed, and wait times incentivize unauthorized arrivals. This discussion examines the factors that have driven the system to the point of crisis and possible fixes.

Reports
July 2023

At the Breaking Point: Rethinking the U.S. Immigration Court System

With a backlog of nearly 2 million cases, years-long wait times for decisions, and overwhelmed judges whose productivity has declined, the U.S. immigration court system is in urgent need of repair. This report examines the factors that have driven the courts to crisis. It then outlines recommendations that promise to advance the goal of delivering timely and fair decisions, and to support the health of the U.S. immigration system more broadly.

Expert Q&A, Audio
July 12, 2023

Climate Migration 101

Climate migration sounds simple. It is not. MPI’s Lawrence Huang answers some of the most common questions around one of the least understood dynamics in human movement.

Articles
July 5, 2023

Haitians Flee a Nation Nearing Collapse

The Haitian diaspora has swelled since a massive earthquake in 2010 and in the wake of violent riots that culminated in a political crisis in 2018 and the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Poverty, natural disasters, political crisis, and insecurity have historically driven Haitian migration. Destination countries have often rejected these arrivals and sought to deport Haitian migrants in large numbers.

Reports
June 2023

Improving Stakeholder Coordination in Refugee Resettlement: A Path to More Effective, Inclusive Programs

Many actors have a hand in refugee resettlement, including national and local governments, international organizations, and civil society. Strong coordination between these stakeholders is needed if resettlement programs are to operate smoothly, provide appropriate support to refugees, and potentially grow. This report explores common challenges to developing this type of coordination as well as strategies to address them.

Articles
June 28, 2023

Activism on Immigration by U.S. States Is Back, with New Tactics and Different Targets

Renewed U.S. state activism on immigration has echoes of the early 2010s, when Arizona’s SB 1070 defined a Republican-led push to increase enforcement that was ultimately muted by the courts and public backlash. Newer strategies rely on a novel array of tactics including migrant busing, litigation, and lawmaking. States are also moving in opposite directions, with some expanding rights for unauthorized immigrants, as this article details.

Pages