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

Policy Briefs
May 2022

Humanitarian Pathways for Central Americans: Assessing Opportunities for the Future

For most Central Americans forced to flee their homes, traveling to Mexico or the United States to apply for asylum is their only option to seek international protection. To date, refugee resettlement has been used only sparingly in the region. This brief explores what role resettlement and other humanitarian pathways play in meeting these protection needs, and whether and how they could be scaled up.

Articles
May 11, 2022

Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in the United States

The population of sub-Saharan African immigrants in the United States is relatively small, but it has grown substantially over the last four decades and is likely to continue to increase. This group of 2.1 million people is highly diverse, including individuals with a range of ethnic, linguistic, and other backgrounds, as this article explains.

Commentaries
May 2022

The Ukrainian Conflict Could Be a Tipping Point for Refugee Protection

Recent displacement crises—ranging from Syria, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Myanmar, South Sudan, to most recently Ukraine—have imposed huge stresses on the humanitarian protection regime. Yet individual countries and regional organizations have been innovating to meet the challenge and expand the options available for protection, in some cases bypassing beleaguered asylum systems. This commentary traces the rise of more ad hoc approaches.

Reports
May 2022

COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2021

Despite high hopes that international movement would be revived in 2021 after the deep chill in 2020 with designation of a global pandemic, cross-border mobility remained limited as migrants and travelers faced complex rules, high costs, and uncertainty as new COVID-19 variants emerged. This report assesses global mobility in 2021, including changing use of travel restrictions, their impacts on mobile populations, and efforts to safely restart migration and travel.

Video, Audio, Webinars
May 4, 2022

Public Narratives on Refugees: Sustaining Solidarity in Times of Crisis

Experts consider what is known about public opinion and narratives on refugees, looking at the Ukrainian and Syrian crises, and how post-crisis solidarity can be harnessed towards sustainable protection.  

Reports
May 2022

From Fear to Solidarity: The Difficulty in Shifting Public Narratives about Refugees

Public opinion of refugees and asylum seekers is often portrayed as a binary, reflected in stories of them as “threats” or “benefits.” Yet in reality, people can hold a variety of competing beliefs and concerns about forced migrants and their impacts on society. This report explores these different narratives, the contexts in which they flourish, and the types of initiatives that have been used to try to boost solidarity and ease tensions.

Reports
April 2022

Digital Health Credentials and COVID-19: Can Vaccine and Testing Requirements Restart Global Mobility?

Digital health credentials that verify a person’s COVID-19 vaccination, testing, or recovery status are a central part of efforts to restart international travel and migration. This report explores these credentials’ use to date and persistent challenges, including those related to international coordination and technical compatibility between systems. It also recommends strategies to more fully leverage their potential and make them more inclusive.

Articles
April 19, 2022

Persistent COVID-19 Vaccine Inequity Has Significant Implications for Refugees and Other Vulnerable Migrants

Most of the world's refugees live in low-income countries where rates of COVID-19 vaccination remain low. Although refugees have been formally included in many governments’ vaccination plans, a combination of factors has made access to jabs difficult, as this article explains.

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