Meghan Benton
Meghan Benton is Director of the Global Program at MPI, with responsibility for the strategic direction of the Global Program and its flagship Transatlantic Council on Migration, the Latin America and Caribbean Initiative, the Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative, and other international work. She is also on the board of MPI Europe.
Dr. Benton regularly advises governments across key immigration destinations, and is working to expand MPI’s global reach and depth of knowledge of regional mobility systems. Her expertise spans a range of areas including labor mobility, immigrant integration, border management, and humanitarian protection. She has a particular interest in how digital technology is reshaping immigration and asylum systems, and in how innovations can lay the groundwork for a more managed, predictable migration system. In 2016, she co-founded MPI Europe’s Integration Futures Working Group, which seeks to develop a forward-looking agenda for integration policy in Europe. She also co-convenes the Transatlantic Council on Migration.
She previously was a Senior Researcher at Nesta, the United Kingdom’s innovation body, where she led projects on digital government and the future of local public services. Prior to joining Nesta, she was a Policy Analyst at MPI from 2012 to 2015, where she co-led an MPI-International Labor Organization six-country project on pathways to skilled work for newly arrived immigrants in Europe. She also worked on Project UPSTREAM, a four-country project on mainstreaming immigrant integration in the European Union. Previously, she worked for the Constitution Unit at University College London and the Institute for Public Policy Research.
Dr. Benton received her PhD in political science from University College London in 2010, where her PhD research focused on citizenship and the rights of noncitizens. She also holds a master’s degree in legal and political theory (with distinction) from University College London, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and literature from Warwick University.
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In the News
Can Democracies Balance Control and Compassion?
Meghan Benton discusses on The View from Here podcast
Why Is Immigration Policy So Hard to Get Right?
Meghan Benton speaks with Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford
Explore Content by Meghan Benton
Showing 1-10 of 84 total results
How Europe Was Transformed by the 2015-16 Migration and Refugee Crisis
Ten years after the 2015-16 migration and refugee crisis, the European Union has reshaped its process for dividing up asylum claims and controlling external borders. Many systems are stronger and newcomers have integrated into their new countries, but tensions remain and key questions are unresolved.
Immigration and Integration Policymaking in a Shifting World: A Blue-Sky Conference to Mark MPI’s 25th Year
At this 25th anniversary conference, leading thinkers examined what makes for effective immigration and integration policy in an increasingly turbulent world.
Migration Diplomacy in an Age of Transactionalism
As international cooperation frays, balanced diplomacy—rather than coercive dealmaking—promises the most effective approach to emerging migration challenges.
Population Aging Is Here. Immigration Can Offer Half an Answer.
Immigration on its own cannot solve population aging, but five policy principles can help it play a more effective role in a broader demographic strategy.
A New Prime Minister, a New Deal: Time for an ambitious UK–EU pact on small boats
The arrival of a new UK Prime Minister offers a window to strike an ambitious UK-EU deal on Channel crossings, trading increased returns for humanitarian routes from Europe.
Beyond Control Signalling: Designing integration policies for better outcomes and public trust
In many high-income countries, governments are scrambling to prove they are in control of immigration. While some policies signal toughness, they do not necessarily improve outcomes.
Countries Are Pushing Borders Outward to Expand Deterrence and Protection Alike
Externalization—the enlistment of partner countries to manage migration before people arrive or assist with removals and returns—has shifted from the policy fringe into the mainstream. Models range from deterrence to protection.
Why Is Immigration Policy So Hard to Get Right?
Can immigration policy ever balance economic, humanitarian, and social goals in a way that publics find fair and credible?
Humanitarian Protection at a Crossroads: What Future for the Strained Refugee System?
How can a refugee protection system built after World War II adapt to today’s large-scale, mixed migration movements?
Immigration and Democracy: Rebuilding Trust in a Changing Europe
How does immigration shape democratic trust in Europe and elsewhere? This discussion explores research on public attitudes, integration approaches, and the future of institutional confidence.
