Competence over control theatre can help rebuild public trust on migration

New study warns that ‘control theatre’ policies are likely to worsen integration outcomes while failing to address the real drivers of public anxiety

BRUSSELS — Governments across high-income countries are under intense pressure to act on migration. But a new Migration Policy Institute Europe analysis finds that many of the most visible policy responses — from seizing asylum seekers' assets to tightening family reunification rules — are unlikely to rebuild public trust and may worsen integration outcomes.

The report, Beyond Control Signalling: Designing integration policies for better outcomes and public trust, examines the growing gap between the symbolic policies governments are reaching for and the structural reforms that evidence suggests would work.

Arguing that the crisis in public trust is ‘both real and manufactured’, authors Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Meghan Benton and Abigail Goldfarb write: ‘Governments should recognise that competence and well-managed migration systems will ultimately alleviate public concerns more effectively than control theatre’.

The report finds that public opinion on migration is far more nuanced than the political debate suggests, preferring a ‘control and compassion’ approach over enforcement-only policies. Polling across multiple countries finds a sizeable ‘moveable middle’ that holds mixed, context-dependent views rather than identifying with extreme positions. Even amid high anti-immigration sentiment in the United States, 78 per cent of respondents in a July 2025 Gallup poll supported a pathway to citizenship for long-term unauthorized immigrants who meet certain requirements.

Yet governments have increasingly turned to high-visibility measures, including shifting integration costs onto refugees and introducing tougher values and civics requirements, that are designed to signal toughness but deliver limited results. Some policies may backfire: research shows that cutting language training and housing support delays employment and prolongs welfare dependency.

What Governments Should Do Instead

The report calls on policymakers to move beyond reactive control signalling and invest in the quieter reforms that most directly shape whether migration is managed well:

• Be transparent about costs and trade-offs, engaging communities honestly over concerns such as the fiscal and social impacts of migration, rather than dismissing them as myths to be debunked.
• Design integration requirements that link rights and support to clear obligations, which can help reduce resentment over perceived unfairness when newcomers are seen as receiving support without expectations.
• Develop multi-year immigration levels plans that connect anticipated migration flows to planned investments in housing, schools, health and employment services.
• Present control measures as part of a long-term vision, investing political and fiscal capital in reforms such as speedier asylum processing and better coordination with local authorities as ways to demonstrate that migration is being governed competently.
• Invest in mainstreaming — adapting core public services such as education and health systems to serve increasingly diverse populations, rather than treating integration as a standalone add-on.

The report situates these recommendations within a broader demographic reality: most high-income countries face accelerating population aging and labour shortages that make effective immigrant integration one of the most powerful economic tools available. Yet integration governance remains disconnected from workforce planning, housing investment and long-term demographic strategy. Countries such as Canada and Australia, which publish multi-year, consultative migration levels plans, offer models from which European governments could learn, the authors note.

Beyond Control Signalling was produced as part of MPI Europe's Integration Futures Working Group, a forum that brings together senior policymakers, experts, civil-society leaders and private-sector representatives. Implementation of the Integration Futures project is made possible by the Robert Bosch Stiftung.

The full report is available at www.migrationpolicy.org/research/control-signalling-integration-policies.

And for all Integration Futures work, visit: www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/integration-futures-working-group.