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 61-70 of 84 total results
A Needed Evidence Revolution: Using cost-benefit analysis to improve refugee integration programming
European refugee integration policy relies too often on political pressure rather than evidence, and cost-benefit analysis can help policymakers quantify its long-term social value.
Next Steps: Implementing a Brexit deal for UK citizens living in the EU-27
EU-27 governments remain poorly prepared to transition British residents to a new legal status as Brexit's preliminary 2018 agreements leave major implementation gaps.
Mainstreaming 2.0: How Europe’s education systems can boost migrant inclusion
Progress on migrant education in Europe has been uneven, and the 2015–16 migration crisis exposed structural gaps that prevent diverse learners from achieving equitable outcomes.
Despite Progress on Brexit Negotiations, Fate of Millions of EU and UK Nationals Still Hangs in the Balance
A December 2017 Brexit deal outlined rights for EU and UK nationals abroad, but key details remained unresolved, leaving EU and UK migrants in prolonged uncertainty.
Safe or Sorry? Prospects for Britons in the European Union after Brexit
UK nationals living elsewhere in the European Union face legal, labour-market, and social security challenges after Brexit that are likely to persist regardless of whether a deal is reached.
In Search of Common Values amid Large-Scale Immigrant Integration Pressures
Shared values programmes in Europe narrowly target newcomers. This as domestic values remain contested and minority restrictions risk deepening the divisions they aim to resolve.
The Good, the Bad, and the Fuzzy: Brexit negotiating stance towards mobile EU nationals unveiled
The UK government's opening offer on treatment of EU nationals post-Brexit included promising elements alongside significant gaps and bureaucratic risks.
A Game of Chess, Not Tennis: Unraveling the rights and status of 'Brexpats'
The complex rights of 1.2 million UK citizens living in EU countries, or 'Brexpats', remained largely overlooked in early Brexit negotiations.
Rebuilding after Crisis: Embedding Refugee Integration in Migration Management Systems (Council Statement)
Successful refugee integration after Europe’s 2015-16 migration crisis requires aligning asylum and integration systems while rebuilding public trust in government’s ability to manage migration.
Strengthening Local Education Systems for Newly Arrived Adults and Children: Empowering cities through better use of EU instruments
European cities lack the policy authority, flexible budgets, and EU support needed to educate newly arrived migrants effectively despite bearing the frontline burden.
