Global Program
The Global Program acts as a policy laboratory for innovative, evidence-based, and politically feasible solutions to migration policy challenges. From direct policy advice to deep comparative research, its work interrogates policy design and effectiveness, helps countries newer to immigration learn from innovation and evidence in other regions, and anticipates how demographic, economic, and technological shifts will reshape migration in the years ahead. It supports governments in responding to crises with greater coordination and foresight, and provides a trusted off-the-record space for engaging with sensitive topics. Its main geographical focus is Europe, the Americas, and Australia, but it increasingly works with governments and other partners worldwide, including in East Africa and Asia. For more on the Global Program, click here.
Featured
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…
The Shifting Financing of Responses to Venezuelan Displacement
Financing for Latin American responses to Venezuelan displacement has changed over the years, and new approaches are needed in light of foreign aid…
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…
More Featured Work
Key Statistics
International migrants comprise 3.7 percent of the global population. Learn more about them
304 million
The number of migrants globally in 2024
50.6 million
The number who as of 2025 were refugees or asylum seekers
94 million
The number of international migrants in Europe—the top destination globally
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Migrants in Africa & COVID-19: From emergency measures to inclusive social protection systems
This MPI Europe discussion explores what emergency measures have been deployed by African governments and aid actors in response to COVID-19 to assist migrants in need, along with what the health crisis says about social protection systems, the incentives for inclusionary systems for all, and how to make some of these measures sustainable.
Beyond the Border: U.S.-Mexican Migration Accord Has Ushered in Sweeping Change in Mexico in Its First Year
As the U.S.-Mexico migration cooperation agreement marks its first year, this discussion examines how the accord has reshaped Mexico’s immigration enforcement policies, exposed weaknesses in its humanitarian protection system, and exacerbated precarious conditions for migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border. Speakers also explore how pandemic-induced changes to mobility may affect the future of U.S.-Mexico relations.
One Year after the U.S.-Mexico Agreement: Reshaping Mexico’s Migration Policies
The June 2019 U.S.-Mexico migration agreement pushed Mexico toward enforcement-first policies, cutting border crossings while straining humanitarian protections.
Un año después del Acuerdo Estados Unidos-México: La transformación de las políticas migratorias mexicanas
El acuerdo de junio de 2019 entre Estados Unidos y México redujo los cruces irregulares pero desbordó la capacidad humanitaria e institucional mexicana.
The Rocky Road to a Mobile World after COVID-19
COVID-19 has chilled many forms of human movement, from travel to temporary and permanent migration, refugee resettlement, and returns, among them. While a safe restart of travel is a precondition for a return to economic and societal normalcy, restarting mobility will not be like flicking a switch, particularly amid disagreements over the costs societies can and should absorb in the name of protecting public health, as this commentary explains.
Humanitarian Protection in an Era of Pandemic
MPI and MPI Europe experts discuss the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on asylum systems in Europe and North America, as well as in developing regions, where 85 percent of refugees live. During this freeform conversation, our analysts also assess the implications for the principle of asylum and the future for a post-World War II humanitarian protection system that is under threat.
COVID-19 in Latin America: Tackling Health Care & Other Impacts for Vulnerable Migrant Populations
This MPI webinar brought together public health and migration experts to analyze the impact that COVID-19 preventative measures will have on vulnerable immigrants and refugees in Latin America, with a particular look at Colombia as a case study. Speakers also discussed how policymakers and international organizations can include migrant populations in their emergency response plans.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Suggests the Lessons Learned by European Asylum Policymakers After the 2015 Migration Crisis Are Fading
As European asylum systems are tested again by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has injected the need for social distancing during processing and in reception centers, it appears lessons learned during the 2015-16 migration and refugee crisis may be fading. Chief among them: A number of Member States have phased out their buffer capacity. This MPI Europe commentary explores the diametrically different approaches taken to asylum during the pandemic.
As COVID-19 Slows Human Mobility, Can the Global Compact for Migration Meet the Test for a Changed Era?
The coronavirus pandemic dramatically reshaped how human mobility is managed just as the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration was beginning to move from paper to implementation. As governments face pressing public-health, economic, and other concerns in responding to COVID-19, this MPI Europe commentary explores whether the first comprehensive global agreement on migration can adjust to a changed reality.
Expert Podcast: Meeting Seasonal Labor Needs in the Age of COVID-19
What happens to agriculture and food security when pandemic travel restrictions block seasonal migrant workers?
