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
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…
Creating Inclusive Urban Economies for Migrants and Refugees
Cities hold powerful levers to turn migrants' and refugees' underused talent into economic growth—but doing so requires moving beyond first…
More Featured Work
Key Statistics
International migrants comprise 3.7 percent of the global population. Learn more about them
304.0 million
The number of migrants globally in 2024
50.6 million
The number who as of 2025 were refugees or asylum seekers
94.0 million
The number of international migrants in Europe—the top destination globally
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A Transatlantic Conversation: Managing Migration in the Era of Mobility
As the 2014 Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union works to formulate the European Union’s next five-year program, this transatlantic discussion, presented in cooperation with the Greek Embassy, explores how governments can build a comprehensive migration system that meets humanitarian obligations and nurtures economic growth and social cohesion.
Managing Borders in North America: Charting the Future
Showcasing MPI’s volume, Managing Borders in an Increasingly Borderless World, this panel discussion offers perspectives on border policy management from leading officials in the United States, Canadian, and Mexican governments
Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally- A presentation in Guatemala on the Regional Migration Study Group
This briefing in Guatemala City (in English and Spanish) highlighted the MPI Regional Migration Study Group’s final report, which outlines the demographic, economic, and social forces reshaping Mexico and Central America, as well as changing migration dynamics with the United States.
'Donkey Flights:' Illegal Immigration from the Punjab to the United Kingdom
Punjab's visa agents and criminal networks exploit every UK and Schengen loophole with greater speed and creativity than government bureaucracy can match.
Human Smuggling and Trafficking into Europe: A Comparative Perspective
Human smuggling and trafficking into Europe persist because weak borders, corruption, and unmet labor demand make them highly profitable and low-risk criminal enterprises.
Curbing the Influence of "Bad Actors" in International Migration (Transatlantic Council Statement)
Irregular migration persists despite massive enforcement investments because market demand drives illegality and bad actors consistently outpace government controls.
Securing Borders: The Intended, Unintended, and Perverse Consequences
Border enforcement consistently generates perverse consequences, and strong borders require strong institutions and rule of law as much as physical controls.
Spheres of Exploitation: Thwarting Actors Who Profit from Illegal Labor, Domestic Servitude, and Sex Work
Migrant exploitation is sustained by high profits and low risk for bad actors, and enforcement tools across labor, care, and sex markets each carry serious unintended consequences.
A Strategic Framework for Creating Legality and Order in Immigration
Immigration enforcement lags other regulatory fields by failing to apply evidence-based, proportionate, and strategically prioritized responses to immigration harms.
