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E.g., 09/27/2023
International Program

International Program

Border Security
Immigrant Profiles & Demographics
Employment & the Economy
Illegal Immigration & Interior Enforcement
Immigration Policy & Law
International Governance
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Commentaries
July 2023

Canada's New Tech Talent Strategy Takes Aim at High-Skilled Immigrants in the United States

Graphic image of man's hand touching screen with word skills
iStock.com/Natali_Mis

Canada’s Tech Talent Strategy is highly unusual for its explicit targeting of visa holders in another country. Opening a dedicated stream specifically for high-skilled immigrants in the United States who hold an H-1B visa is the latest salvo in a growing global competition for talent—one in which some countries are racing ahead of the United States in terms of policy dynamism, as this commentary explores.

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Policy Briefs
June 2023

Linking Migrant Reintegration Assistance and Development Goals

Young man at his shop in Kenya
IOM

When migrants return to their countries of origin, their reintegration is often most successful in communities that are welcoming, have functional public services, and where livelihood opportunities are available. In recognition of these facts, there has been a growing push to connect reintegration assistance programs with efforts to support local development. This issue brief explores common approaches to building such links.

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Reports
June 2023

Building Meaningful Refugee Participation into Protection Policymaking

Refugee woman who leads a community organization in Cameroon
Jesuit Refugee Service

One promising—but often underutilized—element of addressing the world’s urgent humanitarian protection needs is meaningfully engaging refugees in policymaking processes. As this report highlights, consultations, advisory roles, and leadership and staff positions can help ensure refugees’ knowledge and expertise are reflected in policy responses to displacement. The study also examines common limitations and ways to make engagement more impactful.  

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Reports
June 2023

Migration Narratives in Northern Central America: How Competing Stories Shape Policy and Public Opinion in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador

Colorful speech bubbles
iStock.com/incomible

El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have long histories of emigration, but are seeing increasing transit and return migration as well. This report explores the stories told within these three countries about migration in all its forms, how these narratives intersect with (and at times, contradict) each other, and how they influence policy decisions and public opinion.

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Reports
May 2023

Betting on Legality: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to the Venezuelan Displacement Crisis

A Venezuelan woman receives a visa in the Dominican Republic
Gema Cortés/IOM

Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have pragmatically tapped a variety of policy tools to provide legal status to at least half and as many as two-thirds of the more than 6 million displaced Venezuelans in the region. This report explores the extent to which Venezuelans have been able to obtain legal status in the top 15 host countries, their access to labor markets and public services, and where gaps remain.

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Policy Briefs
April 2023

What Role Can Immigration Play in Addressing Current and Future Labor Shortages?

A blue "we're hiring" sign on a window
iStock.com/Gwengoat

The labor shortages many countries are grappling with have reignited debates over the role immigration can and should play in meeting workforce needs—and how to balance this approach with investments in education and training, labor, and social policy. This brief explores these questions, plus opportunities for governments to refine how they factor shortages into economic immigration policies.

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Venezuelan migrants at the Colombian border.
Articles

In a Dramatic Shift, the Americas Have Become a Leading Migration Destination

Political and economic crises, new free-movement arrangements, and other trends are transforming countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, a region once known primarily for its emigration. The number of immigrants living in the region has nearly doubled since 2010, an incredible change in a short period of time. This article makes sense of a profound transition underway in the Western Hemisphere.

Image of passport page with variety of stamps
Articles

Top Statistics on Global Migration and Migrants

Looking for some of the most often-sought information on global migration? This statistics-rich article draws on the most current data sources to offer a primer on international migration, highlighting its types, the size of the migrant population and growth over time, and major sending and receiving countries and regions. Beyond looking at labor and humanitarian migrants and international students, the article examines remittances and more.

Featured

Catch our new podcast, which examines the challenges facing the world as it seeks to restart travel and migration chilled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The repercussions of this dramatic halt to mobility will be profound, and will almost certainly lead to transformations that will reshape movement for the foreseeable future—maybe even permanently, as we explore.

LatAmPortal 2

Featured

The Migration Portal is the first comprehensive website that tracks developments on immigration policy in Latin America and the Caribbean, presenting authoritative research, data, and analysis produced by MPI, governments, international organizations, researchers, and civil society.

Recent Activity

Multimedia
November 17, 2022
Climate Change in the World’s Fastest Growing Economy
Cover image for Reassessing Recruitment Costs
Policy Briefs
November 2022
Reassessing Recruitment Costs in a Changing World of Labor Migration
By  Kate Hooper
Soccer players during a match.
Articles
November 17, 2022
Who Represents the Country? A Short History of Foreign-Born Athletes in the World Cup
By Gijsbert Oonk
Cover image for Financing Responses to Climate Migration
Reports
November 2022
Financing Responses to Climate Migration: The Unique Role of Multilateral Development Banks
By  Lawrence Huang, Ravenna Sohst and Camille Le Coz
Luxury cars in front of a hotel on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah.
Articles
November 10, 2022
Millionaire Migration Rises and Heads to New Destinations
By Elizabeth Shaw
A collage of Ukrainians in Poland.
Articles
November 2, 2022
Living in Limbo: Displaced Ukrainians in Poland
By Tamar Jacoby
Photo of a group of women collecting water from a riverbed in Kenya
Commentaries
October 2022
Why Financing Responses to Climate Migration Remains a Challenge
By  Lawrence Huang
Cover image for Rebooting the Asylum System?
Reports
October 2022
Rebooting the Asylum System? The Role of Digital Tools in International Protection
By  Hanne Beirens

Pages

New Approaches to Climate Change and Migration: Building the Adaptive Capacity of Mobile Populations
Reports
December 2020
New Approaches to Climate Change and Migration: Building the Adaptive Capacity of Mobile Populations
By  Carol Farbotko
coverthumb_global compacts migration refugees
Policy Briefs
December 2020
The Divergent Trajectories of the Global Migration and Refugee Compacts: Implementation amid Crisis
By  Lena Kainz, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan and Kathleen Newland
coverthumb_rethinking regional_esp
Reports
December 2020
Construcción de un nuevo sistema migratorio regional: Redefiniendo la cooperación entre Estados Unidos con México y Centroamérica
By  Andrew Selee and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
coverthumb_rethinking regional migration
Reports
November 2020
Building a New Regional Migration System: Redefining U.S. Cooperation with Mexico and Central America
By  Andrew Selee and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Managing the Pandemic and Its Aftermath: Economies, Jobs, and International Migration in the Age of COVID-19
Reports
November 2020
Managing the Pandemic and Its Aftermath: Economies, Jobs, and International Migration in the Age of COVID-19
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou
Coverthumb DataMatters2018
Reports
November 2020
Immigration Data Matters
By  Jeanne Batalova, Andriy Shymonyak and Michelle Mittelstadt
coverthumb_global governance pandemic
Policy Briefs
October 2020
Will International Migration Governance Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic?
By  Kathleen Newland
coverthumb_brexit pandemic
Policy Briefs
September 2020
Brexit on the Backburner: Citizens’ Rights and the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement in a Pandemic
By  Aliyyah Ahad and Monica Andriescu

Pages

Image of passport page with variety of stamps
Feature
July 21, 2022
Top Statistics on Global Migration and Migrants

Looking for some of the most often-sought information on global migration? This statistics-rich article draws on the most current data sources to offer a primer on international migration, highlighting its types, the size of the migrant population and growth over time, and major sending and receiving countries and regions. Beyond looking at labor and humanitarian migrants and international students, the article examines remittances and more.

People pulling vehicles from a flooded road in an Afghan village
Feature
June 29, 2022
Climate Change Compounds Longstanding Displacement in Afghanistan

Climate change is compounding the drivers of displacement and international migration in Afghanistan, which has one of world's largest populations of internally displaced persons (IDPs). This article examines the climate and environmental linkages to displacement and migration, as well as the policy approaches taken by the Taliban and predecessor governments, particularly as they relate to water resources management.

Rohingya children sit in Child Friendly Spaces in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
Feature
June 2, 2022
COVID-19 Pandemic Ushered in Unprecedented Slowdown of Asylum Claims

Beyond slowing global mobility dramatically, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a major drop in asylum claims around the world, with the 1.1 million people seeking asylum in 2020 representing a 45 percent decline from the year before. This article examines the challenges to asylum processing during the pandemic, particularly for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Migrants and natives dance at a multicultural celebration in La Vega, Chile.
Profile
May 18, 2022
Chile’s Welcoming Approach to Immigrants Cools as Numbers Rise

In the years since its return to democracy, Chile has emerged as a major immigration destination within South America. Yet recent large-scale migrant arrivals from Haiti and Venezuela have shaken the country’s politics and at times overwhelmed a decades-old immigration framework that critics contended was woefully out of date. New reforms could tighten immigration, but many questions remain. This country profile analyzes migration to Chile particularly since 1990.

People in France rally for far-right politician Marine Le Pen on May Day.
Profile
May 5, 2022
France Reckons with Immigration Amid Reality of Rising Far Right

Over recent decades, France has sought to build a more selective immigration system that welcomes students and well-educated workers but enacts restrictions for asylum seekers. This country profile examines France's immigration policies and trends, including the rise of far-right political parties that have used immigration as a wedge to increase their base and their influence.

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International Migration Review Forum 2022 Official Side Event
Video, Audio
May 17, 2022

Making Social Cohesion Work for Everyone: What Can We Learn from Development Interventions on How to Promote Inclusion and Reduce Xenophobia?

Organized on the margins of the first International Migration Review Forum, this official side event looks at effective practices and programs to build socially cohesive and inclusive societies—including lessons from post-conflict settings on how to build intergroup trust. Discussants focus on successful development interventions and offer examples of why some promising ideas may have fallen short in practice.

Nigerian Ministry of interior launched IOM’s Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) in Abuja airport.
Video, Audio
May 10, 2022

The State of Global Human Mobility More than Two Years into the Pandemic

Marking the launch of an IOM-MPI report, this webcast examines the state of mobility across world regions into the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic—what travel restrictions remain, what policy adaptations have occurred, and how do systems improve for the next public-health crisis.

Displaced Ukrainians who have just crossed the Medyka border in Poland getting assistance from IOM
Video, Audio
May 4, 2022

Public Narratives on Refugees: Sustaining Solidarity in Times of Crisis

Experts consider what is known about public opinion and narratives on refugees, looking at the Ukrainian and Syrian crises, and how post-crisis solidarity can be harnessed towards sustainable protection.  

Emergency department. Centre Hospitalier de la Région d'Annecy (CHRA)
Video
April 28, 2022

How Can Europe Address Its Labor Market Needs at a Time of Upheaval?

Held immediately after the European Union unveiled its skills and talent package, this MPI Europe webinar explores how Europe can address its labor market needs at a time of great upheaval, and the role that immigration and immigrant integration policy can play in helping propel Europe’s economic recovery.

Expert Q&A, Audio
March 29, 2022

Are Climate Migrants Treated Differently than Other Migrants?

Do host communities respond differently to people migrating because of environmental impacts compared to refugees fleeing war or migrants seeking work? Research discussed on this episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration suggests the answer is yes.

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Recent Activity

Expert Q&A, Audio
November 17, 2022

Climate Change in the World’s Fastest Growing Economy

Guyana is a small country in South America that will be greatly transformed by the recent discovery of massive offshore oil reserves. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration discusses how the world’s fastest growing economy is confronting environmental change, particularly with economic growth and proximity to troubled Venezuela likely to drive significant immigration.

Policy Briefs
November 2022

Reassessing Recruitment Costs in a Changing World of Labor Migration

Migrant workers can pay a range of costs when they are recruited and relocate for jobs abroad, accruing significant debt. While many countries, international organizations, and other stakeholders have sought to reduce or eliminate recruitment costs, the pandemic has exacerbated and added to these expenses. This policy brief explores how the costs migrant workers face have changed, and what these developments mean for efforts to promote fair and ethical recruitment.

Articles
November 17, 2022

Who Represents the Country? A Short History of Foreign-Born Athletes in the World Cup

Historically, nearly one in ten male soccer players at the FIFA World Cup were born in a country other than the one listed on their jersey. At times, the presence of these internationally born athletes can prompt difficult questions about the meaning of the nation and who gets to represent it. This article examines the long history of multinational athletes in top-level competitions.

Reports
November 2022

Financing Responses to Climate Migration: The Unique Role of Multilateral Development Banks

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) have emerged as major players in responding to climate change, investing in sustainable infrastructure and climate resilience. But while many MDBs have shown interest in projects with positive impacts for climate migrants and host communities, they sometimes struggle to maximize these effects. This report examines MDBs’ role in responding to climate-related migration and displacement to date and opportunities to scale up their work.

Articles
November 10, 2022

Millionaire Migration Rises and Heads to New Destinations

Migrant millionaires are once again on the move, though headed to new destinations amid fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While wealthy new arrivals can help provide a healthy tax base and invest in local economies, they can upset housing markets and exacerbate wealth disparities, as this article describes.

Articles
November 2, 2022

Living in Limbo: Displaced Ukrainians in Poland

Poland hosts millions of Ukrainians who fled Russia’s invasion. While the new arrivals have tended to have been greeted warmly, many have questions about the future. As the months pass, many displaced Ukrainians wonder when and if they will return to their native country. This article, based on interviews with dozens of displaced Ukrainians in Poland, examines their experiences.

Commentaries
October 2022

Why Financing Responses to Climate Migration Remains a Challenge

Despite years of alarmist discourse that climate change will lead to hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people moving to the Global North, funding the scale of efforts needed to address climate migration remains a persistent challenge. This commentary examines the gaps between climate donors and migration actors and offers recommendations to begin to break the silos.

Reports
October 2022

Rebooting the Asylum System? The Role of Digital Tools in International Protection

There has been a flurry of digital activity in the asylum field since the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily halted protection operations, and it has led officials to rethink how everything from registration to case adjudication happens. But what does this increasing use of technology mean for the people and processes involved? This report explores this question, as well as the challenges of balancing technology’s potential benefits with measures to mitigate its risks.

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