Latin America and Caribbean Initiative

MPI’s Latin America and Caribbean Initiative acts as a policy laboratory to develop evidence-based research and innovative, effective policy solutions for the migration challenges facing Latin America and the Caribbean.
A map showing Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean highlighted in teal
Once thought of primarily as a region of emigration, countries across Latin America and the Caribbean are confronting new and increasingly complex migration and humanitarian pressures, including the integration of millions of Venezuelan migrants and asylum seekers who have fled their country since 2014 and the management of regional migration flows across Central and North America.

The Initiative produces research, trends and policy analysis, and policy design; provides technical assistance; and organizes private convenings and public events to inform the decisions of policymakers, the private sector, civil society, and other stakeholders as they respond to evolving trends and policy developments.

Current focus areas include legal pathways, immigrant integration, migration and development, and regional cooperation on migration management.

Para leer las investigaciones de la Iniciativa en español, haga clic aquí.

A Venezuelan woman receives a visa in the Dominican Republic

Featured

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

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.

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.

Two Haitian women stand in front of a mural in Mexico

Featured

Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean: A Policy Review

Although Caribbean migration is often discussed in terms of movement to North America and Europe, migration within the region has increased notably in recent years. With people on the move for work or study, to join family, and to seek safety from natural disasters or persecution, this mobility takes many forms. This report explores Caribbean migration trends and the policies and institutions put in place at national and regional levels to manage them.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs September 2020 Venezuelan Migration, Crime, and Misperceptions: A Review of Data from Colombia, Peru, and Chile By Dany Bahar, Meagan Dooley and Andrew Selee	Fact Sheets August 2020 Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Regional Profile By Diego Chaves-González and Carlos Echeverría-Estrada
Articles August 19, 2020 Haiti’s Painful Evolution from Promised Land to Migrant-Sending Nation By Georges E. Fouron	Policy Briefs June 2020 One Year after the U.S.-Mexico Agreement: Reshaping Mexico’s Migration Policies By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Multimedia April 2, 2020 COVID-19 in Latin America: Tackling Health Care & Other Impacts for Vulnerable Migrant Populations	Multimedia February 11, 2020 Is the Door Closing? Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan Migration
Articles February 5, 2020 Ally or Exploiter? The Smuggler-Migrant Relationship Is a Complex One By Jasper Gilardi	Reports February 2020 An Uneven Welcome: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration By Andrew Selee and Jessica Bolter

Pages

Reports January 2010 Protection through Integration: The Mexican Government's Efforts to Aid Migrants in the United States By Laureen Laglagaron	Reports October 2008 Demographic Trends in Mexico: The Implications for Skilled Migration By Elena Zúñiga and Miguel Molina
Reports June 2006 America's Emigrants: U.S. Retirement Migration to Mexico and Panama By David Dixon, Julie Murray and Julia Gelatt	Fact Sheets October 2005 United States-Canada-Mexico Fact Sheet on Trade and Migration By Deborah W. Meyers
Reports January 2004 NAFTA's Promise and Reality: Lessons from Mexico for the Hemisphere By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, John J. Audley, Sandra Polaski and Scott Vaughan	Policy Briefs June 2003 Does 'Smarter' Lead to Safer? An Assessment of the Border Accords with Canada and Mexico By Deborah W. Meyers
Fact Sheets April 2002 A Grand Bargain: Balancing the National Security, Economic, and Immigration Interests of the U.S. and Mexico By Demetrios G. Papademetriou

Pages

Feature

August 23, 2016

Free Movement in South America: The Emergence of an Alternative Model?

In contrast to increasingly restrictive approaches to migration in the global North—and recent skepticism towards Europe's free mobility project—South America is taking steps in the other direction, toward free movement for regional migrants. This article examines the emerging South American model and discusses its implications for migration in the region and for free movement in general.

Feature

August 16, 2016

Rebuilding Self and Country: Deportee Reintegration in Jamaica

More than 100 Jamaicans are deported on average each month from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, and are returned to a country grappling with high levels of crime and poverty. This article explores the constructive role that deported migrants, who are often socially stigmatized upon return, can play in rebuilding their lives while contributing to the larger project of national development in Jamaica.

Policy Beat

February 18, 2016

Increased Central American Migration to the United States May Prove an Enduring Phenomenon

The complex push and pull factors driving child and family migration from Central America to the United States have changed little since the 2014 crisis. Despite some fluctuation in arrival numbers, recent trends suggest the characteristics of an enduring phenomenon. This Policy Beat explores the latest developments in U.S. policy responses, including enforcement operations, development assistance, and family detention.

stjc nt ColombiaTumacoDisplacedCommunity Flickr

Feature

January 14, 2016

Protecting the Forcibly Displaced: Latin America’s Evolving Refugee and Asylum Framework

Signed more than 30 years ago, the Cartagena Declaration sought to address rising flows of refugees and establish regional solidarity in refugee protection in Latin America. This article explores the evolution of refugee and asylum policies in Latin America amid the long-running Colombian civil war, as well as the region's response to the current global refugee crisis.

NicaraguanCoffeePickers IngmarZahorsky Flickr

Feature

August 26, 2015

Business as Usual? Regularizing Foreign Labor in Costa Rica

With the growing urbanization and consolidation of Nicaraguan immigrants in sectors such as construction and domestic service, Costa Rica has shifted its focus from immigration enforcement to integration. Tension has emerged between the government and private sector as a new mechanism for regularizing unauthorized immigrant workers has failed to gain traction.

Pages

EVENT PH 2014.02.05 Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally A presentation in Guatemala on the Regional Migration Study Group

Video

February 5, 2014

Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally- A presentation in Guatemala on the Regional Migration Study Group

During this public briefing in Guatemala City (conducted in both English and Spanish), the Co-Directors of the Migration Policy Institute-convened Regional Migration Study Group, MPI President Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Senior Fellow Doris Meissner, presented the Study Group’s final report, Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration and Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America.

Video, Audio

May 6, 2013

Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: A New View on Migration and Human Capital for the United States, Mexico, and Central America

A panel discussion on the release of the Regional Migration Study Group's final report, Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration & Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America, outlining its findings and offering recommendations to policymakers in the region.

Video, Audio

April 5, 2013

Changing Dynamics: Immigration, Mexico, and the United States

This discussion with Mexico's new Ambassador to the United States focused on changing dynamics in Mexico, and their implications for both Mexico and the U.S.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs

September 2020

Venezuelan Migration, Crime, and Misperceptions: A Review of Data from Colombia, Peru, and Chile

More than 4 million Venezuelans have moved to other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, raising concerns about how these arrivals are affecting receiving communities. Some politicians and pundits have asserted that migration is leading to an increase in crime—a claim this issue brief finds misplaced based on examination of official data from Chile, Colombia, and Peru.

Fact Sheets

August 2020

Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Regional Profile

As Latin American and Caribbean countries face a dual challenge—managing large-scale Venezuelan arrivals alongside the COVID-19 pandemic—reliable data on the characteristics of newcomers are essential to policymaking. This MPI-IOM fact sheet offers a profile of refugees and migrants in 11 countries in the region, including their demographics, labor market participation, remittance sending, access to health care, trip details, and intention to return to Venezuela.

Articles

August 19, 2020

Haiti’s Painful Evolution from Promised Land to Migrant-Sending Nation

For more than a century, Haiti was considered a prime destination for migrants from the United States and around the world. In the wake of the Haitian Revolution, Haiti marketed itself to freed slaves and others as an island haven where they could break free from the strictures of the United States and a global system of slavery. That changed in the 20th century. Now, there are roughly 1.6 million Haitians living in other countries.

Policy Briefs

June 2020

One Year after the U.S.-Mexico Agreement: Reshaping Mexico’s Migration Policies

The migration cooperation agreement signed by the Mexican and U.S. governments in June 2019 ushered in an intense period of policy change in Mexico, with effects at their shared border. One year on, this brief takes stock of changes in Mexico’s immigration enforcement and asylum systems. It also explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the border and highlights opportunities for future policy development.

Audio, Webinars

April 2, 2020

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 Colombia and Latin America. Speakers also discussed how policymakers and international organizations can include migrant populations in their emergency response plans.

Video, Audio, Webinars

February 11, 2020

Is the Door Closing? Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan Migration

This webinar marked the launch of a Latin American and Caribbean Migration Portal, and a report examining migration and integration policy responses towards massive Venezuelan displacement.

Articles

February 5, 2020

Ally or Exploiter? The Smuggler-Migrant Relationship Is a Complex One

As highly industrialized countries ramp up their border controls, human smugglers are playing a central role in moving migrants through key migration corridors around the world. Despite the illicit nature of their work and being cast as villains in the public eye, smugglers have complex, multifaceted relationships with their clients. At times, the relationship can be mutually beneficial or even lifesaving; at others, it can be predatory and dangerous, as this article explores.

Reports

February 2020

An Uneven Welcome: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration

Large-scale displacement from Venezuela and Nicaragua is reshaping the migration landscape in much of Latin America and the Caribbean. This report, accompanied by the launch of a new Migration Portal offering research and analysis on the region, examines the immigration and integration policy responses of 11 countries, including pathways to legal status and measures to integrate newcomers into schools, health-care systems, and labor markets.

Programs

Topics see all >

Regions see all >

Data

Featured Publication

Programs

You are here

Latin America and Caribbean Initiative

Recent Activity

Pages

Pages

Pages

Pages

Recent Activity

Pages