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.

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A Haitian child looks over his mother's shoulder in Panama

Commentaries

Addressing the Next Displacement Crisis in the Making in the Americas

The next major displacement of people in the Americas is in the making, and it is going unnoticed. The response to the steady emigration from Haiti seen since a devastating 2010 earthquake has been largely haphazard and may not stand the test of new spikes as the country unravels further. This commentary suggests a way forward, based on a model used for the Venezuelan displacement crisis.

A Venezuelan man holds a passport in front of a sign for Ecuador's regularization process

Featured

A Winding Path to Integration: Venezuelan Migrants’ Regularization and Labor Market Prospects

Venezuelan displacement has prompted countries across Latin America and the Caribbean to launch policies and programs to register, regularize, and support the integration of arriving Venezuelans. However, the extent to which regular status has helped Venezuelans find work has varied from country to country, as this report discusses.

Migrants in the Darien Gap village of Canaan Membrillo, Panama.

Articles

How the Treacherous Darien Gap Became a Migration Crossroads of the Americas

Passage through the Darien Gap has transformed migration across the Americas. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken the incredibly perilous journey across the remote jungle between Colombia and Panama, risking exposure to hazardous terrain, criminal groups, and other dangers. As this article outlines, governments have struggled to respond to the growing movement, expected to top 500,000 crossings in 2023.

Recent Activity

Articles November 5, 2021 Costa Rica Has Welcoming Policies for Migrants, but Nicaraguans Face Subtle Barriers By María Jesús Mora	Policy Briefs November 2021 Investing in Alternatives to Irregular Migration from Central America: Options to Expand U.S. Employment Pathways By Cristobal Ramón
Reports October 2021 African Migration through the Americas: Drivers, Routes, and Policy Responses By Caitlyn Yates and Jessica Bolter	Articles September 30, 2021 Haitian Migration through the Americas: A Decade in the Making By Caitlyn Yates
Articles August 26, 2021 Gang Membership in Central America: More Complex than Meets the Eye By Michael Paarlberg	Multimedia July 29, 2021 Part of a New Community: The Integration of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees in South America
Reports July 2021 Socioeconomic Integration of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees: The Cases of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru By Diego Chaves-González, Jordi Amaral and María Jesús Mora	Commentaries June 2021 Lessons from Europe: The U.S. Opportunity to Rethink the Links Between Development Assistance and Migration By Camille Le Coz and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto

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Reports January 2013 Manufacturing in the United States, Mexico, and Central America: Implications for Competitiveness and Migration By Peter A. Creticos and Eleanor Sohnen	Reports December 2012 Paying for Crime: A Review of the Relationships between Insecurity and Development in Mexico and Central America By Eleanor Sohnen
Reports November 2012 Border Insecurity in Central America's Northern Triangle By Ralph Espach and Daniel Haering	Reports November 2012 Transnational Crime in Mexico and Central America: Its Evolution and Role in International Migration By Steven Dudley
Reports October 2012 New Approaches to Migration Management in Mexico and Central America By Francisco Alba and Manuel Ángel Castillo	Reports August 2012 Central American Development: Two Decades of Progress and Challenges for the Future By Hugo Beteta
Reports August 2012 Understanding Mexico's Economic Underperformance By Gordon H. Hanson	Reports April 2012 The Development and Fiscal Effects of Emigration on Mexico By Raymundo Campos-Vazquez and Horacio Sobarzo

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Feature

March 7, 2018

Connecting the Dots: Emerging Migration Trends and Policy Questions in North and Central America

Together, Canada, Mexico, and the United States are home to nearly one-quarter of the world's migrants. Despite shifts in the profile of those who migrate and changing demographic realities across the region, such as population aging, perceptions and policies remain set in earlier eras. This article explores the intersection of migration and population dynamics in North America and the Northern Triangle of Central America.

PeruviansInChile MunicipalidadDeSantiago Flickr

Feature

January 17, 2018

Amid Record Numbers of Arrivals, Chile Turns Rightward on Immigration

Chile's immigrant population has more than quadrupled since the country emerged from dictatorship in the early 1990s. As immigration has grown and moved away from its European roots to become more diverse, it has emerged as a hot-button political issue, complicating longstanding efforts to reform the country's 1975 immigration law. This article explores Chile's shift to the right on immigration, and how policies might evolve under the presidency of conservative Sebastián Piñera.

Top Ten

December 7, 2017

In Latin America, Spike in Migrant Arrivals Prompts Flurry of Responses

Migration surged throughout South America in 2017, challenging governments to keep up with inflows. Brazil, Colombia, and Peru worked to process record numbers of Venezuelan asylum applications, and launched special visa programs for some new arrivals. While the government responses have been largely welcoming, the illegal immigration of Haitians provoked more restrictive policy reactions in Chile and Argentina.

Feature

June 14, 2017

Amid Economic Crisis and Political Turmoil, Venezuelans Form a New Exodus

Record number of Venezuelans are emigrating to escape the country's economic mismanagement, insecurity, and shortages. This article examines the causes of the current crisis and draws from a study of thousands of Venezuelans abroad to examine who is leaving, where they have headed, and what their hopes are for the future of Venezuela. It also scopes future opportunities for diaspora engagement.

Profile

April 13, 2017

As Colombia Emerges from Decades of War, Migration Challenges Mount

Colombia has more internally displaced persons (IDPs) than any other country in the world, the result of a 52-year civil war. Beyond improving the lives of its 7.3 million IDPs, the country faces a number of crucial migration issues as it works to achieve stability in the wake of an historic peace accord signed in late 2016. This country profile examines historical trends and current and future migration challenges in Colombia.

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flickr he EU and the Red Cross assist thousands of Venezuelans migrating throughout Latin America31015568117_172de8bd67_z

Video, Audio

December 5, 2018

How Latin America Is Responding to the Venezuelan Exodus

Over 3 million Venezuelans have fled in response to the deepening political and economic crisis in their country, becoming one of the largest and fastest outflows anywhere in the world. Senior officials from Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, which are home to more than half of these Venezuelan migrants and refugees, discussed their countries' responses to this migration and other experts talked on the broader trend across the region and the prospects for future policy responses.

Video, Audio

June 5, 2018

Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together

Marking the release of MPI President Andrew Selee's latest book, speakers explore emerging trends in migration, economic interdependence, technology innovation, and cultural exchange that are transforming the relationship between the United States and Mexico, and the policy implications of these changes for the future.

EVENT PHOTO 20155.12.14 MEXICAN FOREIGN SECRETARY2L

Video, Audio

December 15, 2015

Leadership Visions: A Discussion with Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz-Massieu

An MPI Leadership Visions discussion with the Foreign Minister of Mexico, Claudia Ruiz-Massieu, for her first public appearance in Washington, DC.

Webinars

December 11, 2015

Reception and Reintegration Services in Central America: Ending the Deportee Revolving Door

A webinar releasing a report examining deportations to Central America and reception and reintegration services in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Video, Audio

September 3, 2015

Regional Enforcement: A Profile of Migrants Deported from the United States and Mexico to the Northern Triangle

This webinar includes an overview of regional immigration enforcement trends, including U.S. and Mexican apprehensions and deportations of Central American migrants, along with a demographic, socioeconomic, and criminal profile of child and adult deportees.

Recent Activity

Articles

November 5, 2021

Costa Rica Has Welcoming Policies for Migrants, but Nicaraguans Face Subtle Barriers

Tens of thousands of Nicaraguans have fled their country since 2018, amid repression and a renewed government crackdown. In neighboring Costa Rica, many migrants have encountered a robust system for protection and integration, yet they still face stigma and discrimination in their daily lives. This article explores this dynamic along one of Central America's most important migratory routes.

Policy Briefs

November 2021

Investing in Alternatives to Irregular Migration from Central America: Options to Expand U.S. Employment Pathways

There is increasing recognition that the United States, Mexico, and migrant-origin countries in Central America will need to work together to address the large-scale, irregular movement of people through the region. While it is critical to improve humanitarian protection for those in need, expanding legal opportunities to take up employment abroad is another part of this equation, as this policy brief explores.

Reports

October 2021

African Migration through the Americas: Drivers, Routes, and Policy Responses

The number of African migrants traveling through South and Central America in hopes of reaching the U.S.-Mexico border, many seeking asylum, is small but increasing. This report examines the factors driving African migration through the Americas, common routes and challenges, and how transit countries are responding.

Articles

September 30, 2021

Haitian Migration through the Americas: A Decade in the Making

The chaotic arrival of thousands of Haitians at the U.S.-Mexico border in September 2021 was the culmination of a journey through the Americas that began for many a decade ago. This article examines how Brazil became a refuge for many after Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake, and how Haitians then moved on to Chile and other countries as conditions changed, and then onward again further north.

Articles

August 26, 2021

Gang Membership in Central America: More Complex than Meets the Eye

Gang violence is a major driver of migration, particularly from Central America to the United States. But governments on both sides often rely on outdated and static understandings of gangs and their membership. This article explains the history of groups such as MS-13 and Barrio 18 and why they are relevant for immigration policy.

Video, Audio, Webinars

July 29, 2021

Part of a New Community: The Integration of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees in South America

Featuring the release of an MPI-IOM analysis on the socioeconomic integration of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, this webinar explores the pace of Venezuelan integration considering evolving regional and national policies, the pandemic, and changing migration dynamics.

Reports

July 2021

Socioeconomic Integration of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees: The Cases of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

More than five years since Venezuelans began emigrating in large numbers, it is becoming clear that many plan to stay abroad for an extended time, if not permanently. How are they settling into life in key South American destination countries? This report explores their economic inclusion, access to education and health care, social cohesion, and more, and how conditions have changed amid the pandemic.

Commentaries

June 2021

Lessons from Europe: The U.S. Opportunity to Rethink the Links Between Development Assistance and Migration

As the United States embarks on a new strategy to address the root causes of migration and displacement from Central America, there is much that it can learn from Europe's experience in linking up migration and development aid. This commentary examines the experience of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), drawing five key lessons directly applicable to the situation in Central America.

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