Transatlantic Council on Migration Statements

MPI's Transatlantic Council on Migration releases a Council Statement after each plenary meeting, drawing out key insight and proposing recommendations. All Statements are available below, starting with the most recent. 

Coming Together or Coming Apart? A New Phase of International Cooperation on Migration
Faced with the pandemic and its economic fallout, many countries have looked inward. Yet the nature and scale of the crisis has vividly illustrated the necessity of working across borders to address transnational challenges. This Transatlantic Council on Migration statement examines how the context for international cooperation has shifted since the Global Compact for Migration was adopted, and reflects on a way forward for migration cooperation.

Rebuilding Community after Crisis: Striking a New Social Contract for Diverse Societies
Addressing the deep-rooted integration challenges unearthed by large-scale migration and rapid social change will require a combination of strategies. Governments in Europe and North America must create a new social contract for increasingly diverse societies that are confronting cycles of demographic, economic, and other disruption. This report sketches a blueprint for an adaptive process oriented by skill needs rather than national origins and that draws on efforts across policy portfolios.

Equipping Immigrant Selection Systems for a Changing World of Work
As technological developments—from automation to artificial intelligence and machine learning—reshape the world of work, governments face the challenge of updating how they attract, select, and retain economic-stream immigrants. This report, concluding a series on building migration systems for a new age of economic competitiveness, lays out the key considerations for "future-proofing" immigrant selection systems.

The Future of Migration Policy in a Volatile Political Landscape
Nativist populism is both symptom and driver of the challenges facing many societies in Europe and the United States. And, as this Transatlantic Council Statement explores, it is reshaping political landscapes and immigration debates. Rebuilding public trust in governments’ ability to manage migration will require that policymakers actively address social and economic divisions and provide a credible alternative to populism.

Building Partnerships to Respond to the Next Decade’s Migration Challenges
As destination countries look for ways to better manage migration, many are seeking to build or strengthen collaboration with origin and transit countries. While many partnerships share similar goals—limiting arrivals, returning unauthorized migrants, and addressing migration’s root causes—their outcomes vary. This Transatlantic Council Statement examines the factors behind these mixed results and offers recommendations to make partnerships succeed.

Rebuilding after Crisis: Embedding Refugee Integration in Migration Management Systems
This Transatlantic Council Statement explores the integration questions that the recent refugee and migration crisis in Europe has brought to the fore and their effect on broader governance structures for managing migration. As the immediate pressures have abated, policymakers have refocused their energies on preventing the next crisis and ensuring that newcomers—and the communities in which they settle—have the tools to thrive.

Understanding and Addressing Public Anxiety About Immigration
What factors are fueling rising public anxiety over immigration seen in Europe and North America? This Transatlantic Council Statement outlines and analyzes the factors that can set the stage for such public unease—some of which have their roots outside of immigration policy per se, and are instead deeply embedded in the global, national, and local contexts within which migration occurs—and offers policymakers strategies to respond.

Rethinking Emigration: Turning Challenges into Opportunities
While European countries struggle to manage the recent influx of refugees, many are separately facing a less visible trend: large numbers of talented residents leaving. This Statement from the Transatlantic Council's twelfth plenary meeting examines the new reality of emigration from middle- and high-income countries and identifies how governments can mitigate the costs of emigration and "brain drain."

Beyond Asylum: Rethinking Protection Policies to Meet Sharply Escalating Needs
MPI's Transatlantic Council on Migration convened its thirteenth plenary meeting to propose innovative solutions to address the increasing strains on the global protection system amid huge displacement. This Council Statement highlights the need for national governments and international actors to respond proactively to rising displacement and to look beyond the care-and-maintenance model of protection and help the long-term displaced find their economic and social footing.

Fostering an Inclusive Identity Where It Matters Most: At the Local Level
In the face of transformative demographic changes and migration flows, cities must constantly redefine their own identities. This Council Statement focuses on the identity crisis that many cities are facing and offers strategies to unite cities, expand services for diverse groups, and foster community cohesion.

Migration’s Local Dividends: How Cities and Regions Can Make the Most of Immigration
While cities and regions experience both the positive and negative effects of immigration first-hand, they are typically at arm’s length, at best, from the policy reins that enable and shape these movements. Immigration policies are rarely calibrated to regional, let alone local, needs. This Council Statement examines how policymakers at all levels can work together to get more out of immigration.

How Migration Can Advance Development Goals
International migration and development are inextricably linked. This Statement distills the Council’s discussions on the connection between migration and development, focusing on the most promising areas for international cooperation and offering evidence-based recommendations for improving the development outcomes of migration.

Curbing the Influence of "Bad Actors" in International Migration
There are a continuum of policies needed to disrupt illegal migration-related activities throughout the cycle and addresses the conditions that make them possible. This Council Statement examines the role of migration "bad actors"—human traffickers and unscrupulous employers, among them—who operate and profit in this environment, and considers how governments can deploy resources to discourage their actions.

Maximizing Human Capital in a Rapidly Evolving Economic Landscape
This Council Statement outlines the guiding principles and recommendations of the ninth plenary meeting of the TCM, which focused on how public and private-sector actors can make smart investments in underutilized workers, including immigrants. A key goal: how to maximize the potential of those with skills of all types, including the often-overlooked middle skills.

Rethinking National Identity in the Age of Migration
This Statement examines both the challenge and opportunity for governments, in an era of skepticism about migration, to create a new definition of “we” based on a more inclusive idea of national identity and belonging, and to convince the broader society that investing in integration is an investment in shared futures.