E.g., 10/03/2023
E.g., 10/03/2023
Asia and the Pacific

Asia and the Pacific

Asia has a disproportionate share of the world’s young, working-age population—which represents the most mobile cohort—with resulting major immigration flows to other regions, and increasing intraregional migration as demographic transitions occur at different levels within Asia. The research here focuses on how the labor-sending countries of the region, notably the Philippines and other Colombo Process countries, manage these migration flows and the recruitment process. It also examines other conditions affecting the region, including humanitarian protection challenges, climate migration, diaspora relations, and remittances.

Protests at a refugee compound in Nauru.
Articles

As Nauru Shows, Asylum Outsourcing Has Unexpected Impacts on Host Communities

For two decades, asylum seekers seeking to reach Australia by boat were diverted to Nauru, a small Pacific Island nation that made a hefty profit off the extraterritorial asylum arrangement. But attitudes among local Nauruans have been mixed, with some fearing their economy revolved around Australia and the foreign workers who shuttled in and out of the processing center. As more countries seek to strike offshore asylum deals, this article examines the effects on local communities.

Migrant workers at a textile factory in Jordan
Policy Briefs

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.

People pulling vehicles from a flooded road in an Afghan village
Articles

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.

Recent Activity

Protests at a refugee compound in Nauru.
Articles
August 29, 2023
As Nauru Shows, Asylum Outsourcing Has Unexpected Impacts on Host Communities
By Julia Morris
Community leaders and former returnees act as focal points to help returnees in accessing relevant services,
Multimedia
July 25, 2023
Improving Communications in the Voluntary Return and Reintegration Network
Multimedia
July 12, 2023
Climate Migration 101
A double border wall leads to a boat launch in Yuma, Arizona.
Articles
May 31, 2023
Global Spending on Immigration Enforcement Is Higher than Ever and Rising
By Mark Akkerman
Multimedia
May 23, 2023
The Curious Case of China – What Does the COVID-19 Response by China & Asia Pacific Mean for Future Public Health Crises?
Image of USCIS Director Ur Jaddou
Multimedia
April 11, 2023
Meeting Global Skills and Talent Needs in Changing Labor Markets
Multimedia
March 6, 2023
Climate Migration to Cities: Does the Move to Urban Areas Reduce Risk?
Women with children and a donkey in Ethiopia.
Articles
March 1, 2023
Efforts to Manage Climate Migration Are Slowly Growing, but Their Focus Is Often Indirect
By Lawrence Huang

Pages

Cover image for External Processing report
Reports
February 2023
External Processing: A Tool to Expand Protection or Further Restrict Territorial Asylum?
By  Pauline Endres de Oliveira and Nikolas Feith Tan
Cover image for Using Risk Analysis to Shape Border Management
Reports
January 2023
Using Risk Analysis to Shape Border Management: A Review of Approaches during the COVID-19 Pandemic
By  Kelley Lee, Julianne Piper and Jennifer Fang
Cover image for Reassessing Recruitment Costs
Policy Briefs
November 2022
Reassessing Recruitment Costs in a Changing World of Labor Migration
By  Kate Hooper
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
Cover image for The Future of Remote Work
Reports
June 2022
The Future of Remote Work: Digital Nomads and the Implications for Immigration Systems
By  Kate Hooper and Meghan Benton
Cover image for COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2021
Reports
May 2022
COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2021
By  Meghan Benton, Samuel Davidoff-Gore, Jeanne Batalova, Lawrence Huang and Jie Zong
Report cover, From Fear to Solidarity
Reports
May 2022
From Fear to Solidarity: The Difficulty in Shifting Public Narratives about Refugees
By  Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
Cover image for Digital Health Credentials and COVID-19: Can Vaccine and Testing Requirements Restar
Reports
April 2022
Digital Health Credentials and COVID-19: Can Vaccine and Testing Requirements Restart Global Mobility?
By  Lawrence Huang

Pages

Protests at a refugee compound in Nauru.
Feature
August 29, 2023
As Nauru Shows, Asylum Outsourcing Has Unexpected Impacts on Host Communities

For two decades, asylum seekers seeking to reach Australia by boat were diverted to Nauru, a small Pacific Island nation that made a hefty profit off the extraterritorial asylum arrangement. But attitudes among local Nauruans have been mixed, with some fearing their economy revolved around Australia and the foreign workers who shuttled in and out of the processing center. As more countries seek to strike offshore asylum deals, this article examines the effects on local communities.

A double border wall leads to a boat launch in Yuma, Arizona.
Feature
May 31, 2023
Global Spending on Immigration Enforcement Is Higher than Ever and Rising

Budgets for border security and interior immigration enforcement have been on the rise in places including the United States and the European Union. The spending is a result of the heightened focus on securitization by the Global North and has led to a ballooning private industry. This article explains the trend.

Women with children and a donkey in Ethiopia.
Feature
March 1, 2023
Efforts to Manage Climate Migration Are Slowly Growing, but Their Focus Is Often Indirect

Can haphazard, unplanned climate displacement be turned into voluntary, safe migration? Projects explicitly aimed at addressing internal and international climate migration are rare, but development organizations increasingly are turning their attention to supporting them. This article catalogues climate mobility projects around the world and examines their primary goals, whether to support the movement or stay of people or help at destination.

A migrant from Tajikistan outside Moscow.
Feature
February 7, 2023
Post-Soviet Labor Migrants in Russia Face New Questions amid War in Ukraine

Millions of immigrants fill key sectors in Russia’s economy, help offset its demographic challenges, and support origin communities, particularly in Central Asia. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many have also been pressured into joining the military, and meanwhile face continued marginalization by Russian society. This article outlines the key issues facing these migrants, some of which have been complicated by the fallout from the war.

A refugee receives emergency assistance in Uganda.
Feature
February 2, 2023
Migrants in Need Report Barriers to Assistance and Fragile Trust in Humanitarian Organizations

Many refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants do not trust humanitarian actors, are unable to access assistance, or did not have support when they needed it. This article, featuring findings from a large-scale survey involving more than 16,000 migrants in countries around the world, provides an overview of these challenges.

Pages

archive >
Women and children outside of home in Sohadat, Afghanistan
Commentaries
August 2021
The International Community Must Develop a Well-Coordinated Protection Strategy for Afghan Refugees
By  Hanne Beirens and Camille Le Coz
Covid Mobility Commentary Flickr JensOlafWalter
Commentaries
May 2020
The Rocky Road to a Mobile World after COVID-19
By  Meghan Benton
SeasonalWorkerCommentary ClausBunks Flickr
Commentaries
March 2020
A Race Against the Clock: Meeting Seasonal Labor Needs in the Age of COVID-19
By  Kate Hooper and Camille Le Coz
graeme_hugo_highres
Commentaries
January 2015
The Field of Migration Studies Loses a Giant: Graeme Hugo
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou
_LampedusaMigrants
Commentaries
October 2013
The Lampedusa Tragedy Prompts the Question: Does the UN Have Any Impact on the World’s Migrants?
By  Kathleen Newland
Community leaders and former returnees act as focal points to help returnees in accessing relevant services,
Video, Audio
July 25, 2023

Improving Communications in the Voluntary Return and Reintegration Network

This webinar explores the goals and target audiences for public-facing information campaigns on voluntary return and reintegration, how to evaluate dissemination gaps, and the risks associated with inadvertently issuing messages that are not trusted or are misunderstood.

Expert Q&A, Audio
July 12, 2023

Climate Migration 101

Climate migration sounds simple. It is not. MPI’s Lawrence Huang answers some of the most common questions around one of the least understood dynamics in human movement.

Expert Q&A, Audio
May 23, 2023

The Curious Case of China – What Does the COVID-19 Response by China & Asia Pacific Mean for Future Public Health Crises?

MPI's Lawrence Huang discusses COVID-19 mobility restrictions in China and the Asia Pacific—and what this all means for future public health crises—with Dr. Karen Grépin, a health policy professor at the University of Hong Kong.

Image of USCIS Director Ur Jaddou
Video, Audio
April 11, 2023

Meeting Global Skills and Talent Needs in Changing Labor Markets

Marking the launch of MPI’s Global Skills and Talent Initiative, this webcast features senior policymakers and other experts discussing the extent to which labor market needs should shape future immigration policy decisions, and how countries are adjusting—and could adjust—their immigration systems to meet human capital and competitiveness needs.

Expert Q&A, Audio
March 6, 2023

Climate Migration to Cities: Does the Move to Urban Areas Reduce Risk?

Are migrants, including those moving for reasons connected to climate change, likely to fare much better in the city when it comes to climate impacts? Tune in to this episode of our podcast, Changing Climate, Changing Migration, featuring noted climate expert Neil Adger of the University of Exeter, and find out.

Pages

Recent Activity

Articles
August 29, 2023

As Nauru Shows, Asylum Outsourcing Has Unexpected Impacts on Host Communities

For two decades, asylum seekers seeking to reach Australia by boat were diverted to Nauru, a small Pacific Island nation that made a hefty profit off the extraterritorial asylum arrangement. But attitudes among local Nauruans have been mixed, with some fearing their economy revolved around Australia and the foreign workers who shuttled in and out of the processing center. As more countries seek to strike offshore asylum deals, this article examines the effects on local communities.

Video, Audio, Webinars
July 25, 2023

Improving Communications in the Voluntary Return and Reintegration Network

This webinar explores the goals and target audiences for public-facing information campaigns on voluntary return and reintegration, how to evaluate dissemination gaps, and the risks associated with inadvertently issuing messages that are not trusted or are misunderstood.

Expert Q&A, Audio
July 12, 2023

Climate Migration 101

Climate migration sounds simple. It is not. MPI’s Lawrence Huang answers some of the most common questions around one of the least understood dynamics in human movement.

Articles
May 31, 2023

Global Spending on Immigration Enforcement Is Higher than Ever and Rising

Budgets for border security and interior immigration enforcement have been on the rise in places including the United States and the European Union. The spending is a result of the heightened focus on securitization by the Global North and has led to a ballooning private industry. This article explains the trend.

Expert Q&A, Audio
May 23, 2023

The Curious Case of China – What Does the COVID-19 Response by China & Asia Pacific Mean for Future Public Health Crises?

MPI's Lawrence Huang discusses COVID-19 mobility restrictions in China and the Asia Pacific—and what this all means for future public health crises—with Dr. Karen Grépin, a health policy professor at the University of Hong Kong.

Video, Audio, Webinars
April 11, 2023

Meeting Global Skills and Talent Needs in Changing Labor Markets

Marking the launch of MPI’s Global Skills and Talent Initiative, this webcast features senior policymakers and other experts discussing the extent to which labor market needs should shape future immigration policy decisions, and how countries are adjusting—and could adjust—their immigration systems to meet human capital and competitiveness needs.

Expert Q&A, Audio
March 6, 2023

Climate Migration to Cities: Does the Move to Urban Areas Reduce Risk?

Are migrants, including those moving for reasons connected to climate change, likely to fare much better in the city when it comes to climate impacts? Tune in to this episode of our podcast, Changing Climate, Changing Migration, featuring noted climate expert Neil Adger of the University of Exeter, and find out.

Articles
March 1, 2023

Efforts to Manage Climate Migration Are Slowly Growing, but Their Focus Is Often Indirect

Can haphazard, unplanned climate displacement be turned into voluntary, safe migration? Projects explicitly aimed at addressing internal and international climate migration are rare, but development organizations increasingly are turning their attention to supporting them. This article catalogues climate mobility projects around the world and examines their primary goals, whether to support the movement or stay of people or help at destination.

Pages