E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
Border Security

Border Security

Border Enforcement
Smuggling & Trafficking
Technology & Infrastructure
CBPagent mexborder

In an era when countries are increasingly exposed to the opportunities and risks associated with the rising global movement of people, policymakers are rethinking approaches to border controls and border management. These policies and programs run the gamut—from facilitating legitimate mobility of people and trade to thwarting unauthorized movements, the latter a significant preoccupation in the post-9/11 era and as publics have become ever less accepting of unauthorized immigration. The research offered here examines the management of borders, enforcement policies and initiatives, and border security technologies.

Recent Activity

SKoreanRemoval ICE
Commentaries
November 2016
Unauthorized Immigrants with Criminal Convictions: Who Might Be a Priority for Removal?
By  Muzaffar Chishti and Michelle Mittelstadt
Event PH 2016.10.27 Kate Hooper and Kathleen Newland
Multimedia
October 27, 2016
Taming the Seas: Safety, Protection, and Attempts to Create Order in Maritime Migration Corridors
HaitiansRoad MarionDoss Flickr
Articles
October 26, 2016
United States Abandons its Harder Line on Haitian Migrants in the Face of Latest Natural Disaster
By Muzaffar Chishti and Sarah Pierce
coverthumb tcmbenton
Reports
October 2016
Digital Humanitarianism: How Tech Entrepreneurs Are Supporting Refugee Integration
By  Meghan Benton and Alex Glennie
coverthumb allatsea
Books
October 2016
All at Sea: The Policy Challenges of Rescue, Interception, and Long-Term Response to Maritime Migration
By  Kathleen Newland, Elizabeth Collett, Kate Hooper and Sarah Flamm
BorderWall BBCWorldService Flickr
Articles
October 5, 2016
Borders and Walls: Do Barriers Deter Unauthorized Migration?
By Reece Jones
BoatMigrants ARodriguez UNHCR
Multimedia
September 16, 2016
The Mediterranean Dimension of the Refugee Crisis: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities for Cooperation
13th Annual Immigration Law Policy keynotes
Multimedia
September 28, 2016
13th Annual Immigration Law & Policy Conference

Pages

Recent Activity

Reports
February 2022

Four Years of Profound Change: Immigration Policy during the Trump Presidency

The Trump administration set an unprecedented pace for executive action on immigration, reshaping many aspects of the U.S. immigration system through changes large and small. This report chronicles the 472 administrative changes enacted during this four-year period—ranging from COVID-19 response measures and immigration enforcement, to humanitarian protection, travel bans, legal immigration and DACA changes, and more.

Video, Audio, Webinars
January 19, 2022

Biden at One: Assessing the Administration’s Immigration Record

This MPI discussion with leading experts, advocates, and a top official from the administration examines the Biden track record on immigration and what lays ahead

Articles
January 19, 2022

Biden at the One-Year Mark: A Greater Change in Direction on Immigration Than Is Recognized

While Donald Trump’s presidency is perceived as being the most active on immigration, touching nearly every aspect of the U.S. immigration system, President Joe Biden’s administration has far outpaced his predecessor in the number of executive actions taken during his first year in office—even as the pace of change has gone largely unnoticed, as this article explores.

Articles
January 6, 2022

Immigration Has Been a Defining, Often Contentious, Element Throughout U.S. History

As host to more immigrants than any other country, the United States has been shaped and reshaped by immigration over the centuries, with the issue at times becoming a flashpoint. This article covers the history of U.S. immigration and the major laws governing immigration, and provides a comprehensive overview of the present-day immigrant population.

Articles
December 2, 2021

Court-Ordered Relaunch of Remain in Mexico Policy Tweaks Predecessor Program, but Faces Similar Challenges

The Biden administration's court-ordered restart of the controversial Migrant Protection Protocols, known informally as the Remain in Mexico policy, puts it in the awkward position of reviving a program it is simultaneously still trying to end. The Trump-era program forced tens of thousands of migrants to wait out the duration of their U.S. immigration court hearings in Mexico and was only questionably successful at deterring unauthorized arrivals.

Expert Q&A, Audio
November 24, 2021

Thinking Regionally to Act Locally in Immigration Policy

With migration a dynamic phenomenon in the Americas, the U.S. government increasingly is realizing that migration management should be viewed in a regional context. This requires a new set of policies and ways of engagement with countries in North and Central America, and beyond, as MPI President Andrew Selee discusses with colleague Andrea Tanco in this episode of our World of Migration podcast.

Reports
November 2021

Charting a New Regional Course of Action: The Complex Motivations and Costs of Central American Migration

Influenced by a mix of factors—from economic and humanitarian protection needs to family reunification and climate change—Central American migration is a dynamic phenomenon. This report draws on unique survey data to examine the conditions that drive people in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to migrate, as well as the costs and implications of migration for households and communities throughout the region.

Articles
November 18, 2021

South Africa Reckons with Its Status as a Top Immigration Destination, Apartheid History, and Economic Challenges

South Africa hosts the most immigrants of any African country. Yet it faces conflicting pressures, including the legacy of apartheid, a steady outflow of well-educated South Africans, and the need to juggle bilateral labor mobility schemes at a time of economic insecurity and high unemployment. This article traces these pressures and how they have developed over time.

Pages