COVID-19 Analysis, Data, and Commentary

Governments around the world beginning in January 2020 turned to migration management tools—such as border closures, travel restrictions, and bars on asylum—initially in hopes of keeping COVID-19 from entering their countries, and later as part of a wider suite of mobility restrictions to contain the spread.

These fast-moving policy changes, some short term, others leaving a permanent mark on immigration systems, are being analyzed by MPI and MPI Europe researchers. All research and analysis they generate on point to the novel coronavirus pandemic is gathered here.

Recent Activity

Reports July 2022 Changing the Playbook: Immigrants and the COVID-19 Response in Two U.S. Communities By Randy Capps and Michael Fix	Multimedia June 30, 2022 Migrant Integration Governance After the Pandemic: Lasting Adaptations?
Reports June 2022 The COVID-19 Catalyst: Learning from Pandemic-Driven Innovations in Immigrant Integration Policy By Jasmijn Slootjes	Commentaries June 2022 How State Assessments Became and Remain a Driver for Equity for English Learners By Melissa Lazarin
Reports June 2022 The Future of Remote Work: Digital Nomads and the Implications for Immigration Systems By Kate Hooper and Meghan Benton	Reports June 2022 COVID-19’s Effects on U.S. Immigration and Immigrant Communities, Two Years On By Julia Gelatt and Muzaffar Chishti
Articles June 2, 2022 COVID-19 Pandemic Ushered in Unprecedented Slowdown of Asylum Claims By Hamsa Vijayaraghavan and Jhinuk Mukhopadhyay	Multimedia May 19, 2022 Preparedness for the Next Pandemic: Towards a Resilient Global Architecture on Borders and Health

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Reports January 2022 Coming Together or Coming Apart? A New Phase of International Cooperation on Migration By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan and Kate Hooper	Policy Briefs October 2021 Medicaid Access and Participation: A Data Profile of Eligible and Ineligible Immigrant Adults By Valerie Lacarte, Mark Greenberg and Randy Capps
Policy Briefs September 2021 Immigrants’ U.S. Labor Market Disadvantage in the COVID-19 Economy: The Role of Geography and Industries of Employment By Randy Capps, Jeanne Batalova and Julia Gelatt	Reports September 2021 "Diversifying" Social Investment: European Welfare States and Immigrant Integration in the Wake of the COVID-19 Crisis By Anton Hemerijck and Liam Patuzzi
Reports September 2021 Healing the Gap: Building Inclusive Public-Health and Migrant Integration Systems in Europe By Jasmijn Slootjes	Reports August 2021 Taking the Long View: Options for Inclusive Post-Pandemic Labor Markets By Liam Patuzzi
Reports July 2021 Integración socioeconómica de los migrantes y refugiados venezolanos: Los casos de Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador y Perú By Diego Chaves-González, Jordi Amaral and María Jesús Mora	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

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U.S. Border Patrol agents prepare to transport unauthorized migrants to Mexico under Title 42.

Policy Beat

March 31, 2022

Controversial U.S. Title 42 Expulsions Policy Is Coming to an End, Bringing New Border Challenges

The United States’ controversial Title 42 migrant expulsions policy will come to an end in May 2022, after more than 1.7 million expulsions over two years. The COVID-19-era public-health restriction ushered in an unprecedented period of mass expulsions, including of would-be asylum seekers, at the U.S.-Mexico border. Unwinding the policy will be complicated amid predictions of a significant increase in unauthorized migration.

Refugees prepare to be resettled in the United Kingdom.

Profile

August 19, 2021

United Kingdom’s Decades-Long Immigration Shift Interrupted by Brexit and the Pandemic

The United Kingdom was once a country primarily of emigration, but in recent decades many more migrants have arrived at its borders than have left. This decades-long transition was interrupted by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, and this article describes the inflection point at which the country finds itself.

A boy walks through a coastal village in Honduras.

Feature

June 10, 2021

Intersecting Crises: Pandemic and Hurricanes Add to Political Instability Driving Migration from Honduras

A disproportionate number of Central American migrants traveling through Mexico to the United States come from Honduras, driven by government corruption, impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, and hurricanes that have devastated communities and livelihoods. This article examine the multiple factors behind migration from the country, drawing from interviews with migrants en route.

Flags of the European Union fly outside of the European Parliament in Brussels.

Feature

June 3, 2021

Borderless Europe: Seven Decades of Free Movement

Between Brexit and COVID-19, Europe’s 31-country zone of free movement has been profoundly tested. Still, the area has constantly evolved over the last 70 years, to include new groups of individuals who can freely move for work, study, or leisure, as well as cover larger geographic areas. This article examines the history and challenges to free movement, a crowning success of the European project.

Feature

March 24, 2021

Movement after Migration: Immigrants’ Disproportionate Reliance on Public Transportation

Across North America and Europe, immigrants rely on public transit at higher rates than the native born. This article explores why migrants are disproportionately more likely to use public transportation, the role these systems play in immigrant integration, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commuter trips, budgets, and services.

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IOM Muse Mohammed Jasem a Syrian refugee resettled to France

Video, Audio

March 17, 2021

COVID-19 Recovery and the Next Stage of the Syrian Refugee Response After Ten Years

Ten years into the response to the Syrian refugee crisis, this webinar explores findings from a research project conducted by the Durable Solutions Platform (DSP) and MPI on lessons from international experiences to support pathways to solutions in the Syrian refugee context.

MovingBeyondPandemic-Episode6-CGDEpisodeTile

Expert Q&A, Audio

December 17, 2020

Could Curbing Globalization Prevent Future Pandemics?

Pre-COVID-19, we lived in a hyper-global world. There were 1.5 billion international tourism trips annually, nearly 40 million flights, and 272 million international migrants. This raises a provocative question: Does international mobility contribute to the spread of pandemics?

MovingBeyondPodcast Ep.5 GamlenEpisodeTile

Expert Q&A, Audio

December 9, 2020

What’s Next for Global Migration? Gazing Into the COVID-19 Crystal Ball

With news that viable COVID-19 vaccines are on the horizon, what might 2021 hold in store for the global movement of people, whether for tourism, business travel, or more enduring forms of migration?

Video, Audio

November 18, 2020

Welfare States and Migration: How Will the Pandemic Reshape a Complex Relationship?

This MPI Europe webinar reflects on the implications of this current moment for European economies and societies and the role of immigration and immigrant integration policy, and highlight research from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre on the fiscal and demographic impacts of migration.

Moving Beyond Pandemic: The COVID-19 Shock to the System of Human Mobility and the International Response with Elizabeth Collett

Expert Q&A, Audio

October 28, 2020

The COVID-19 Shock to the System of Human Mobility and the International Response

Recent Activity

Reports

July 2022

Changing the Playbook: Immigrants and the COVID-19 Response in Two U.S. Communities

U.S. cities and towns have responded to COVID-19 in ways that are as diverse as the communities they aim to support. This report looks at how two very different locations—Worthington, MN, and the greater Houston area—incorporated immigrants into their relief efforts, through partnerships, strategic outreach, targeted assistance, and more. The report also highlights useful lessons for responses to future emergencies.

Video, Audio, Webinars

June 30, 2022

Migrant Integration Governance After the Pandemic: Lasting Adaptations?

On this webinar, speakers examine how government strategies, practices, and instruments of integration policymaking have adapted during the pandemic both in Europe and North America, and what lessons there are for the future.

Reports

June 2022

The COVID-19 Catalyst: Learning from Pandemic-Driven Innovations in Immigrant Integration Policy

The pandemic and its economic fallout have created a perfect storm for immigrant integration, challenging the well-being and livelihoods of many migrants and refugees in Europe and North America while upending governments’ usual policy toolbox. This report looks at how policymakers and civil society have innovated, and what lessons can be gleaned to strengthen immigrant integration governance going forward.

Commentaries

June 2022

How State Assessments Became and Remain a Driver for Equity for English Learners

While the pandemic has given a boost to efforts to water down or limit end-of-year state assessments of students in K-12, this commentary notes the importance of testing to drive equity for the nation's 5 million English Learners and ensure that they are not overlooked or that resources and support services are misdirected from where they are needed.

Reports

June 2022

The Future of Remote Work: Digital Nomads and the Implications for Immigration Systems

The number of people who work from home or another location other than a traditional office has been growing for decades, but the pandemic has accelerated this shift—with important implications for immigration policy. This report examines trends in remote work, challenges digital nomads and employers face when navigating immigration systems, and opportunities to adapt immigration policies to keep pace with changes in the world of work.

Reports

June 2022

COVID-19’s Effects on U.S. Immigration and Immigrant Communities, Two Years On

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic recession have affected the lives of all U.S. residents, but immigrants have been among the hardest hit, with evidence of disproportionately high rates of death as well as a particularly high spike in unemployment. This report takes a look back at how the COVID-19 crisis has affected U.S. immigration policies and levels and the country’s immigrant communities.

Articles

June 2, 2022

COVID-19 Pandemic Ushered in Unprecedented Slowdown of Asylum Claims

Beyond slowing global mobility dramatically, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a major drop in asylum claims around the world, with the 1.1 million people seeking asylum in 2020 representing a 45 percent decline from the year before. This article examines the challenges to asylum processing during the pandemic, particularly for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Video

May 19, 2022

Preparedness for the Next Pandemic: Towards a Resilient Global Architecture on Borders and Health

This official side event of the International Migration Review Forum revists lessons from COVID-19, and explores the potential for greater international coordination over health and mobility and setting principles that are clear, equitable, streamlined, and future-focused.

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