E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
Refugee & Asylum Policy

Refugee & Asylum Policy

Asylum Seekers
Refugees & Resettlement
_RefugeeAsylumPolicy credit

Tens of millions of people around the globe have been forcibly displaced by conflict, natural disaster, or persecution, seeking refuge either within or beyond the borders of their country. Humanitarian protection, whether for refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced persons (IDPs), represents a key policy area for many major immigrant-receiving countries as well as nations bordering locations where war, political upheaval, or natural disaster have disrupted daily life. The research offered here relates to the law and practice of protecting refugees and IDPs in areas of conflict as well as in industrialized nations, with a focus on secure solutions and effective institutional arrangements for comprehensive protection.

Recent Activity

Olga Sánchez Cordero
Multimedia
February 28, 2019
A New Migration Policy for A New Era: A Conversation with Mexico's Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero
Syrian refugees in Lebanon
Articles
February 21, 2019
A Fragile Situation: Will the Syrian Refugee Swell Push Lebanon Over the Edge?
By Dina Eldawy
CaribbeanDayDancers
Articles
February 13, 2019
Caribbean Immigrants in the United States
By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova
Coverthumb MPI StrengtheningRefugeeProtection
Policy Briefs
February 2019
Strengthening Refugee Protection in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
By  Susan Fratzke and Camille Le Coz
Imagen en Acción flickr 5
Multimedia
January 25, 2019
Building the Foundations for Inclusion: What Does the Future Hold for Immigrant Integration in Europe?
Somali migrants disembarking.
Articles
February 6, 2019
On the Move in a War Zone: Mixed Migration Flows to and through Yemen
By Henry Wilson-Smith
flicrk CIDH visita la frontera de Colombia con Venezuela
Multimedia
January 31, 2019
Creatividad Dentro de la Crisis: Opciones Legales para Inmigrantes Venezolanos en América Latina
MPI Event Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian
Multimedia
January 30, 2019
Creative Policy Responses in Latin America to the Venezuelan Migration Crisis

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Ankara
Feature
July 24, 2014
Turkey’s Evolving Migration Identity

Turkey’s migration identity has shifted from being principally a country of emigration and transit to becoming a destination for immigrants and people fleeing conflict. In response, Turkish policymakers recently enacted a comprehensive migration and asylum law that took effect in April 2014. This article examines the new law, which is intended as a significant step toward managing both legal and irregular migration to Turkey, including humanitarian migration.

FE TPS July2014 Haiti
Feature
July 2, 2014
Temporary Protected Status in the United States: A Grant of Humanitarian Relief that Is Less than Permanent
From a massive typhoon in the Philippines last November to the ongoing civil war in Syria, recent global events demonstrate that natural disasters and political strife occur suddenly and often without warning. This article examines the U.S. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program that grants humanitarian relief to nationals of certain countries embroiled in violent conflict or recovering from natural disaster.
Bangui Airport
Feature
June 19, 2014
A Forgotten Crisis: Displacement in the Central African Republic
The humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Central African Republic (CAR) has received scant world attention, even as more than 20 percent of the population of 4.25 million has been displaced as a result of deadly sectarian violence. This article examines the causes of the violence, the international community response, and the impacts of large-scale displacement within the country and beyond its borders.
PB June2014 CentAm Migrants
Policy Beat
June 13, 2014
Dramatic Surge in the Arrival of Unaccompanied Children Has Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions

The phenomenon of unaccompanied children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, typically after an arduous and often dangerous journey through Central America and Mexico, has reached a crisis proportion, with a 90 percent spike in arrivals from last year and predictions of future increases ahead.

spot jan14 500
Spotlight
February 3, 2014
Refugees and Asylees in the United States

In 2012, the United States granted humanitarian protection to more than 87,000 people, with grants of asylum up 19 percent and refugee admissions up 3 percent from a year earlier. This article provides a detailed look at the most recent refugee and asylum data in the United States, including country of origin, top states of settlement, and more.

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Recent Activity

Reports
March 2024

Coordination Breakdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Europe

The story of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe is chiefly one of challenges to solidarity and coordination. Cross-border movement—even within Europe’s Schengen Area—ground to a halt, and countries took varied approaches to using travel measures in an attempt to slow the virus’s spread. This report explores the pandemic’s impacts on mobility to and within Europe, its challenges to European solidarity, and lessons for future public-health crises.

Articles
March 6, 2024

Iran Faces Dwindling Water and Escalating Climate Pressures, Aggravating Displacement Threats

Floods, heatwaves, and other extreme weather events have displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Iran, with repercussions for residents including the 3.4 million refugees and other forced migrants, who are restricted to climate-affected areas. Environmental challenges may also be pushing some people to move internationally. This article offers a rare look at the climate and migration dynamics in Iran.

Articles
February 28, 2024

Standoff at Eagle Pass: A High-Stakes U.S. Border Enforcement Showdown Comes to a Small Texas Park

Rising tensions between Texas and the federal government have sparked fears of a constitutional crisis after the state deployed its National Guard to prevent the U.S. Border Patrol from conducting operations in a city park in Eagle Pass, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott saying the “invasion” of migrants triggered the need for action. This article provides an overview of the standoff and the larger context of current and past state-federal tensions over immigration enforcement.

Articles
February 15, 2024

Afghan Immigrants in the United States

The Afghan immigrant population in the United States has grown dramatically since 2010, and particularly since the 2021 withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Most Afghans who obtained a green card in recent years have done so through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, reserved for interpreters and other Afghans who worked with the U.S. government. This article offers data on the approximately 195,000 Afghan immigrants in the United States.

Articles
February 8, 2024

South Asia’s Tibetan Refugee Community Is Shrinking, Imperiling Its Long-Term Future

The number of Tibetan refugees in India, Nepal, and Bhutan has been on a steady decline since the mid-2000s, posing a threat to the future of an exile community that has developed a robust governance, cultural, educational, and religious structure. While the Tibetan government-in-exile has become a model for displaced communities, a series of factors have contributed to the shrinking population in South Asia, as this article describes.

Reports
February 2024

Outmatched: The U.S. Asylum System Faces Record Demands

The U.S. humanitarian protection system, known for its long history of assisting those in need, has come under incredible pressure in recent years. The asylum adjudications system, which is under-resourced, is struggling to keep up with record asylum seeker arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border. This report examines the state of the asylum system, including changes under the Biden administration and potential lessons for other countries.

Policy Briefs
February 2024

The Mobility Key: Realizing the Potential of Refugee Travel Documents

Travel documents are critical facilitators of mobility. But for refugees, who cannot safely use a passport issued by their origin country, the lack of a usable travel document can shut them out of work, study, or other opportunities beyond their first country of asylum. This policy brief examines alternative documents that can facilitate refugees’ movement, key barriers to acquiring them, and strategies for overcoming these challenges.

Expert Q&A, Audio
January 24, 2024

Are the Pacific’s Climate Migration Experiments a Preview for the World?

What can the rest of the world learn from climate migration legal experiments in the Pacific? This episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast features insights from renowned legal scholar Jane McAdam, who directs the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW.

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