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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

Migrants in the Darien Gap village of Canaan Membrillo, Panama.
Articles
September 20, 2023
How the Treacherous Darien Gap Became a Migration Crossroads of the Americas
By Caitlyn Yates and Juan Pappier
Cover image for Attracting, Retaining, and Diversifying Sponsors
Reports
September 2023
Attracting, Retaining, and Diversifying Sponsors for Refugees in Community Sponsorship Programs
By  Maria Belen Zanzuchi, Nadja Dumann, Florian Tissot and Admir Skodo
A female celebrity being photographed at an event.
Articles
September 14, 2023
Are Celebrity Spokespeople Always Helpful for Refugee Causes?
By Michael Artime and Megan Hershey
A sign for Calle Ocho in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood.
Articles
September 7, 2023
Cuban Immigrants in the United States
By Jiaxin Wei and Jeanne Batalova
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
Multimedia
August 24, 2023
Managing Changing Migration Dynamics and Policies in West Africa for Regional Gain
Boys on a fishing boat on the shores of Lake Tanganyika
Articles
August 24, 2023
Tanzania’s Open Door to Refugees Narrows
By Yvette Ruzibiza and Simon Turner
Afghan parolees wait in line at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.
Articles
August 2, 2023
In the Twilight Zone: Record Number of U.S. Immigrants Are in Limbo Statuses
By Muzaffar Chishti and Kathleen Bush-Joseph

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Cover image for Refugee Resettlement and Complementary Pathways: Opportunities for Growth
Reports
September 2021
Refugee Resettlement and Complementary Pathways: Opportunities for Growth
By  Susan Fratzke, Maria Belen Zanzuchi, Kate Hooper, Hanne Beirens, Lena Kainz, Nathan Benson, Eliza Bateman and Jessica Bolter
Cover image for Taking the Long View: Options for Inclusive Post-Pandemic Labor Markets
Reports
August 2021
Taking the Long View: Options for Inclusive Post-Pandemic Labor Markets
By  Liam Patuzzi
Cover image for From Jailers to Case Managers: Redesigning the U.S. Immigration Detention System to Be Effective and Fair
Reports
August 2021
From Jailers to Case Managers: Redesigning the U.S. Immigration Detention System to Be Effective and Fair
By  Randy Capps and Doris Meissner
Cover image for Integración socioeconómica de los migrantes y refugiados venezolanos
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
Cover image for Socioeconomic Integration of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees
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
Cover image for Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic
Reports
July 2021
Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic
By  Meghan Benton
Cover image for Strengthening Services for Unaccompanied Children in U.S. Communities
Reports
June 2021
Strengthening Services for Unaccompanied Children in U.S. Communities
By  Mark Greenberg, Kylie Grow, Stephanie Heredia, Kira Monin and Essey Workie
Cover image for From Unilateral Response to Coordinated Action
Policy Briefs
June 2021
From Unilateral Response to Coordinated Action: How Can Mobility Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa Adapt to the Public-Health Challenges of COVID-19?
By  Ling San Lau, Kate Hooper and Monette Zard

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An abandoned shoe lies in the mud along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Policy Beat
May 25, 2023
U.S. Border Asylum Policy Enters New Territory Post-Title 42

The United States entered a new era with the end of the pandemic-era Title 42 expulsions policy. The government’s hopes of maintaining order at the U.S.-Mexico border post-Title 42 may be complicated by factors including authorities’ limited capacity, ongoing litigation, and cooperation from other countries. This article reviews the Biden administration's changing border policies and possible challenges ahead.

Paintings of the Algerian and Moroccan flags on a brick wall
Feature
May 18, 2023
Tense Neighbors, Algeria and Morocco Have Divergent Migration Histories

Algeria and Morocco sit along a crucial migration corridor between Africa and Europe and have often been defined by their rivalry. Although both have been reluctant to welcome large numbers of sub-Saharan African migrants, their motivations have been different. And historically, their approaches to emigration have been a study in contrasts. This article explores the factors driving migration policy in these two countries.

People hold flags of Central American nations at a march in San Diego.
Spotlight
May 10, 2023
Central American Immigrants in the United States

Central Americans comprise less than one-tenth of the overall U.S. foreign-born population, but their numbers have grown tenfold since 1980, amid economic challenges, political crises, and natural disasters in their region. This article provides a comprehensive look at this population.

A Palestinian woman in Bani Naeem, in the West Bank.
Feature
May 3, 2023
Generations of Palestinian Refugees Face Protracted Displacement and Dispossession

Palestinians constitute the world’s longest protracted refugee situation and largest stateless community. Yet their plight has often been eclipsed by more recent displacement crises and dismissed as unsolvable. Other factors have contributed to Palestinian refugees’ situation, including the near impossibility of obtaining citizenship in many host countries and precarious funding for support, as this article explains.

A border checkpoint between Canada and the United States.
Policy Beat
April 27, 2023
Roxham Road Meets a Dead End? U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement Is Revised

The revised U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement closes what critics call a loophole that incentivizes unauthorized border crossings of asylum seekers. While responding to Canadian concerns of increasing irregular arrivals from the United States, the change—taken in tandem with U.S. moves at the U.S.-Mexico border—suggests that the Biden administration increasingly wants to rely on neighboring countries to respond to rising asylum claims.

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_SyrianRefugeeCamp
Commentaries
October 2015
The U.S. Record Shows Refugees Are Not a Threat
By  Kathleen Newland
Commentaries
September 2015
The Asylum Crisis in Europe: Designed Dysfunction
By  Elizabeth Collett
UNHCR 15817431431 Ad'Amato Eritreans
Commentaries
March 2015
The Potential and Pitfalls of Extraterritorial Processing of Asylum Claims
By  Madeline Garlick
graeme_hugo_highres
Commentaries
January 2015
The Field of Migration Studies Loses a Giant: Graeme Hugo
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou
_MaritimeRefugees
Commentaries
December 2014
Protection at Sea: Addressing Irregular Maritime Migration
By  Kathleen Newland
Europe BoatCrossings UNHCR A Damato
Commentaries
July 2014
The EU’s Strategic Guidelines on Migration: Uncontentious Consensus, But Missed Opportunity
By  Elizabeth Collett
_Juncker2
Commentaries
July 2014
An EU Commissioner for Migration? The Devil is in the Details
By  Elizabeth Collett
UnaccompaniedMinors Commentary June2014 PeterHaden
Commentaries
June 2014
What Is the Right Policy Toward Unaccompanied Children at U.S. Borders?
By  Kathleen Newland
_LampedusaMigrants
Commentaries
October 2013
The Lampedusa Tragedy Prompts the Question: Does the UN Have Any Impact on the World’s Migrants?
By  Kathleen Newland

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A food and goods distribution to returned migrants in Burkina Faso
Video, Audio
June 27, 2022

Forging Partnerships to Make the Reintegration of Migrants More Effective and Sustainable

This MPI Europe webinar examines how referral mechanisms can be designed so that returnees receive the core services they need, while also ensuring support is embedded within the local community. 

The border area of Haquillas is home to several Venezuelans waiting of their documentation to be formally processed in order to enter in Peru regularly.
Video
June 9, 2022

Towards Regional Governance on Migration and Forced Displacement: A Side Event of the Ninth Summit of the Americas

On the sidelines of the Ninth Summit of the Americas, this event co-sponsored by MPI examines tools and concrete actions taken on regional migration governance, best practices and lessons learned, and the role of regional mechanisms to respond to migration and forced displacement.

Picture of female Venezuelan migrant in Colombia, leaning over balcony railing
Video
June 7, 2022

A Path to Self-Sufficiency: Advancing Venezuelan Refugee Integration in the Americas

The presidents of Colombia and Ecuador speak at this high-level event held on the sidelines of the Ninth Summit of the Americas, focusing on the critical need for succcessful integration of Venezuelans in the Americas.

Seeking the US border, many Central American migrants begin their journey in Mexico on 'La Bestia'
Video, Audio
May 24, 2022

En Busqueda de Seguridad: Opciones de protección regional para personas de Centroamérica

Con motivo de la publicación de un informe del Instituto de Política Migratoria sobre posibles vías de protección para las personas centroamericanas, este webcast ofrece un análisis sobre las vías humanitarias y de reasentamiento que ya se utilizan en la región así como las oportunidades y los obstáculos para expandir estos programas. 

Seeking the US border, many Central American migrants begin their journey in Mexico on 'La Bestia'
Video, Audio
May 24, 2022

Seeking Safety: Regional Protection Options for Central Americans

Marking the release of a Migration Policy Institute report on possible protection pathways for Central Americans, this webcast offers analysis on regional resettlement and humanitarian channels and the opportunities and obstacles to expanding these programs, along with specific actions that the United States and Canada could take.

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Recent Activity

Articles
July 18, 2018

A South American Migration Crisis: Venezuelan Outflows Test Neighbors' Hospitality

The deepening of Venezuela's social, economic, and political implosion has resulted in the fastest movement of people across borders in Latin American history. Neighboring countries have responded with a patchwork of policy measures, though the scale and growing diversity of Venezuelan arrivals have challenged regional actors, as this article explores.

Reports
July 2018

A Needed Evidence Revolution: Using Cost-Benefit Analysis to Improve Refugee Integration Programming

European countries have ramped up their investments in helping refugees find work and integrate into society. Yet little hard evidence exists of what programs and policies work best. This report proposes a new framework for thinking smartly about integration programming, using cost-benefit analysis to look beyond short-term, economic outcomes to also measure indirect benefits through a social-value concept.

Reports
July 2018

The Impact of Populist Radical-Right Parties on Immigration Policy Agendas: A Look at the Netherlands

While commentators proclaimed the 2017 Dutch election results a rebuff of radical-right populism, this report makes clear that electoral success is not the only way to influence policymaking. Taking the Netherlands as a case study, it examines how radical-right parties in Western Europe have shaped immigration policy agendas and outcomes by rewriting narratives and forcing mainstream parties further to the right.

Articles
June 29, 2018

In Upholding Travel Ban, Supreme Court Endorses Presidential Authority While Leaving Door Open for Future Challenges

Though the Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a major victory by upholding its much-contested travel ban, less noted has been the fact that the ruling left an opening for future challenges to the policy of barring groups of foreign nationals from the country. This Policy Beat explores the evolution of the travel ban, the justices' arguments for and against, and changes in visa grants from travel-ban countries.

Reports
June 2018

The Growth of the Radical Right in Nordic Countries: Observations from the Past 20 Years

Though hardly new to most Nordic countries, radical-right parties have grown in popular support and political power in recent years. This report analyzes the role immigration has played in their rise and recent electoral fortunes in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It also examines the strategies other parties have adopted in an attempt to limit their growth.

Reports
June 2018

After the Storm: Learning from the EU Response to the Migration Crisis

As maritime arrivals climbed in 2015, EU policymakers struggled to mount a coordinated response. A range of ad hoc crisis-response tools emerged, but many officials worry that if another migration emergency were to hit Europe, the European Union may still be unprepared. This report traces the evolution of the EU response to the 2015–16 crisis and lays out recommendations to lock in progress and shore up weaknesses.

Commentaries
June 2018

Europe Pushes to Outsource Asylum, Again

European leaders have settled on a recurring proposition to address the ongoing political crisis on migration: the creation of asylum processing centers beyond EU borders. The plans championed by various EU leaders are diverse, the details fuzzy. What they have in common is a near-universal focus on shifting responsibility for dealing with refugees and migrants upstream, as this commentary examines.

Commentaries
June 2018

Far from a Retreat, the Trump Administration’s Border Policies Advance its Enforcement Aims

Even as some pundits assess President Trump's temporary end to family separation as a defeat, the deeper reality is being lost: The administration’s plan to detain all asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, including families, is now on its way to completion. The “catch-and-release” that Donald Trump rails against is, at least in part, effectively over for now, though the price tag is a long way from being tallied, as this commentary explains.

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