E.g., 04/18/2024
E.g., 04/18/2024
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

Coverthumb HoustonImmigrantsProfile
Reports
September 2018
A Profile of Houston’s Diverse Immigrant Population in a Rapidly Changing Policy Landscape
By  Randy Capps and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
us peace corps indonesia
Articles
September 19, 2018
Indonesia: A Country Grappling with Migrant Protection at Home and Abroad
By Antje Missbach and Wayne Palmer
flickr province of british columbia Minister of State visits early childhood development centre
Multimedia
August 29, 2018
Young Children in Refugee Families and Early Childhood Programs: Ways to Mitigate the Effects of Trauma
SalvadoranKids FAO AMEXCID Flickr
Articles
August 29, 2018
El Salvador: Civil War, Natural Disasters, and Gang Violence Drive Migration
By Cecilia Menjívar and Andrea Gómez Cervantes
Coverthumb MigrantDecisionmakingGreece
Policy Briefs
August 2018
Deciding Which Road to Take: Insights into How Migrants and Refugees in Greece Plan Onward Movement
By  Katie Kuschminder
Egyptians in Los Angeles
Articles
August 8, 2018
Egypt: Migration and Diaspora Politics in an Emerging Transit Country
By Gerasimos Tsourapas
Coverthumb_TCMTrumpSpring2018
Reports
July 2018
U.S. Immigration Policy under Trump: Deep Changes and Lasting Impacts
By  Sarah Pierce, Jessica Bolter and Andrew Selee
VenezuelansEcuador AgenciaANDES Flickr
Articles
July 18, 2018
A South American Migration Crisis: Venezuelan Outflows Test Neighbors' Hospitality
By Luisa Feline Freier and Nicolas Parent

Pages

Feature
March 1, 2005
U.S. Detention of Asylum Seekers and Human Rights

Bill Frelick of Amnesty International USA reports on why the United States' detention of asylum seekers concerns the human rights community.

Feature
January 1, 2005
The Hague Program Reflects New European Realities

MPI's Joanne van Selm analyzes the EU's latest effort to guarantee rights, protect refugees, and regulate migration flows and borders.

Feature
September 1, 2004
Darfur: Beyond the Brink of Disaster

MPI Associate Policy Analyst Erin Patrick maps out the latest developments in the evolving refugee crisis in and around Sudan's Darfur region.

Feature
May 1, 2004
Confronting the Realities of Forced Migration
Stephen Castles of the University of Oxford outlines the categories of forced migrants and the factors driving their movement.
Feature
May 1, 2004
Educating Refugees in Countries of First Asylum: The Case of Uganda
The UN is collaborating with Uganda's government to open new doors to refugee education, according to Sarah Dryden-Peterson.

Pages

archive >

Recent Activity

Reports
September 2018

A Profile of Houston’s Diverse Immigrant Population in a Rapidly Changing Policy Landscape

The Houston metro area, home to 1.6 million immigrants, is diverse and rapidly growing. This report sketches the area's immigrant population, examining top origin countries, key socioeconomic measures, and more. It also explores how Hurricane Harvey affected the immigrant population, and how national policy changes under the Trump administration are being felt locally, including by DACA recipients and asylum seekers.

Articles
September 19, 2018

Indonesia: A Country Grappling with Migrant Protection at Home and Abroad

Indonesia, which has a long history as a major origin for migrant labor in the Asia-Pacific and beyond, more recently has reluctantly found itself a transit and destination country, including for asylum seekers. Still, policymakers remain focused on protection of its nationals abroad rather than on assuring the status of Chinese and other foreigners in the country. This country profile explores Indonesia's rich migration history. 

 

Video, Audio, Webinars
August 29, 2018

Young Children in Refugee Families and Early Childhood Programs: Ways to Mitigate the Effects of Trauma

Experts discuss the effects of trauma on the development of young refugee children, and highlight ways early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs can address this trauma, including practical strategies that child-care providers in Canada are using to support the resiliency of refugee children and families. 

Articles
August 29, 2018

El Salvador: Civil War, Natural Disasters, and Gang Violence Drive Migration

El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America yet the most densely populated. A stagnant economy, high levels of crime and violence, and natural disasters have pushed growing numbers of people to migrate without authorization or seek asylum abroad, mostly in the United States. This article explores historical and contemporary emigration from El Salvador.

Policy Briefs
August 2018

Deciding Which Road to Take: Insights into How Migrants and Refugees in Greece Plan Onward Movement

EU policy debates about moving asylum seekers from overburdened frontline countries, such as Greece and Italy, to other Member States rarely consider how migrants form and act on preferences for certain destinations—and how difficult it may be to change these views. This issue brief explores decision-making among migrants in Greece, including how living conditions, jobs, and legal status factor in.

Articles
August 8, 2018

Egypt: Migration and Diaspora Politics in an Emerging Transit Country

From being a source of labor emigration to the Gulf region to a destination for refugees from Syria, sub-Saharan Africa, and elsewhere, Egypt has long experienced different forms of mobility. This article, which profiles the trends and policies that have shaped Egypt's migration history, focuses on its long-standing use of migration as a soft-power tool to achieve its foreign policy aims and as a safety valve for political discontent.

Reports
July 2018

U.S. Immigration Policy under Trump: Deep Changes and Lasting Impacts

President Trump has made reshaping the U.S. immigration system a top priority. Yet the fragmented nature of policy-making in the United States—with power split between branches and levels of government—has made it difficult to pursue some of his most ambitious proposals. This report explores the evolution of migration policy under Trump, and what these changes may mean in the long run.

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.

Pages