E.g., 04/16/2024
E.g., 04/16/2024
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_TCM2017 RadicalRightNetherlands
Reports
July 2018
The Impact of Populist Radical-Right Parties on Immigration Policy Agendas: A Look at the Netherlands
By  Tjitske Akkerman
Travel ban protest at the Supreme Court
Articles
June 29, 2018
In Upholding Travel Ban, Supreme Court Endorses Presidential Authority While Leaving Door Open for Future Challenges
By Muzaffar Chishti, Sarah Pierce, and Laura Plata
Coverthumb_TCM RadicalRightNordicCountries
Reports
June 2018
The Growth of the Radical Right in Nordic Countries: Observations from the Past 20 Years
By  Anders Widfeldt
Coverthumb_EU CrisisResponse
Reports
June 2018
After the Storm: Learning from the EU Response to the Migration Crisis
By  Elizabeth Collett and Camille Le Coz
ExternalProcessing EU
Commentaries
June 2018
Europe Pushes to Outsource Asylum, Again
By  Elizabeth Collett and Susan Fratzke
FamilyDetentionMay2018_small
Commentaries
June 2018
Far from a Retreat, the Trump Administration’s Border Policies Advance its Enforcement Aims
By  Sarah Pierce
seehofer
Commentaries
June 2018
Horst Seehofer’s Migration Plan for Germany: Another Nail in the Coffin of Europe’s Asylum System?
By  Hanne Beirens
goodlatte
Commentaries
June 2018
House Bills Would Largely Dismantle Asylum System at U.S.-Mexico Border
By  Jessica Bolter and Sarah Pierce

Pages

Feature
April 1, 2004
EU Sees Sharp Drop in Asylum Applications
Countries in the European Union received fewer asylum applications in 2003, according to Veysel Oezcan of the Social Science Research Center Berlin.
Feature
April 1, 2004
Gender-Related Persecution and International Protection

MPI Associate Policy Analyst Erin Patrick presents an in-depth look at some of the controversies associated with gender-related asylum.

Feature
February 1, 2004
Belgium's Undocumented Hold Lessons for EU
Research by Marco Martiniello of the University of Liege and Andrea Rea of the Free University of Brussels casts light on how and why unauthorized immigrants arrive and stay in Belgium.
Feature
February 1, 2004
UNHCR and NGOs: Competitors or Companions in Refugee Protection?

Ed Schenkenberg van Mierop of the International Council of International Agencies (ICVA) examines moves by non-governmental organizations and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to better coordinate the protection of refugees.

Feature
January 1, 2004
Minimizing Development-Induced Displacement

Courtland Robinson of Johns Hopkins University analyzes steps to minimize the negative side of development, which has uprooted millions worldwide.

Pages

archive >

Recent Activity

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.

Commentaries
June 2018

Horst Seehofer’s Migration Plan for Germany: Another Nail in the Coffin of Europe’s Asylum System?

Amid significant tensions over migration that could fracture Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition, a new "migration master plan" set to be unveiled by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer reportedly involves turning asylum seekers back at German borders and refusing them entry. This commentary explores the potential implications of the proposal, which has prompted concern about the ramifications for the Common European Asylum System.

Commentaries
June 2018

House Bills Would Largely Dismantle Asylum System at U.S.-Mexico Border

The House is set to vote on two bills that would largely dismantle the U.S. asylum system at the southern border by significantly narrowing grounds to apply for asylum, eliminating protections for the vast majority of unaccompanied minors, and unilaterally declaring Mexico a safe third country. The result would be a sharp reduction in the number of people permitted to seek humanitarian protection, as this commentary explains.

Pages