Refugee & Asylum Policy

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

Multimedia July 21, 2021 Supporting Unaccompanied Children in the U.S. Communities Where They Live	Reports July 2021 Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic By Meghan Benton
Articles July 9, 2021 Canada’s Private Sponsorship Model Represents a Complementary Pathway for Refugee Resettlement By Ian Van Haren	Multimedia June 3, 2021 How Can Mobility Systems in sub-Saharan Africa Meet the Public Health Challenges Posed by COVID-19?
Commentaries June 2021 A Solvable Challenge: Improving Asylee Access to Health and Other Benefits By Essey Workie, Mark Greenberg and Lillie Hinkle	Articles June 10, 2021 Intersecting Crises: Pandemic and Hurricanes Add to Political Instability Driving Migration from Honduras By Ben Corson and Jeffrey Hallock
Reports June 2021 Strengthening Services for Unaccompanied Children in U.S. Communities By Mark Greenberg, Kylie Grow, Stephanie Heredia, Kira Monin and Essey Workie	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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Reports March 2004 The EU as a Global Player in the Refugee Protection Regime By Joanne van Selm	Policy Briefs December 2003 Rediscovering Resettlement By Gregor Noll and Joanne van Selm
Reports December 2003 Notes from the Field: MPI Expert Returns from Iraqi Border By Monette Zard	Reports October 2003 The Feasibility of Setting Up Resettlement Schemes in EU Member States or at EU Level By Joanne van Selm, Erin Patrick, Tamara Woroby and Monica Matts
Reports October 2003 The Strategic Use of Resettlement By Joanne van Selm	Reports October 2003 Perceptions of Afghan Refugees By Joanne van Selm
Policy Briefs April 2003 Reconciling Refugee Protection and Security Concerns in Wartime: The Case of Iraq By Monette Zard and Erin Patrick	Policy Briefs February 2003 Refugees from the War in Iraq: What Happened in 1991 and What May Happen in 2003 By Peter W. Galbraith

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Policy Beat

March 28, 2019

Remain in Mexico Plan Echoes Earlier U.S. Policy to Deter Haitian Migration

Remain in Mexico—the Trump administration policy aimed at deterring the rising numbers of migrants from Central America by requiring them to stay in Mexico through most of their U.S. asylum adjudication process—bears striking similarities to U.S. policy in the 1980s and 1990s that sought to discourage Haitians from making the sea journey to the United States. This article explores the parallels and differences between Remain in Mexico and the earlier narrowing of asylum for Haitians.

Feature

March 20, 2019

Mexican Migration to Canada: Temporary Worker Programs, Visa Imposition, and NAFTA Shape Flows

Mexicans migrate to Canada in much smaller numbers than to the United States, yet over the last 30 years the country has become an increasingly attractive destination. Canada prioritizes highly skilled, educated Mexicans for permanent residency, but also attracts temporary workers from Mexico. This article examines Mexican migration to Canada and how it has been shaped by visa requirements, trade policy, and more.

Spotlight

March 14, 2019

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

Immigrant arrivals to the United States and the makeup of the foreign-born population have been changing in significant ways: Recent immigrants are more likely to be from Asia than from Mexico and the overall immigrant population is growing at a slower rate than before the 2008-09 recession. This useful article collects in one place some of the most sought-after statistics on immigrants in the United States.

Feature

March 7, 2019

Protection and Reintegration: Mexico Reforms Migration Agenda in an Increasingly Complex Era

Mexico is facing a new reality: Rising migration from Central America, the reintegration of returning migrants, and protection of Mexicans in the United States. As President Andrés Manuel López Obrador seeks to shift the country’s migration policy from enforcement to protection, his task is complicated by changing U.S. border policy and the need to avoid domestic backlash over Central American migration to and through Mexico.

Feature

February 21, 2019

A Fragile Situation: Will the Syrian Refugee Swell Push Lebanon Over the Edge?

Lebanon is home to more refugees per capita than any other country. The arrival of approximately 1 million refugees from neighboring Syria has created tensions not only with the native population, but also with long-established Palestinian refugee communities in Lebanon. A lack of integration and resources, plus a complex domestic context, suggest further hardship may lie ahead for recent and earlier-arrived refugees alike.

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Flickr Alliance for Education 36502961545_c01bbbca2c_z Courtesy of Allison Shelley The Verbatim Agency for American Education Images of Teachers and Students in Action

Video, Audio

March 21, 2018

Supporting DLLs in Superdiverse PreK-3 Programs: Findings from Two Studies

This webinar focuses on patterns of home language use across different early childhood education and care (ECEC) program types, and the potential of the Sobrato Early Academic Language model to improve instruction and outcomes for DLLs in superdiverse settings.

Preschool girl and boy hammering 35668258654_46de9bf058_z

Video, Audio

February 22, 2018

Effectively Serving Children in a Superdiverse Classroom: Implications for the Early Education System

As the number and share of Dual Language Learners (DLLs) continues to grow across the United States, diversity within this population is also increasing. This webinar marks the release of a report providing analysis of the diversity within the DLL population nationwide and at the state and local levels. Speakers discuss data on the three rapidly growing subgroups within the DLL population: Black and Asian American and Pacific Islander DLLs and young children of refugees, and the implications for the early education and care field and K-12 education systems.

flickr welcome to the European Union Dimitar Nikolov 3776066660_0eba667667_z

Video, Audio

January 31, 2018

Migration in Europe: What Trends to Watch in 2018?

Is 2018 the year that the European Union takes leadership on migration on the international stage, or where it focuses inwards on healing internal divisions and delivering on overdue migration and asylum system reforms? This webinar looks ahead at the major external and internal events affecting migration on the continent over the next year.

2018.1.17 State of World on Migration Vitorino_Papademetriou_Collett web

Audio

January 18, 2018

The State of the World on Migration – Vitorino & Papademetriou Discuss Challenges, Opportunities Ahead

This MPI Europe discussion brings together two of the most experienced thinkers on migration policy— António Vitorino and Demetrios G. Papademetriou—to explore what will be needed over the next years to ensure that the properly managed movement of people remains an integral, positive force in the world.

flickr UN Geneva Global Compact Migration 35271845251_9d3596e1e3_z

Audio

December 12, 2017

Beyond Stock-Taking: The Path Ahead to a Global Compact for Migration

To reflect on the outcomes of the stocktaking meeting in December 2017 on the progress made towards conceptualizing the Global Compact for Migration, MPI hosted a conversation with Eva Åkerman Börje, from the office of the UN Special Representative for International Migration, and Ilse Hahn, from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars

July 21, 2021

Supporting Unaccompanied Children in the U.S. Communities Where They Live

Featuring findings from a recent MPI report, speakers examined the process of releasing unaccompanied children to sponsors, the current structure of federal post-release services, and the most significant needs these children and their U.S. sponsors experience. The discussion also explored efforts by philanthropic, state, and local actors to address the needs of this population and their communities, what service gaps exist, and key recommendations to improve access to services.

Reports

July 2021

Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic

More than 18 months since the first COVID-19-related travel restrictions were introduced, the pandemic’s effects on global mobility are still unfolding. With vaccination campaigns picking up speed in some places while only beginning in others, and new variants of the virus emerging, the timeline for restarting international migration and travel remains uncertain. This report explores how different policy choices could result in very different mobility realities.

Articles

July 9, 2021

Canada’s Private Sponsorship Model Represents a Complementary Pathway for Refugee Resettlement

Canada is one of the world’s top countries for resettling refugees, relying on individual Canadians and nonprofit groups—not the government—for much of this resettlement. This article examines Canada’s unique system of private sponsorship, which has become a model for other countries as they seek to increase capacity for refugee resettlement at a time of record global need.

Video, Webinars

June 3, 2021

How Can Mobility Systems in sub-Saharan Africa Meet the Public Health Challenges Posed by COVID-19?

This conversation marks the release of an MPI policy brief and reflects on how mobility systems in sub-Saharan Africa have adapted to meet the public health challenges posed by COVID-19, and what lessons can be learned.

Commentaries

June 2021

A Solvable Challenge: Improving Asylee Access to Health and Other Benefits

While asylees are eligible for many of the same public benefits and services as resettled refugees, including health care and employment assistance, there is no system to inform them of their eligibility and to help connect them to resources. MPI estimates that fewer than 20 percent of those granted asylum in recent years received Office of Refugee Resettlement benefits during their first year. The U.S. government could address this gap with a few simple measures.

Articles

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.

Reports

June 2021

Strengthening Services for Unaccompanied Children in U.S. Communities

While record monthly arrivals of unaccompanied minors in early 2021 have drawn considerable attention, important questions surround what happens once the children are released from federal custody to parents or other sponsors. This report examines federal post-release services, support needs among children and sponsors, how service providers are meeting these needs, and ways to improve services—to the benefit of the children and the communities in which they live.

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?

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged public health and migration management infrastructures in sub-Saharan Africa, as never before. It revealed important lessons about how countries in the region can adapt mobility systems in ways that protect public health while also allowing people to safely access work, humanitarian protection, and their communities.

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