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E.g., 04/19/2024
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

Coggio_Uganda SSudandeseRefugees Palorinya
Articles
October 31, 2018
Can Uganda’s Breakthrough Refugee-Hosting Model Be Sustained?
By Tessa Coggio
AsylumSeekersSalzberg
Commentaries
October 2018
Three Things the European Union Can Do to Support Private Sponsorship for Refugees
By  Susan Fratzke and Hanne Beirens
Coverthumb GlobalCompact Returning Migrants
Policy Briefs
October 2018
Balancing Acts: Policy Frameworks for Migrant Return and Reintegration
By  Kathleen Newland and Brian Salant
IntgFutures Refugees
Multimedia
October 3, 2018
Preparing Newcomers for the Jobs of Today and the Labor Markets of Tomorrow
UACs CPB HectorSilva
Multimedia
September 27, 2018
The U.S. Asylum System in Crisis: First Steps for Rescue
Coverthumb TechJobsRefugees
Reports
October 2018
Tech Jobs for Refugees: Assessing the Potential of Coding Schools for Refugee Integration in Germany
By  Ben Mason
coverthumb MPI AsylumSystemInCrisis
Reports
September 2018
The U.S. Asylum System in Crisis: Charting a Way Forward
By  Doris Meissner, Faye Hipsman and T. Alexander Aleinikoff
Image of families belong together event banner in Houston
Articles
September 26, 2018
Trump Administration’s New Indefinite Family Detention Policy: Deterrence Not Guaranteed
By Muzaffar Chishti and Sarah Pierce

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Guterres headshot
Feature
August 1, 2005
Interview with Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Former Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Guterres became the 10th UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 2005. Guterres talks with the Migration Information Source about refugee protection, challenges to the asylum system, internally displaced persons, and the media’s reporting on asylum and refugee issues.
Feature
July 1, 2005
Ethiopians Who Survived the Famine: A Repatriation Success Story

In the early 1990s, Ethiopians who had been living in refugee camps in Sudan began to return home. As Laura C. Hammond of Clark University explains, they created a new community in an unfamiliar part of Ethiopia that is thriving 12 years later.

6.05_uganda
Feature
June 1, 2005
Surrounded: Women and Girls in Northern Uganda
The ongoing conflict between the government and a rebel army has displaced the majority of Northern Ugandans. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable, as MPI's Erin Patrick reports.
Feature
May 1, 2005
The U.S. Refugee Program in Transition

In addition to post-September 11 security concerns, the U.S. is dealing with less predictable refugee flows. David Martin of the University of Virginia School of Law reports.

Feature
April 1, 2005
Drop in Asylum Numbers Shows Changes in Demand and Supply

MPI Director Kathleen Newland provides an overview of the latest asylum numbers and insights as to why they are declining.

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Recent Activity

Articles
October 31, 2018

Can Uganda’s Breakthrough Refugee-Hosting Model Be Sustained?

Uganda is the third largest refugee-hosting nation in the world, with more than 1 million refugees arriving in the last two years. Amid strong public solidarity for displaced neighbors, the government has emphasized the right to employment, enterprise, and free movement for refugees despite the country's poverty and limited resources. Can this generous "Uganda model" be sustained? This article explores the challenges and opportunities.

Commentaries
October 2018

Three Things the European Union Can Do to Support Private Sponsorship for Refugees

Amid disagreement over the appropriate way to manage European borders and grant access to asylum, there is one policy priority that has support across (most) Member States and the institutions of the European Union: the need to provide safe, legal channels for migration, particularly for refugees. Private sponsorship of refugees may have a valuable role to play in meeting this need, as this MPI Europe commentary explains.

Policy Briefs
October 2018

Balancing Acts: Policy Frameworks for Migrant Return and Reintegration

In recent years, questions of whether, when, and how to return failed asylum seekers and other migrants to their origin countries have dominated migration debates in many countries. These issues were also taken up in the negotiation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, moving the discussion beyond the typical bilateral one. This policy brief outlines how states might more constructively work together on returns and reintegration programs.

Video, Audio, Webinars
October 3, 2018

Preparing Newcomers for the Jobs of Today and the Labor Markets of Tomorrow

This Migration Policy Institute Europe webinar examines possible scenarios for how social, economic, and technological trends could affect jobs, labor market policy, education and social policies, and migrant integration. Speakers also explored the potential of coding schools for refugees to help alleviate skills shortages and provide a pathway to work.

Video, Audio, Webinars
September 27, 2018

The U.S. Asylum System in Crisis: First Steps for Rescue

Speakers, including report authors, discuss the findings from an MPI report that analyzes the factors that have brought the U.S. asylum system to a crisis point. During the discussion, the authors propose common-sense steps that can be implemented now to jump-start the system's rescue.

Reports
October 2018

Tech Jobs for Refugees: Assessing the Potential of Coding Schools for Refugee Integration in Germany

Faced with an aging workforce and growing skill shortages in the IT sector, some German policymakers and industry experts have seized on the idea that recently arrived refugees could be a natural fit for careers in tech. This report examines the case for training refugees for IT jobs and explores the variety of coding schools that have cropped up in Germany to help newcomers succeed in the field.

Reports
September 2018

The U.S. Asylum System in Crisis: Charting a Way Forward

The United States has a long tradition of providing asylum to those in need. But in recent years, case backlogs have grown and many asylum seekers now wait years for a decision. This report examines the factors that have brought the U.S. asylum system to this crisis point and proposes common-sense steps that can be taken to restore timeliness and fairness, while deterring abuses.

Articles
September 26, 2018

Trump Administration’s New Indefinite Family Detention Policy: Deterrence Not Guaranteed

As the Trump administration moves to be able to indefinitely detain parents and children intercepted at the U.S.-Mexico border, whether illegal border crossers or asylum seekers, recent apprehension trends and history suggest hardline policies might not be a slam-dunk deterrent with a Central American population often driven by the desire to escape gang or other violence, as this Policy Beat explores.

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