E.g., 09/27/2022
E.g., 09/27/2022
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

EventPH 2019.04.16 IsUSMexicoCooperationPossible
Multimedia
April 16, 2019
Is U.S.-Mexico Cooperation on Migration Possible?
International vs. National Protection for Refugees Event - David Fitzgerald
Multimedia
April 10, 2019
International vs. National Protection for Refugees: Diverging Trends?
Coverthumb ECEC Trauma Informed Care
Policy Briefs
April 2019
Mitigating the Effects of Trauma among Young Children of Immigrants and Refugees: The Role of Early Childhood Programs
By  Maki Park and Caitlin Katsiaficas
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Commentaries
April 2019
Policy Solutions to Address Crisis at Border Exist, But Require Will and Staying Power to Execute
By  Doris Meissner and Sarah Pierce
HaitianInterdictions
Articles
March 28, 2019
Remain in Mexico Plan Echoes Earlier U.S. Policy to Deter Haitian Migration
By Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter
MexicansinCanada
Articles
March 20, 2019
Mexican Migration to Canada: Temporary Worker Programs, Visa Imposition, and NAFTA Shape Flows
By Ian Van Haren and Claudia Masferrer
LOGO FOR WEB EVENT SIRI 2019 01 2425_si4ri_imi_18_550600x270dynamics
Multimedia
January 24, 2019
Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home
Statue of Liberty from boat
Articles
March 14, 2019
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
By Jie Zong, Jeanne Batalova, and Micayla Burrows

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Afghanistan2008 RArnold UNHCR
Feature
February 25, 2016
Seeking Safety, Jobs, and More: Afghanistan’s Mixed Flows Test Migration Policies

Afghanistan, once the world's largest origin of refugees, is increasingly experiencing mixed migration, including seasonal and permanent outflows for both economic and humanitarian reasons, internal displacement, and refugee returns. This feature article examines the current trends with a focus on return migration and the development impacts at the intersection of displacement and urbanization.

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Policy Beat
February 18, 2016
Increased Central American Migration to the United States May Prove an Enduring Phenomenon

The complex push and pull factors driving child and family migration from Central America to the United States have changed little since the 2014 crisis. Despite some fluctuation in arrival numbers, recent trends suggest the characteristics of an enduring phenomenon. This Policy Beat explores the latest developments in U.S. policy responses, including enforcement operations, development assistance, and family detention.

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Feature
February 10, 2016
Overwhelmed by Refugee Flows, Scandinavia Tempers its Warm Welcome

Drawn by generous asylum policies and the region's welcoming reputation, hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers arrived in Scandinavia in 2015. As the unprecedented flow overwhelmed the asylum systems of Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark, lawmakers began to recalibrate their policies, tightening asylum benefits in a number of significant ways, as this article explores.

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Feature
January 29, 2016
Refugee Flows to Lesvos: Evolution of a Humanitarian Response

Lesvos became a major focal point in Europe's migration crisis as more than half a million migrants and asylum seekers transited the Greek island in 2015. Describing the work of ad hoc volunteer-led efforts and professional aid organizations, this article delves into the evolution of the aid response across the island and the challenges of integrating humanitarian operations.

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Feature
January 14, 2016
Protecting the Forcibly Displaced: Latin America’s Evolving Refugee and Asylum Framework

Signed more than 30 years ago, the Cartagena Declaration sought to address rising flows of refugees and establish regional solidarity in refugee protection in Latin America. This article explores the evolution of refugee and asylum policies in Latin America amid the long-running Colombian civil war, as well as the region's response to the current global refugee crisis.

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10 year anniversary
Video, Audio
April 19, 2012

MPI's 10th Anniversary Celebration

The Migration Policy Institute celebrated its first decade as the authoritative, unimpeachable resource on immigration and immigrant integration analysis and policy design in the United States and internationally.

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Video
April 26, 2011

8th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

The conference offered law and policy analysis and discussion on cutting-edge immigration issues. Featured panelists included high-ranking government officials, academics, advocates, and other immigration experts.
Audio
March 23, 2011

Discussion on the Situation of Colombian Refugees in Panama and Ecuador

Please join us for this discussion on the situation of Colombian refugees in Panama and Ecuador; their living situations; legal status; their access to employment, health care, or education; and the treatment of groups of particular concern, like Afro-Colombian refugees, unaccompanied Colombian minors, and refugee women.

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Video, Audio
March 18, 2011

Lessons from the 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) research fellows Magnus Lofstrom and Sarah Bohn, and UC Berkeley professor of public policy Steven Raphael are issuing a new report that examines whether LAWA achieved its primary aims: reducing the unauthorized population, deterring their employment opportunities and improving employment outcomes of competing authorized workers. Their analysis also investigates whether Arizona’s legislation induced a shift away from formal employment.

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Video, Audio
July 16, 2010

Potential Reforms to the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program

This discussion is an overview of a report undertaken by a team at the Columbia University School of International Public Affairs which examines the U.S. refugee resettlement Program and offers a strong set of recommendations and observations about the program.

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Recent Activity

Video, Audio
April 16, 2019

Is U.S.-Mexico Cooperation on Migration Possible?

Over recent months, the number of Central American migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border has surged, presenting a critical challenge in the relationship between the two neighboring countries. Experts from a Study Group on U.S.-Mexico Migration convened by El Colegio de México and MPI discuss current trends, policies, and politics surrounding migration from the Northern Triangle of Central America and the U.S.-Mexico relationship, ways to improve U.S. and Mexican asylum systems, possible new approaches to labor migration, ways to address smuggling networks, and modernize border management.

Video, Audio
April 10, 2019

International vs. National Protection for Refugees: Diverging Trends?

MPI's Kathleen Newland, Refugee Council USA's Mary Giovagnoli, and David Scott FitzGerald, author of Refuge beyond Reach, discuss how and why international and national responses to the rising challenge of refugee displacement are diverging. They examine what lies ahead for the Global Compact on Refugees and how adjustments to asylum policies in many high-income democracies are narrowing the paths to protection.

Policy Briefs
April 2019

Mitigating the Effects of Trauma among Young Children of Immigrants and Refugees: The Role of Early Childhood Programs

The first years of a child’s life are a time of immense growth, and exposure to trauma—if left unaddressed—can have significant, lifelong effects. This issue brief examines how young children of refugees and other immigrants may be affected by trauma, and what early childhood education and care programs, health-care providers, and others can do to mitigate its adverse effects.

Commentaries
April 2019

Policy Solutions to Address Crisis at Border Exist, But Require Will and Staying Power to Execute

Closing the U.S.-Mexico border and cutting off aid to Central America would only feed the crisis unfolding at key points along the U.S.-Mexico border. This commentary outlines a range of immediate and long-term policy responses that would more effectively address the complex mix of factors fueling rising Central American migration to the United States.

Articles
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.

Articles
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.

Video, Audio
January 24, 2019

Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home

The third Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion conference in Brussels, co-organized by MPI Europe with the U.S. and Canadian Missions to the European Union and the European Economic and Social Committee, explored how innovations in living situations for refugees can promote community-driven inclusion, overcome divisions, facilitate economic opportunities, and foster a sense of "home."

Articles
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.

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