Kathleen Newland
Director, Refugee Protection Policy Program

MPI has developed substantial expertise relating to the law and practice of protecting refugees and internally displaced people in areas of conflict as well as in the industrialized countries.

The program on refugee protection and humanitarian assistance works to assess emerging issues and controversies, to promote secure solutions, and to enlarge the international consensus on provision of protection and assistance. It has also taken a leading role in the debate over effective institutional arrangements for comprehensive protection.

In the next few years, MPI will continue to focus on emergencies within the developing world through to understand not only the nature of these conflicts, but also looking at failed refugee policies, economic issues, and the limited opportunities for protection through third country resettlement and asylum.

Another important element of MPI's ongoing protection work is analyzing how developed states can assist in building the capacity to protect refugees and IDPs in regions of origin, while still meeting their obligations to asylum seekers in their own territories.

Additionally, MPI will continue its effort to link research, practice, and policy. A focus will continue to be the positive development of the protection regime to provide more secure protection for internally displaced people (IDPs) and for mass arrivals of people fleeing armed conflict. Finally, MPI will continue to work on strengthening the institutional framework for protection of refugees and IDPs.

More on MPI's policy research....

Data on Asylum Seekers Around the World
Between 1980 and 2004, 9.9 million applications for asylum were lodged in 39 countries in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia. This Data Tool allows you to analyze the numbers and origins of asylum seekers over 24 years.

Potential Reforms to the US Refugee Resettlement Program
Breakfast briefing with Kate Brick, MPI Associate Policy Analyst; Robert Carey, Vice President of Resettlement and Migration Policy, International Rescue Committee; and Kathleen Newland, MPI Director of Refugee Policy and Migrants, Migration, and Development Programs.
July 16, 2010
Watch Video | Listen/Download Event Audio | Read Report

7th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference
The conference, co-sponsored by Georgetown Law, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., and the Migration Policy Institute, focused immigration and refugee law and policy. Panels included: Current Topics in Immigration Law and Policy; Reforming the U.S. Immigration Court System; Humanitarian Relief, Access to Protection, and U.S. Asylum Policies; and Enforcement of Immigration Law. Eric P. Schwartz, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of State spoke on US policy on international migration.
June 24, 2010
Georgetown University Law Center
View Video | Read Assistant Secretary Schwartz's remarks

Discussion on Possible Solutions for Refugees and IDPs
Breakfast briefing with T. Alexander Aleinikoff, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees; Demetrios G. Papademetriou, MPI President; and Kathleen Newland, MPI Director of the Migrants, Migration, and Development, and Refugee Policy Programs.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
9:00 am to 10:30 am
MPI Conference Room
1400 16th Street, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
Listen/Download Event Audio

Discussion on the Situation of Refugees and IDPs in Sudan and Chad
A briefing by Stefano Severe, the UNHCR Representative in Chad, and Peter de Clercq, the UNHCR Representative in Sudan, on the latest developments and challenges concerning refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region. Moderated by Kathleen Newland, Director of MPI's Refugee Policy Program.
April 20, 2010
View Powerpoint

The 30th Anniversary of the 1980 Refugee Act: What the Refugee Program's History Suggests for a Better Future
Briefing with Representative James McGovern, Third Congressional District of Massachusetts, Representative Anh "Joseph" Cao, Second Congressional District of Louisiana; António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); Kathleen Newland, Director, Refugee Policy Program, Migration Policy Institute; Kay Bellor, Vice President, US Programs, International Rescue Committee; and Tara Magner, Senior Counsel, Office of Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman, US Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
March 15, 2010
US Capitol Building, Room HC-6, Washington, DC

For details and video/audio of events, click here.

Refugee Resettlement in Metropolitan America
Since 1983, the United States has resettled more than 1.6 million refugees.
In a March 2007 Source article, Audrey Singer and Jill H. Wilson of The Brookings Institution present the first report on US metropolitan destinations, where the vast majority of refugees were placed between 1983 and 2004.

Haitian Immigrants in the United States
The 535,000 Haitian immigrants residing in the United States in 2008 accounted for 1.4 percent of all US immigrants and the fourth-largest immigrant group from the Caribbean. MPI's Aaron Terrazas examines their socioeconomic characteristics, where they live, and the size of the Haitian-born unauthorized population.

More Source articles on refugee protection...

The New "Boat People": Ensuring Safety and Determining Status
By Joanne van Selm and Betsy Cooper
Report, January 2006

This report aims to foster dialogue among international stakeholder and policymakers about current policy responses to migration by sea. A forum of renowned experts and government representatives from across the globe convened at MPI to discuss the implications of historical and current trends in interdiction and rescue, from Haiti to Australia to Europe, as well as what approaches might be effective for the future.

The United States Refugee Admissions Program: Reforms for a New Era of Refugee Resettlement
By David A. Martin, MPI Nonresident Fellow and the Warner-Booker Distinguished Professor of International Law at the University of Virginia
Summer 2005

Commissioned by the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, this study presents a comprehensive picture of the selection and admissions processes for resettling refugees in the United States. The book is a valuable resource for resettlement agencies, advocacy groups, state refugee coordinators, and others who need a thorough understanding of the way resettlement works. The report also examines the flaws in resettlement practices and offers a detailed set of recommendations to improve the program.
Executive Summary
Purchase a hard copy from the MPI bookstore: US | International

No Refuge: The Challenge of Internal Displacement
By Kathleen Newland, Erin Patrick, and Monette Zard
(United Nations Publications, October 2003)

Today, more than 25 million people have fled their homes to escape violence and persecution, but remain within the borders of their own countries. For the first time, the United Nations has published a book addressing actions to assist and protect internally displaced people worldwide.

More Publications on Refugees | All Publications