International Governance

Though there is no formal, multilateral institutional framework to govern the global flow of migrants, states increasingly are exploring how to work collectively to make migration a more legal, orderly, and mutually beneficial process. Cooperation on migration management has been growing steadily, as the research below explores, involving both state and nonstate actors via regional dialogues, bilateral agreements, and the creation of international initiatives such as the Global Forum on Migration and Development.

Recent Activity

Reports January 2024 Shifting Realities at the U.S.-Mexico Border: Immigration Enforcement and Control in a Fast-Evolving Landscape By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh and Doris Meissner	Commentaries December 2023 One Phase Closes for the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Now Another Begins By Hanne Beirens and Camille Le Coz
Multimedia November 16, 2023 Migration, Integration, and Development in Secondary Cities	Policy Briefs December 2023 What Role Could Digital Technologies Play in the New EU Pact on Migration and Asylum? By Lucía Salgado and Hanne Beirens
Policy Briefs December 2023 Consolidating Gains: Lessons and Priorities for Promoting Fair and Ethical Recruitment By Kate Hooper	Multimedia November 14, 2023 Engaging Local Voices: Letting Cities Inform National Refugee Resettlement Goals
Multimedia November 15, 2023 A Passport to Opportunity: The Importance of Refugee Access to Travel Documents	Reports November 2023 Migration and Displacement in Secondary Cities: Insights from Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda By Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Camille Le Coz

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Reports May 2023 Apuesta por la regularidad migratoria: Respuestas de América Latina y el Caribe frente a la crisis del desplazamiento venezolano By Luciana Gandini and Andrew Selee	Reports May 2023 Betting on Legality: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to the Venezuelan Displacement Crisis By Luciana Gandini and Andrew Selee
Reports March 2023 Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean: A Policy Review By Valerie Lacarte, Jordi Amaral, Diego Chaves-González, Ana María Sáiz and Jeremy Harris	Reports February 2023 External Processing: A Tool to Expand Protection or Further Restrict Territorial Asylum? By Pauline Endres de Oliveira and Nikolas Feith Tan
Reports January 2023 Using Risk Analysis to Shape Border Management: A Review of Approaches during the COVID-19 Pandemic By Kelley Lee, Julianne Piper and Jennifer Fang	Policy Briefs November 2022 Reassessing Recruitment Costs in a Changing World of Labor Migration By Kate Hooper
Reports November 2022 Financing Responses to Climate Migration: The Unique Role of Multilateral Development Banks By Lawrence Huang, Ravenna Sohst and Camille Le Coz	Policy Briefs June 2022 Embedding Reintegration Assistance for Returning Migrants in the Local Context: The Role of Referrals By Ravenna Sohst and Camille Le Coz

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Migrants in the Darien Gap village of Canaan Membrillo, Panama.

Feature

September 20, 2023

How the Treacherous Darien Gap Became a Migration Crossroads of the Americas

Passage through the Darien Gap has transformed migration across the Americas. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken the incredibly perilous journey across the remote jungle between Colombia and Panama, risking exposure to hazardous terrain, criminal groups, and other dangers. As this article outlines, governments have struggled to respond to the growing movement, expected to top 500,000 crossings in 2023.

A female celebrity being photographed at an event.

Feature

September 14, 2023

Are Celebrity Spokespeople Always Helpful for Refugee Causes?

Famous faces have become a mainstay in promotional campaigns for humanitarian and refugee organizations. Celebrity advocacy can take a variety of forms, including encouraging donations, raising awareness for under-the-radar crises, and lobbying governments for action. This article reviews the trend of star-powered advocacy and examines the factors affecting its success.

Protests at a refugee compound in Nauru.

Feature

August 29, 2023

As Nauru Shows, Asylum Outsourcing Has Unexpected Impacts on Host Communities

For two decades, asylum seekers seeking to reach Australia by boat were diverted to Nauru, a small Pacific Island nation that made a hefty profit off the extraterritorial asylum arrangement. But attitudes among local Nauruans have been mixed, with some fearing their economy revolved around Australia and the foreign workers who shuttled in and out of the processing center. As more countries seek to strike offshore asylum deals, this article examines the effects on local communities.

A man pulls a boat on the low-lying Carteret Islands in Papua New Guinea

Feature

July 20, 2023

Who Counts as a Climate Migrant?

Researchers often seek to predict how many people will move due to climate change, but beyond the inherent forecasting difficulties, their work is complicated by the fact that terms such as "climate migrant" are nebulous and migration drivers are often multifaceted. Instead, this article explains why analysts might ask how climate change will reshape existing patterns of migration and immobility.

An abandoned shoe lies in the mud along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Policy Beat

May 25, 2023

U.S. Border Asylum Policy Enters New Territory Post-Title 42

The United States entered a new era with the end of the pandemic-era Title 42 expulsions policy. The government’s hopes of maintaining order at the U.S.-Mexico border post-Title 42 may be complicated by factors including authorities’ limited capacity, ongoing litigation, and cooperation from other countries. This article reviews the Biden administration's changing border policies and possible challenges ahead.

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Video, Audio

July 25, 2023

Improving Communications in the Voluntary Return and Reintegration Network

This webinar explores the goals and target audiences for public-facing information campaigns on voluntary return and reintegration, how to evaluate dissemination gaps, and the risks associated with inadvertently issuing messages that are not trusted or are misunderstood.

Expert Q&A, Audio

July 12, 2023

Climate Migration 101

Climate migration sounds simple. It is not. MPI’s Lawrence Huang answers some of the most common questions around one of the least understood dynamics in human movement.

Lucia is a South Sudanese volunteer for JRS in Maban, South Sudan. She leads women’s groups in the community and is a mentor for young girls.

Video

June 14, 2023

Making Refugee Participation in Protection Community Dialogues Meaningful

In the run-up to the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, this discussion examines efforts at facilitating refugee participation and meaningful engagement in policy conversations at global and other levels.

Expert Q&A, Audio

June 8, 2023

Before the Storm: Getting Out in Front of Climate Displacement

Can humanitarian organizations act before catastrophes occur to mitigate disaster-induced forced migration? Our podcast Changing Climate, Changing Migration discusses this kind of anticipatory action with guests Gana Gantulga and Zeke Simperingham from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Video, Audio

March 9, 2023

Migration in the Caribbean: Challenges and Opportunities for a Changing Region

This expert conversation reviews migration in nine Caribbean countries, outlining challenges and opportunities for the integration of the migrant population and a successful engagement with diasporas to advance development, along with recommendations to strengthen the region’s capacity to accommodate changing patterns of migration.

Recent Activity

Articles

November 16, 2023

Climate Migration 101: An Explainer

Is climate change a major driver of migration and displacement? From where are people leaving, and where are they going? This informative primer, a Climate Migration 101 of sorts, provides answers to basic questions about climate change and migration, starting with how and where climate change triggers human movement.

Articles

November 1, 2023

The World’s Leading Refugee Host, Turkey Has a Complex Migration History

Turkey is home to the world’s largest refugee population, a fact that has been a source of pride, a geopolitical tool, and a logistical challenge. This article shows how the millions of Syrians who have arrived since 2011 comprise just one aspect of Turkey’s rich and complex migration history. The country has been a significant host, a transit point for individuals heading to Europe, and a source of migrant laborers.

Video

September 18, 2023

20th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

The 20th annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference, organized by MPI, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., and Georgetown University Law Center, features fresh, thoughtful policy and legal analysis, and discussion of some of the top immigration issues by leading government officials, attorneys, researchers, advocates, and other experts.

Articles

October 25, 2023

Can the Biden Immigration Playbook Be Effective for Managing Arrivals via Sea?

Amid the highest Caribbean maritime migration levels in a generation, the Biden administration is relying on a carrot-and-stick strategy it honed amid record unauthorized migration at the U.S.-Mexico border. The approach, combining limits on asylum, expanded legal pathways, and international enforcement partnerships, could be increasingly important if maritime migration rises, as this article explains.

Commentaries

October 2023

Addressing the Next Displacement Crisis in the Making in the Americas

The next major displacement of people in the Americas is in the making, and it is going unnoticed. The response to the steady emigration from Haiti seen since a devastating 2010 earthquake has been largely haphazard and may not stand the test of new spikes as the country unravels further. This commentary suggests a way forward, based on a model used for the Venezuelan displacement crisis.

Articles

October 9, 2023

Cómo el peligroso Tapón del Darién se convirtió en la encrucijada migratoria de las Américas

El paso por el Tapón del Darién ha transformado la migración en las Américas. Cada día, más de 1.000 personas cruzan lo que no hace mucho era un tramo de selva poco transitado entre Colombia y Panamá, la mayoría con la esperanza de llegar a Estados Unidos o Canadá. Es un viaje increíblemente arriesgado. Los gobiernos se han esforzado por responder al creciente movimiento, que se espera que supere los 500.000 cruces en 2023.

Articles

October 4, 2023

Where Are All the Climate Migrants? Explaining Immobility amid Environmental Change

Despite the widespread impression that people inevitably migrate away from climate-vulnerable areas, many adapt to environmental changes, choose to remain in their homeland, or simply cannot leave, due to a lack of money, connections, legal avenues, or other means to do so. These “trapped populations” may be among the most affected victims of climate change, this article explains.

Video, Audio, Webinars

September 26, 2023

Migration, Disasters, and Climate Change in Eastern Africa

During this MPI webinar, climate experts and regional authorities outline the challenges related to climate change and human mobility that local communities, national governments, and the IGAD region are confronting. The speakers discuss priorities within the region to address climate-related displacement, the engagement of various stakeholders, efforts to facilitate safe and orderly migration, and potential solutions.

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