Social Cohesion & Identity

Large-scale immigration has led to unprecedented levels of diversity and rapid demographic change, transforming communities across major immigrant-receiving countries in fundamental ways and challenging closely held notions of national identity, particularly in an era of economic uncertainty. The research here focuses on what policymakers can do to mitigate the destabilizing effects of rapid societal change — especially changes tied or perceived to be tied to immigration — in order to create stronger and more cohesive societies.

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Articles April 24, 2020 Vulnerable to COVID-19 and in Frontline Jobs, Immigrants Are Mostly Shut Out of U.S. Relief By Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter	Multimedia March 24, 2020 Migration & Coronavirus: A Complicated Nexus Between Migration Management and Public Health
Reports January 2020 Rebuilding Community after Crisis: Striking a New Social Contract for Diverse Societies (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Meghan Benton	Articles January 9, 2020 La Bienvenida Se Agota para Colombianos en Ecuador Mientras Venezolanos Se Hacen Más Visibles By Jeffrey D. Pugh, Luis F. Jiménez y Bettina Latuff
Articles January 9, 2020 Welcome Wears Thin for Colombians in Ecuador as Venezuelans Become More Visible By Jeffrey D. Pugh, Luis F. Jiménez, and Bettina Latuff	Reports January 2020 Beyond Work: Reducing Social Isolation for Refugee Women and Other Marginalized Newcomers By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
Reports December 2019 Integrating Refugees and Asylum Seekers into the German Economy and Society: Empirical Evidence and Policy Objectives By Herbert Brücker, Philipp Jaschke and Yuliya Kosyakova	Reports November 2019 Volunteers and Sponsors: A Catalyst for Refugee Integration? By Susan Fratzke and Emma Dorst

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Policy Briefs November 2014 Mentoring: What Can Support Projects Achieve That Schools Cannot? By Maurice Crul and Jens Schneider	Policy Briefs November 2014 Enhancing EU Education Policy: Building a Framework to Help Young People of Migrant Background Succeed By Miquel Àngel Essomba
Reports October 2014 Shifting Focus: Policies to Support the Labor Market Integration of New Immigrants in France By Mirna Safi	Reports September 2014 Rotterdam: A Long-Time Port of Call and Home to Immigrants By Han Entzinger and Godfried Engbersen
Reports September 2014 Smart Inclusive Cities: How New Apps, Big Data, and Collaborative Technologies Are Transforming Immigrant Integration By Meghan Benton	Reports September 2014 Fostering an Inclusive Identity Where It Matters Most: At the Local Level (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou
Reports September 2014 Decentralising Immigrant Integration: Denmark’s Mainstreaming Initiatives in Employment, Education, and Social Affairs By Martin Bak Jørgensen	Reports September 2014 Building Inclusive Cities: Challenges in the Multilevel Governance of Immigrant Integration in Europe By Dirk Gebhardt

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Four people stand with a sign at a demonstration

Feature

April 18, 2019

“Us” or “Them”? How Policies, Public Opinion, and Political Rhetoric Affect Immigrants’ Sense of Belonging

Citizenship and integration policies are often thought of as markers for whether a country is welcoming to immigrants. Yet research suggests that public opinion and political rhetoric play a bigger role in immigrants' sense of belonging. This article explores how boundaries between "us" and "them" are drawn through popular conceptions of nationhood and political rhetoric, and their impact on immigrants' belonging.

Feature

April 3, 2019

Foreign Fighters: Will Revoking Citizenship Mitigate the Threat?

Even with the collapse of the Islamic State's "caliphate," thousands of Western foreign fighters are estimated to remain in the Middle East. Deciding how to handle the return of the radicalized—and their dependents—is no easy issue. Some countries seek to revoke their citizenship. Yet citizenship revocation has unclear impact and raises deep questions about the limits of a state’s responsibility to its citizens, as this article explores.

Top Ten

December 20, 2018

Pushing Migration to the Forefront, Populists Make New Strides

2018 proved a banner year for far-right populist movements in Europe and the Americas. They claimed the presidency of Brazil, sparked the collapse of the Belgian government, and—whether in or out of office—put a harder-edged stamp on migration and asylum policies in Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, and beyond.

Profile

December 6, 2018

Sweden: By Turns Welcoming and Restrictive in its Immigration Policy

Swedish asylum policy has taken a restrictionist turn since the country received a record-breaking number of asylum seekers in 2015 and after electoral gains by the nationalist, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats pushed the governing coalition to a harder line. Still, other aspects of the country’s migration policy remain welcoming, as this country profile explores.

Feature

August 15, 2018

Connecting Across Nationalities: Inter-Ethnic Relationships in a Kuwaiti Workplace

In Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, migrants make up a significant share of the private-sector workforce. While mainstream narratives commonly focus on the exploitation and abuse some of these migrant workers experience, their lives and relationships with the native born are much more complex and less unequal than is often perceived, as this article explores.

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Articles

April 24, 2020

Vulnerable to COVID-19 and in Frontline Jobs, Immigrants Are Mostly Shut Out of U.S. Relief

On the frontlines of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic yet also more disproportionately affected by the virus and with reduced health-care access, immigrants in the United States have largely found themselves blocked from federal economic relief. As states and philanthropic groups seek to plug the gap, this article examines conditions and changing policies around immigration and the coronavirus response.

Video, Audio, Webinars

March 24, 2020

Migration & Coronavirus: A Complicated Nexus Between Migration Management and Public Health

This webinar, organized by MPI and the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility at The New School, discussed migration policy responses around the globe in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and examined where migration management and enforcement tools may be useful and where they may be ill-suited to advancing public health goals.

Reports

January 2020

Rebuilding Community after Crisis: Striking a New Social Contract for Diverse Societies (Transatlantic Council Statement)

Addressing the deep-rooted integration challenges unearthed by large-scale migration and rapid social change will require a combination of strategies. Governments in Europe and North America must create a new social contract for increasingly diverse societies that are confronting cycles of disruption. This report sketches a blueprint for an adaptive process oriented by skill needs rather than national origins.

Articles

January 9, 2020

La Bienvenida Se Agota para Colombianos en Ecuador Mientras Venezolanos Se Hacen Más Visibles

Aunque colombianos encontraron un refugio cálido en Ecuador después de ser desplazados de su país por una guerra civil que duro décadas, la vida se ha vuelto más difícil para ellos en los últimos años, en parte como resultado del flujo de venezolanos que buscan seguridad. Este artículo se basa en encuestas de migrantes en Quito, comparando y contrastando las experiencias de colombianos y venezolanos, y evaluando sus percepciones de discriminación, victimización y esperanzas para el futuro.

Articles

January 9, 2020

Welcome Wears Thin for Colombians in Ecuador as Venezuelans Become More Visible

Though Colombians displaced by a decades-long civil war found a welcome refuge in Ecuador, life has become more difficult for them in recent years, in part as a result of the influx of Venezuelans seeking safety. This article draws on surveys of migrants in Quito, comparing and contrasting the experiences of Colombians and Venezuelans, and assessing their perceptions of discrimination, victimization, trust in institutions, and hopes for the future.

Reports

January 2020

Beyond Work: Reducing Social Isolation for Refugee Women and Other Marginalized Newcomers

As migrant- and refugee-receiving countries in Europe, North America, and beyond prioritize services that are focused on employment, language instruction, and civic integration, newcomers who are not in the workplace are at high risk for social isolation. As a result, societies should reconsider what successful integration looks like for vulnerable newcomers who will never find traditional employment or who need a longer-than-average timeline to get there.

Reports

December 2019

Integrating Refugees and Asylum Seekers into the German Economy and Society: Empirical Evidence and Policy Objectives

As the top destination in Europe for asylum seekers in recent years, Germany has rolled out a number of integration policy changes. Based on an early look at how newcomers’ integration is progressing, the report finds the policies have had ambiguous implications. The report also provides insights into the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the asylum seeker and refugee population.

Reports

November 2019

Volunteers and Sponsors: A Catalyst for Refugee Integration?

Rising numbers of refugees and asylum seekers in Europe and North America have been matched by an equally unprecedented outpouring of public support. How can service providers most effectively harness this volunteering? This report considers where community members can add the most value to integration efforts and offers recommendations for how policymakers can facilitate the effective engagement of communities in integration initiatives.

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Social Cohesion & Identity

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