Immigrant integration is the domestic policy side of the immigration debate: The secret sauce as to whether immigration policy is successful or not. Yet the issue of how immigrants and their children fare and the integration policies and programs that help ease their incorporation into society often receive far less attention, certainly in the U.S. context, than questions around immigration levels, border security, and the unauthorized population. Some countries are quite intentional about their...
Nov 05, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 236
The architecture of the U.S. legal immigration system rests on a 1965 law and was last significantly updated in 1990. While there is widespread agreement that the existing framework does not align with the national needs and realities of the 21st century, Congress has proven unable to enact significant legislative reform over the past two decades. How have congressional and public debates on immigration changed and is achieving bipartisan consensus on this highly charged issue possible today? In...
Oct 29, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 235
The UN migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in 2015 created a special division responsible for migration-related issues involving the environment and climate change. The division just got a new leader and is looking to embark on a new agenda. This episode of the podcast features a discussion with new division head Manuel Marques Pereira, who talks about his office’s role and priorities in dealing with migration shaped by climatic events.
Oct 27, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 234
The U.S. population included more than 25 million Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals in 2019, four out of five of whom were foreign born. Language barriers can pose serious obstacles for immigrant integration and hamper access to essential public services, ranging from schools and health care to police, fire departments, and the legal system. Recognizing the serious health, safety, and civil-rights issues at stake, many states and localities have introduced language access laws and pol...
Oct 22, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 233
El Gobierno de Colombia estima que para fin de año, más de un millón de los 1,7 millones de personas venezolanas elegibles para un proyecto de regularización sin precedentes tendrán el permiso del Estatuto Temporal de Protección que les permite acceder a beneficios sociales y tramitar una visa de residentes dentro de diez años. A pesar de esta política amplia, todavía quedan desafíos, no solo en Colombia, sino en la región latinoamericana en general, para posicionar la integración socioeconómica...
Oct 22, 2021•1 hr 39 min•Season 1Ep. 232
People on all sides of the policy debate largely agree that the current U.S. immigration system is broken. What should a 21st century immigration system that works in the national interest look like? And is this vision achievable amid current political realities? In this conversation, Migration Policy Institute Senior Fellow Doris Meissner speaks with Policy Analyst Ariel Ruiz Soto about how to build an immigration system that reflects today’s realities and builds in the flexibility to adapt to ...
Oct 20, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 231
Are the challenges of humanitarian protection more complex today than they were 20 years ago? And is a protection system that emerged after World War II still fit for purpose? In this conversation, Migration Policy Institute Co-Founder Kathleen Newland and Senior Policy Analyst Susan Fratzke discuss the challenges, but also the innovations in the refugee resettlement and asylum spaces, as countries around the globe cope with record displacement, mixed migration, climate pressures, and more....
Oct 14, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 230
What was the field of migration policy like in 2000, and has it become more complicated to work in this space, given the growing politicization of immigration and the advent of trends including greater humanitarian pressures, mixed migration flows, and climate-induced migration? And has the role of generating evidence-based research changed in this new era of mis/disinformation? Migration Policy Institute co-founder Demetrios G. Papademetriou takes on these and other questions, including whether...
Oct 14, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 229
No one expected the travel restrictions imposed early in the COVID-19 pandemic to last so long or remain such a messy patchwork, in part because of the arrival of more contagious variants such as the delta variant – with significant effects on family reunification and humanitarian protection, travel for business and pleasure, and international migration. More than 18 months on, debates continue over the effectiveness of these measures in meeting public-health goals. Experts are working, though, ...
Oct 14, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 228
Global warming and extreme heat are behind many of the phenomena linked to climate change. Hotter weather also has an impact on migration and on migrants, particularly in destinations such as the Middle East and parts of the United States. In recent years, there has been more attention paid to cases of migrant workers dying from the heat. In this episode, we speak with Tord Kjellstrom, a physician and researcher who has closely studied the relationship between extreme heat and population health,...
Oct 11, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 227
The 18th Annual Immigration Law and Policy conference opened with welcoming remarks from: Anna Gallagher, Executive Director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.; MPI President Andrew Selee; and William M. Treanor, Dean and Executive Vice President of Georgetown University Law Center, Following introductory remarks, MPI Senior Fellow and Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy program Doris Meissner engaged Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas in the keynote conversation....
Oct 01, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 226
In Western countries, a common narrative has developed that only poor or developing nations will have to confront human displacement caused by climate change. But communities in the United States and elsewhere have repeatedly moved because of environmental disasters such as flooding. This episode features a discussion on the U.S. government’s responses to internal displacement, with Kavi Chintam and Chris Jackson, co-authors of an Issues in Science and Technology article analyzing the approach t...
Sep 30, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 225
En respuesta a los cambios en tendencias migratorias, y el desplazamiento de venezolanos y centroamericanos a países de otras partes de la región, los gobiernos locales de América Latina y el Caribe están discutiendo un nuevo conjunto de interrogantes políticas en torno a la integración de inmigrantes. Los gobiernos nacionales de la región han instituido una serie de políticas para integrar a quienes huyen de crisis en sus países de origen en el mercado laboral y el sistema educativo, tratando a...
Sep 28, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 224
The COVID-19 public-health crisis exacerbated longstanding migrant vulnerabilities ranging from heightened exposure to infection to disproportionate barriers in accessing health services. However, the pandemic also triggered innovations in migration and health policy that may ultimately improve conditions for some migrants—including regularization, increased health-care benefits, and increased use of digital tools to improve health literacy and information provision. The acute understanding that...
Sep 22, 2021•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 223
As of mid-2020, more than 20 million refugees were displaced to another country and under the mandate of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. While some may eventually return to their countries of origin or integrate locally into their host community, for the most at risk, resettlement remains a critical tool to secure legal status and access to fundamental rights in a third country. However, the number of resettlement places made available remains far below the level needed and plunged during the COVI...
Sep 15, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 222
The sprawling U.S. immigration detention system has long been controversial for its conditions of care, number of immigrants and asylum seekers detained, and costs. Prioritizing detention also has distorted the broader immigration enforcement system by causing a backlog in the immigration courts that must handle cases of detained migrants over those of the 3 million-plus nondetained people who then wait years for decisions, including those with compelling claims for asylum and other forms of rel...
Sep 09, 2021•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 221
COVID-19 has dramatically curtailed opportunities to migrate in West Africa, with far-reaching economic consequences. In 2019, about 10 million West Africans lived in other countries in the region or internationally, and migration has traditionally been a driver for development for the region through remittances, knowledge transfers, and other forms of diaspora engagement. Now, ongoing border closures and travel restrictions coupled with new public-health measures have added an extra layer of co...
Sep 09, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 220
With Taliban militants now in control of most all of Afghanistan, thousands of civilians facing an uncertain future and possible violence have begun to flee their homes and seek refuge both internally and abroad, adding to a huge swell of previously displaced Afghans. In light of the dangers facing millions of Afghans, MPI Europe hosted an important conversation exploring Europe’s possible responses to the situation in Afghanistan and in neighboring countries. Speakers including MPI Europe's Han...
Aug 24, 2021•59 min•Season 1Ep. 219
Con su país en crisis, el 80 por ciento de los más de 5,6 millones de migrantes y refugiados venezolanos que han salido de Venezuela se han asentado en América Latina. Seis años después, está claro que esta situación ya no es temporal y los gobiernos de acogida han comenzado a pasar de la prestación de ayuda humanitaria a los recién llegados a una integración de más largo plazo en el mercado laboral, los sistemas de salud y educación y en las comunidades locales. Estos esfuerzos de integración n...
Aug 06, 2021•1 hr 32 min•Season 1Ep. 218
With their country in turmoil, 80 percent of the more than 5.6 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees who have left Venezuela have settled across Latin America. Six years on, it is clear this situation is no longer temporary and host governments have begun the shift from the provision of humanitarian aid for new arrivals to their longer-term integration into the labor market, health-care and education systems, and local communities. These integration efforts not only aid the newcomers but also...
Aug 06, 2021•1 hr 32 min•Season 1Ep. 217
La comunidad internacional prometió más de $1.5 mil millones en subvenciones y préstamos durante la conferencia de donantes de alto nivel en junio para apoyar a los migrantes y refugiados venezolanos que componen la segunda mayor crisis de desplazamiento externo del mundo. Más allá de las contribuciones financieras, la conferencia centró la atención en las necesidades y estrategias de integración a más largo plazo que están siguiendo los países de acogida, incluidas las iniciativas de regulariza...
Aug 04, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 216
With their country in turmoil, 80 percent of the more than 5.6 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees who have left Venezuela have settled across Latin America. Six years on, it is clear this situation is no longer temporary and host governments have begun the shift from the provision of humanitarian aid for new arrivals to their longer-term integration into the labor market, health-care and education systems, and local communities. These integration efforts not only aid the newcomers but also...
Jul 31, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Season 1Ep. 215
Early 2021 saw record-setting numbers of unaccompanied children arriving at the southwest border, accompanied by much public scrutiny over their care while in federal custody. Less attention has been paid, however, to what happens once the children are released from federal custody into the care of family or other sponsors in communities across the United States. While the minors await immigration proceedings, what case management, legal services, and federal follow-up exist? What are local comm...
Jul 23, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 214
Two million college-educated immigrants in the United States are either unemployed or working in jobs that require no more than a high school diploma, often because of licensing, credential-recognition, and other barriers. While most states have seen their populations of highly skilled immigrants grow since 2010, there have been few strategic efforts to improve the integration prospects of these new residents or address this skill underutilization, also referred to as “brain waste.” The failure ...
Jun 25, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 213
MPI research shows that one third of children ages 5 and under in the United States are Dual Language Learners (DLLs) who live with at least one parent who speaks a language other than English at home; over 80 percent are racial or ethnic minorities and 95 percent are U.S. citizens. These DLLs have the potential to become bilingual and biliterate, given appropriate home language and other supports. They also disproportionately face challenges including lower levels of family income, parental edu...
Jun 22, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 212
Many countries around the globe are grappling with policy questions surrounding the return of irregular migrants and asylum seekers whose claims have been denied. In Europe, policymakers have long been concerned about low return rates. And discussions on how to increase the number of returns (including voluntary ones), while conducting them in a humane way, and achieving sustainable reintegration are high on the European Union (EU) agenda. In April, the European Commission took a step toward the...
May 21, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 211
La convergencia de la segunda crisis más grande de refugiados en el mundo y la pandemia del COVID-19 ha dejado a los más de 5,5 millones de migrantes que han huido de Venezuela en una posición aún más vulnerable. Sin acceso a servicios de salud y frecuentemente al borde de la pobreza, estos migrantes y refugiados han enfrentado desafíos sin precedentes mientras la pandemia ha azotado al mundo entero, cerrando fronteras, presionando sistemas de salud pública y dejando una recesión económica como ...
May 20, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 210
The convergence of the second largest refugee crisis in the world and the COVID-19 pandemic has left the more than 5.5 million migrants who have fled Venezuela in an even more vulnerable position. Lacking access to health care and often on the edge of poverty, these migrants and refugees have faced unprecedented challenges as the pandemic swept the globe, shutting down borders, taxing public-health systems, and leaving an economic downturn in its wake. The public-health crisis has also taxed the...
May 18, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 209
The role of diasporas in the development of their countries of origin is now an accepted part of migration and development analysis. However, policy recommendations have centered mostly on how origin countries engage their diasporas in development efforts. More than 110 origin countries have created specialized units devoted to facilitating diaspora contributions to development. While research and recommendations on country-of-origin policies have advanced in both quantity and quality, two impor...
Apr 24, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 208
Aunque los titulares actuales se enfocan en las crecientes llegadas de migrantes en la frontera EEUU-México, la región entera que abarca desde Panamá hasta los Estados Unidos constituye un corredor importante para la migración irregular. Mientras la mayoría de las personas que migran viajan hacia los Estados Unidos o Canadá, hay una cantidad creciente de migrantes quienes se están instalando en México, Costa Rica y Panamá, especialmente dado que es aún más difícil alcanzar y entrar a los Estados...
Apr 23, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 207
