Migration Policy Institute Podcasts

Changing Climate, Changing Migration: The Reverse of Climate Migration: Should There Be a Right Not to Be Displaced amid Climate Change?

The international humanitarian protection system that was built in the aftermath of World War II does not offer protection for people displaced by climate change. In this episode, former UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees T. Alexander Aleinikoff, who is now Executive Dean of The New School for Social Research, calls the refugee system “broken.” Rather than expanding to accommodate climate migrants, he makes the case for starting over with a new paradigm focused on a right not to be displaced. Such a system would be designed to help people stay in their homes through climate adaptations and resilience, he argues, and provide a mechanism for seeking justice.

Changing Climate, Changing Migration: How We Talk about Climate Migration Shapes Treatment of “Climate Refugees”

The ways in which people talk about climate migration can affect how individuals are treated. While many activists frame climate migrants as blameless victims of circumstance and even refer to them as “climate refugees,” this approach does not always lead to public sympathy. Moreover, highlighting the role of climate in displacement can unintentionally cause a backlash among host communities, who themselves likely are experiencing or expecting to face similar environmental challenges. In this episode, we speak with Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, who is deputy director of MPI's International Program and our in-house expert on public opinion and migration messaging, about the narratives and public attitudes towards climate migrants.

Changing Climate, Changing Migration: A Warm Embrace in the Cold North? Climate Migration in Nordic Countries

The Arctic region is warming much faster than other parts of the world. Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden—have a reputation for being at the forefront of efforts to combat climate change. But does their track record also extend to helping people who have been displaced by environmental impacts, internally and internationally? In this episode, we discuss the impacts and responses in the Nordic region. Our guests are the researchers Miriam Cullen and Matthew Scott, who are among the leaders of the Nordic Network on Climate Related Displacement and Mobility.

Changing Climate, Changing Migration: "Coolcations” and “Last-Chance Tourism”: How Climate Change Is Upending Vacation Planning

Climate change is remaking vacations, particularly in hot months. Extreme heat can be deadly for tourists and events such as wildfires, hurricanes, and sea-level rise can devastate tourism-dependent communities. Tourism is also a major contributor to climate change, and some travelers have begun rethinking their plans, taking emissions into account as they consider transportation and destinations. This episode explores how climate change is affecting global tourism. Our guest is Daniel Scott, research chair at the University of Waterloo’s Department of Geography and Environmental Management and an international research fellow at the School of Hospitality and Tourism at the University of Surrey.

Next-Generation Strategies to Improve Language Access in Federally Supported Programs

More than 25 million U.S. residents have limited proficiency in English, and as the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated, all levels of government have an important need to deliver services, outreach, and critical health and safety information to individuals and communities who communicate in languages other than English. Providing access to public services and information for individuals who have limited proficiency in English has been a civil rights requirement for federally funded state and local programs for decades. Ensuring these entities meet their language access obligations has become a more pressing concern in recent years due to the size, growth, and dispersal of the country’s immigrant and Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations.
Because federal funding reaches so deeply into state and local systems and so widely across the country, language access requirements affect virtually all sectors of government and cover many programs delivered by state and local governments, companies, and community organizations. However, significant gaps in compliance with these requirements by recipients of federal funds mean that language access often remains a goal rather than a reality.
During this webinar, speakers discuss research from the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy that details next-generation strategies the federal government can use to support state and local programs in effectively operationalizing and sustaining meaningful language access. Speakers also highlight current challenges in providing language access in federally supported programs and offer recommendations for how to weave language access into existing processes; maximize limited resources; and foster a more coordinated, effective, and efficient federal response to agency and public needs.

Changing Climate, Changing Migration: What Brazil’s Disastrous Flooding Says about Climate Displacement Trends

Floods and other fast-moving natural disasters are becoming more common and more severe because of climate change. When these disasters strike, they can displace huge numbers of people. This episode turns to Brazil, where historic flooding in 2024 forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. Our guest is Valéria Emília de Aquino, a human-rights lawyer and researcher in Brazil.

Mapping Global Human Mobility in an Increasingly Complex World

Human mobility has reached a new scale and complexity amid rapid transformations, ranging from changing climates and the COVID-19 pandemic to urbanization and demographic shifts. Following an unprecedented era of border closures during the pandemic, the past two years have seen a major rebound in human mobility, alongside new displacement crises, climate shocks, and the resurgence of labor migration in response to acute shortages. Global mobility flows continue to shift and diversify, featuring an increasingly complex mix of regular and irregular migration and displacement. Yet understanding the rapidly evolving nature of global mobility remains a challenge.This webinar marks the launch of the latest Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) research collaboration exploring the rich tapestry of human movement in a post-pandemic world. The conversation, featuring opening remarks by IOM Deputy Director General of Operations Ugochi Daniels, showcases findings from the report, which taps into IOM data that permit diverse analysis of movements. Speakers highlight a mix of data-driven and human stories about the way that cross-border mobility has been spurred and disrupted in the wake of the pandemic. From a resurgence in short-term mobility in Southern Africa and labor migration to the Arabian Peninsula to diversifying flows across the Americas and an uptick in asylum seeking to Europe, the report and discussion explore the rapidly shifting nature of today’s mobility trends and outline the role of migration policy in managing and responding to growing challenges.

Connecting Immigrant Communities to Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Services

Young children in immigrant and refugee families can encounter mental-health risks related to their migration and integration experiences, ranging from discrimination and economic stress to persecution and violence in the case of young refugees. Infant and early childhood mental-health (IECMH) services have the potential to provide beneficial supports and treatment during the foundational early years for these young immigrants, promoting their healthy development and future well-being. However, many immigrant families, who are less likely overall to participate in early childhood services, face unique barriers to accessing IECMH supports across the spectrum of promotion, prevention, screening, and treatment.   
In this webinar, speakers discuss the importance of IECMH and highlight approaches that have successfully connected immigrant and refugee families with beneficial and culturally relevant services. Featuring recommendations from a MPI policy brief, the discussion explored opportunities to expand the accessibility and responsiveness of IECMH services to immigrant communities.

Changing Climate, Changing Migration: Migration, Climate Change, and Security in the Pacific

The U.S. military has long warned that climate change poses a challenge to global security. Instability and insecurity can be a result of unmanaged migration, with the potential for widespread climate displacement creating tensions in host communities. And they could also spark additional migration, if people flee precarious political dynamics. This episode, with Climate Migration Council member and retired U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Scott H. Swift, evaluates the security dynamics of climate change and migration, focusing on the Pacific.

World of Migration: What Does It Take to Increase Refugees’ Access to Education and Work? Insights from Ethiopia

In recent years, the Ethiopian government has pledged to increase access to education and employment for the more than 900,000 refugees living in Ethiopia, most in camps. There have been ups and downs along the way, but a few key trends have emerged. In this episode of our podcast, Migration Policy Institute Europe Associate Director Camille Le Coz speaks with researcher Abis Getachew about the major policy shifts to open classrooms and jobs to refugees and whether they have been successful.

Changing Climate, Changing Migration: Confronting the Ethical Questions around Climate Change and Migration

Do countries that are major polluters have a moral responsibility to aid people displaced by hurricanes, sea-level rise, and other events driven or exacerbated by climate change? What form might that responsibility take? For this episode, we are joined by Jamie Draper, who focuses on political philosophy and ethics at Utrecht University. While he argues that certain countries do have a responsibility to aid displaced people, labeled “climate migrants” by some, in his view that does not necessarily translate to offering them protection.

Changing Climate, Changing Migration: Could a Loss and Damage Fund Compensate Climate Migrants?

The world is grappling with the idea of restitution for people who have been negatively affected by the impacts of climate change—potentially including displacement within a country or across international borders. World leaders are at the early stages of creating a global loss and damage fund to financially compensate these climate victims. Much remains unresolved, including complicated and controversial questions about which countries owe money to whom, and how to attach a dollar figure to intangible losses such as destruction of natural land. In this episode, we speak with Adelle Thomas from Climate Analytics to wade through the thicket of challenges ahead, in particular as relates to climate migrants—those displaced by hostile environmental conditions linked to a rapidly changing climate.

Changing Climate, Changing Migration: Moving Mountains: Climate Migration in High Altitudes

Many people are leaving rural mountain areas around the globe because their livelihoods are becoming less profitable and the threat of landslides and other disasters is increasing. As the impacts of climate change grow, these mountain residents may face additional challenges dealing with environmental disruption. And by moving to urban areas, they may face a new set of issues and lose connection with their homelands. In this episode, we speak with Amina Maharjan from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development about the unique climate migration issues that are witnessed in mountain regions.

Changing Climate, Changing Migration: Are the Pacific’s Climate Migration Experiments a Preview for the World?

A landmark climate migration deal inked in late 2023 would allow hundreds of climate-vulnerable residents of the small island nation of Tuvalu to move to Australia. The pact is the latest step for a region that is at the leading edge globally in policy experimentation to address climate displacement. This Australia-Tuvalu deal, which is not uncontroversial, follows a brief and ultimately shelved attempt by New Zealand to create a “climate refugee” visa. How are these policies playing out, and what can the rest of the world learn from the Pacific experiences? This episode features renowned legal scholar Jane McAdam, who directs the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW.

Migration, Integration, and Development in Secondary Cities

Secondary cities are increasingly gaining attention as homes to refugees and other migrants and, as result, they are targets of development programming and international support. In Africa, these secondary cities are seeing their overall populations swell even as migrant numbers also increase, placing pressure on services such as education, health care, and sanitation. At the same time, refugees and other migrants often find it difficult to access jobs and build livelihoods, preventing them from achieving self-reliance.
In order to surmount these challenges and achieve long-term socioeconomic inclusion, public policy changes and support are needed, along with partnerships that could facilitate the path to inclusion. Marking the release of the report, Migration and Displacement in Secondary Cities: Insights from Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda, this webinar examines the challenges that refugees and other migrants face in—and place on—secondary cities, and the capacity of these municipalities to respond to these needs. Speakers explore possible strategies that local governments and partners can take to address socioeconomic and inclusion challenges while being sensitive to gender dynamics. The webinar asks what types of support are needed at national, regional, and international levels, and how development actors can better partner with secondary cities and local communities in their programming.

The Importance of Community Consultations in the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Network

The U.S. government in 2021 recommitted to the U.S. refugee resettlement program following several years of dismantling and record-low admissions. This reconstruction is taking place even as the resettlement program has been tasked with scaling up to meet the needs of refugees admitted in the wake of emergency resettlement initiatives, Operation Allies Welcome and Uniting for Ukraine, which have brought in more than 200,000 Afghan and Ukrainian refugees since 2021. This rebuilding is also occurring against the backdrop of unprecedented numbers of humanitarian migrants entering the United States through immigration parole pathways or the asylum system. Collectively, these developments have consequences for local capacities, affecting public health systems, schools, and other human services. As a result, coordination and communication among key stakeholders in the resettlement network has never been more critical. 
During this MPI webinar, speakers discuss the importance of community consultation in a rapidly evolving landscape, and explore how consultation supports capacity building and where it can, at times, fall short. Marking the release of a MPI report, The Unmet Potential of Community Consultations in U.S. Refugee Resettlement, this webcast explores key recommendations and actionable steps toward a more inclusive, collaborative, and adaptable consultation proces

Changing Climate, Changing Migration: What Exactly Is Climate Migration?

Migration is complex, and rarely is there only one single factor that prompts people to leave their homes. That is especially true when climate change is involved, since its impacts on internal and international migration are often indirect and hard to trace. So when we talk about climate migration, what exactly do we mean? And why is the distinction important? Kerilyn Schewel, co-director of Duke University’s Program on Climate-Related Migration, joins this episode of the podcast to help make sense of the terminology and why it matters.

Engaging Local Voices: Letting Cities Inform National Refugee Resettlement Goals

With the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) approaching, most of the planning focus has been on resettlement and complementary pathways pledges that will be announced at the December gathering and the number of refugees that states are committing to admit. Far less attention is being given to the crucial issues of how countries will reach their goals, whether the necessary capacity and infrastructure exist, and if there is effective coordination between the state and nonstate actors involved at different levels.
Effective communication and collaboration between local and national authorities are essential to ensure that resettlement and complementary pathways pledges are grounded in the realistic capacity and goodwill of local governments. Engaging with these local authorities, who often oversee reception and integration processes, can also enhance post-arrival planning and, therefore, refugees' integration prospects. Recent responses to the displacement of Ukrainians underscored the benefits of involving local authorities, as they have played a crucial role in identifying housing solutions and providing informal integration support through innovative local-national coordination and communication. 
This MPI Europe discussion considers how municipalities and other key stakeholders can be engaged in informing and delivering on the 2024 resettlement and complementary pathways pledges. Featuring findings from the recent publication Improving Stakeholder Coordination in Refugee Resettlement: A Path to More Effective, Inclusive Programs, this webinar explores opportunities for effective multi-level engagement ahead of the GRF.

A Passport to Opportunity: The Importance of Refugee Access to Travel Documents

Travel documents play an important role in international mobility, and for refugees serve as an essential gateway to a world of opportunities, from pursuing education and employment to reuniting with family. In this episode, MPI’s Susan Fratzke unpacks the complexities around travel documents and their pivotal role in refugees' livelihoods with Adhieu Achuil Kueth, founder of MonyQadow, and Jackie Keegan, deputy director of the Division of International Protection for Resettlement and Complementary Pathways at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Kueth shares her first-hand experience traveling on a refugee travel document and her commitment to aiding fellow refugees in accessing higher education opportunities. Keegan sheds light on the challenges refugees face in obtaining these essential documents. Tune in to learn more.

Changing Climate, Changing Migration: Is Climate Migration a Homeland Security Threat?

Can climate-driven international migration pose a security threat? Former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff thinks so, but not necessarily because of the migrants themselves. Irregular migration prompted by climate events can empower smugglers and criminal groups. And it can spur an extremist backlash in receiving countries if people feel their government is not adequately protecting them. Chertoff talks about the security implications of climate change and migration in this episode of the podcast.