The U.S. administration is calling for the United States to adopt a more “merit-based” immigrant selection system, looking to Canada and Australia as potential models. An immigration proposal under consideration by the administration would adjust the composition of legal immigration, giving greater preference to skills over family ties. Much of the advanced industrial world—from Germany and the European Union to China and other Asian states—is also grappling with how best to attract and retain highly skilled immigrant workers as a means of enhancing human capital and economic competitiveness.

The conversation between Jean-Christophe Dumont, Head of the International Migration Division at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and Migration Policy Institute (MPI) President Emeritus Demetrios G. Papademetriou focused on what policymakers should consider in designing—and managing—immigrant selection systems in a time of intense labor-market and demographic change. The discussion relied on recent MPI and OECD research on this topic, focusing primarily on the Canadian and Australian selection systems. MPI’s Julia Gelatt commented on the conversation from a U.S. policy perspective, discussing how lessons from abroad could apply to the United States.

High school graduation is an important personal achievement as well as a key indicator of school system effectiveness and a community’s potential economic vitality. For almost a decade, all U.S. states have used a common method to calculate the four-year graduation rate as part of their state school accountability system. This measure counts for a significant portion of a high school’s performance rating, which can gain it public accolades or identify it as a school in need of improvement. Even as rates of on-time graduation have improved, English Learners (ELs) post far lower rates than the national average.

This webinar marks the release of a Migration Policy Institute (MPI) report that investigates the unintended consequences of using the four-year graduation rate for school accountability. The report shows that ELs are more likely than other student subgroups to graduate in five or six years. However, most EL-serving high schools do not get credit for these graduates, as 60 percent of the nation’s ELs are served in states that only count the four-year rate for accountability purposes. Attaching high stakes to the four-year rate may also result in perverse incentives not to welcome high school EL newcomers out of fear these students will be unable to complete a degree in four years and thereby pull down the school’s performance rating. Schools may also mechanically redesign their instructional programs to “ensure” newcomers graduate in four years without evidence such a trajectory is possible or more educationally beneficial than a five- or six-year path.

Webinar participants also discuss the implications of California’s graduation rate policy choices. California does not use extended-year graduation rates for federal accountability, and—for state reporting—has adopted an alternative method for calculating graduation rates for continuation schools that serve older teenagers at significant risk of dropping out. Together, these policies may incentivize administrators to push ELs and other students who need more time to graduate out of traditional high schools and into alternative school settings. Speakers also discuss policy options states can consider to broaden the definition of a successful high school by using multiple graduation rate indicators.

Like other children, those born to immigrants can enter into a state’s child welfare system when there are reports of abuse or neglect by a parent or other caretaker.  Children with unauthorized immigrant parents may also intersect with the system if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests, detains, or deports a parent.

The increased numbers of children of immigrants in the United States (the vast majority U.S. born), along with developments in immigration policy and enforcement, have important implications for state and local child welfare agencies. Some jurisdictions have responded by developing specialized policies and practices, but there are significant variations around the country. To better understand state and local child welfare systems’ policies and practices for working with immigrant families, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) conducted discussions with administrators in 21 states and counties and reviewed relevant literature.

This webinar showcases the release of an MPI report, drawn from this research, that describes key policy issues for child welfare agencies and promising agency approaches. During this webinar, report authors MPI's Mark Greenberg and Ann Flagg of American Public Human Services Association, provide an overview of issues of intersection between immigration and child welfare systems and describe their findings regarding child welfare policies and practices to address the needs of children of immigrants and their families. Director of Georgia's Division of Family and Children Services Tom C. Rawlings and Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services Deputy Director Roberta Medina also share their perspectives and discuss key issues they are facing, and the report authors discuss their recommendations, with examples relating to organizational structure, training, language access, licensing of providers, screenings for immigration-status issues, interactions with foreign governments, and more.

Drawing on the expertise of housing experts, refugee and migrant organisations, social enterprises, and urban designers, this final session of the MPI Europe conference, ‘Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home,' reflects on the key themes and next steps identified in the two-day conference such as the potential of co-housing for community building; the role of urban planning for more inclusive cities; building innovative cross-sectoral partnerships; and novel approaches to measuring and communicating success in social innovation.

Moderator: Elizabeth Collett, Director, MPI Europe (on leave of absence); Special Adviser to the Director General, International Organization for Migration

Speakers

• David Manicom, Assistant Deputy Minister, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada
• Laura Corrado, Head of Unit, Legal Migration and Integration, DG Home, European Commission
• Sorcha Edwards, Secretary General, Housing Europe

“Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home.” European Economic and Social Committee. 25 April, 2019. © 2019 EU.

What types of partnerships best generate innovative ideas for refugee inclusion, what types of organizations should governments should partner with, and what are the challenges and opportunities of public-private partnerships? During this panel from the MPI Europe event, ‘Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home,' panelists answer these and other questions.

Moderator: Kenny Clewett, Director, Hello Europe Initiative, Ashoka, Spain

Speakers

• Antigone Kotanidis, Project Coordinator on behalf of the Municipality of Athens, Curing the Limbo, Greece
• Hugo Ortiz Dubon, Co-Founder and Diversity Strategist, We Link Sweden, Sweden
• Viola Zabeti, Press and Opinion (Public Affairs), Union of Sweden, Stockholm

“Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home.” European Economic and Social Committee. 25 April, 2019. © 2019 EU.

Discussants at this panel from an MPI Europe event, ‘Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home,' examine the innovative approaches of cities and rural areas when it comes to refugee inclusion.

Moderator: Haroon Saad, Lead Expert, Local Urban Development European Network, Belgium

Speakers

• Eleftherios Papagiannakis, Vice Mayor for Migrants, Refugees, and Municipal Decentralization, Municipality of Athens, Greece
• Mari Bjerck, Researcher, Eastern Norway Research Institute, Project SIMRA (Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas), Norway
• Antoine Savary, Deputy Head of Unit, Legal Migration and Integration, DG Home, European Commission

“Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home.” European Economic and Social Committee. 25 April, 2019. © 2019 EU.

This panel examines the role of employment in creating a sense of home, including the role of professional mentoring in promoting social inclusion and access to the labour market. It was one of several panels at the MPI Europe event, ‘Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home'.

Moderator: Ben Mason, Researcher and project lead, Betterplace lab, Germany

Speakers

• Julie Bodson, Advocacy Coordinator, DUO for a JOB, Belgium
• Hugo Ortiz Dubon, Co-founder and diversity strategist, We Link Sweden, Sweden
• Tariq Tarey, Director of Refugee Social Services, Jewish Family Services, United States

“Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home.” European Economic and Social Committee. 24 April, 2019. © 2019 EU.

This panel from the MPI Europe conference, ‘Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home,' looks at housing as a gateway to integration and examines the role of a home in shaping opportunities for newcomers, what needs should be factored in, and how to reduce receiving communities’ anxieties concerning social change.

Welcoming Remarks

• Stéphane Dion, Canadian Ambassador to Germany and Special Envoy to the European Union and Europe
• Carlos Trindade, President, EESC Group on Immigration and Integration
• Meghan Benton, Senior Policy Analyst and Assistant Director for Research, International Programme, Migration Policy Institute

Speakers

• Anila Noor, Member of the European Migrant Advisory Board, Netherlands
• Tariq Tarey, Director of Refugee Social Services, Jewish Family Services, United States
• Doug Saunders, journalist and author, Canada/UK
• Fuad Mahamed, Founder, Ashley Community Housing, United Kingdom
• Moderator: Meghan Benton, MPI

“Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home.” European Economic and Social Committee. 24 April, 2019. © 2019 EU.

Amid an aging workforce, the retirement of baby boomers, and declining birth rates, the United States is expected to face a shortage of 8 million workers between now and 2027. At the same time, immigrant-origin adults are predicted to be main source of future labor force growth over the next two decades. Yet as the labor market seeks greater education and skills, 30 million adults who are immigrants or the children of immigrants lack postsecondary credentials. This webinar discusses a new MPI report offering a first-ever demographic profile of this population and analysis of the significant payoff credentials could bring in terms of workforce participation and wages.

Immigrant integration policymaking has become vastly more complex and under greater scrutiny amid the rise of populism in Europe. This panel from an MPI Europe event, Building the Foundations for Inclusion: What Does the Future Hold for Immigrant Integration in Europe?, examines what new skills and tools policymakers need, promising innovations integration policymakers could learn from other policy portfolios, and what institutions, systems, and actors need to be at the table.

Speakers include:

Laura Corrado, Head of Unit, Unit B.1 – Legal Migration and Integration, Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission

Honey Deihimi, Head of Division, Cabinet of the Minister of State to the Federal Chancellor and Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration, Germany

David Manicom, Assistant Deputy Minister for Settlement and Integration, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada

Eleftherios Papagiannakis, Vice Mayor for Migrants, Refugees, and Municipal Decentralisation, Athens

Marco Zappalorto, Chief Executive, Nesta Italia

Amid population ageing and changing labour markets that could affect the skills, sectors, and structure of jobs themselves, governments across Europe are grappling with how to support migrants and refugees in increasingly unstable and knowledge-intensive labour markets. This panel from an MPI Europe event, Building the Foundations for Inclusion: What Does the Future Hold for Immigrant Integration in Europe?, examines how newcomers can capitalise on growing nontraditional pathways to economic success amid the digitisation and automation of many jobs, how social protection programmes can be updated to a changing world of work, and how schools and universities can help all young people succeed in future labour markets.

Speakers include:

Meghan Benton, Assistant Director, International Programme, MPI

Julie Bodson, Duo for a Job, Belgium

Pia Buhl Girolami, Specialist Director, Department of Integration, Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Norway

Rachel Marangozov, Research Associate, Institute for Employment Studies; and Director, MigrationWork

Ben Mason, Project Lead, ‘Digital Routes to Integration’, betterplace lab

Amid major spontaneous migration to Europe in recent years, deepening anxiety about social change and rising diversity has boosted support for far-right populist and anti-establishment parties, making it a challenge for politicians to articulate a sense of common identity without succumbing to simplistic narratives around migration. This panel from an MPI Europe event, Building the Foundations for Inclusion: What Does the Future Hold for Immigrant Integration in Europe?, examines how governments can promote and maintain common values in a state of flux, how to prioritise integration without fueling unfairness among groups that feel left behind, and promising communications strategies to reduce social divides.

Speakers include:

Aliyyah Ahad, Associate Policy Analyst, MPI Europe

Elizabeth Collett, Special Adviser to the Director General, International Organization for Migration; and Director, MPI Europe (on a leave of absence)

Tim Dixon, Co-Founder, More in Common

Doug Saunders, Author; and International Affairs Columnist, The Globe and Mail

The U.S. refugee resettlement program is facing an extraordinary set of pressures and challenges. Following the Trump administration’s decision to sharply reduce refugee admissions, the number plunged in fiscal 2018 to an unprecedented low of 22,491 since the program’s formal creation in 1980. This has in turn caused drastic funding cuts for resettlement programs and uncertainty about the future—threatening the network’s sustainability and capacity for larger-scale refugee resettlement in the future. These challenges make this an important time to consider how programs can better serve the full spectrum of refugee integration needs, and how to strengthen partnerships with local governments and nongovernmental actors.

Traditionally the refugee resettlement system has concentrated on helping adults find employment quickly, with limited resources focused on children or nonworking family members. However, research and experience point to the benefits of adopting strategies that address the needs of the whole family. Strong and supportive families promote better outcomes for children. Grounded in that knowledge, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) released a study on how a two-generation approach could strengthen refugee integration in the United States.

On this webinar, MPI researchers Mark Greenberg, Julia Gelatt, and Jessica Bolter explore promising practices to better serve refugee families, including innovative efforts to secure better jobs for adult refugees over time. In a conversation with Utah's Director of Refugee Services Asha Parekh and Colorado's State Refugee Coordinator Kit Taintor, study authors discuss the potential for implementing and supporting two-generation approaches to refugee integration at a time when the system’s funding and capacity are in peril.   

The international migrant population includes some of the most vulnerable people in the world, including unaccompanied children and children in detention. Yet these children are often invisible in data and in many places denied entry into schools, while they are often the ones most in need of the safe haven, stability, and path to a brighter future that education can provide.

Marking the U.S. release of the 2019 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, this event convened by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and the GEM Report includes a presentation of the report that focuses mainly on migration and displacement in its continued assessment of progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on education, as well as other related education targets in the SDG agenda. This global study presents evidence on the implications of different types of migration and displacement for education and how reforming curricula, pedagogy, and teacher preparation can impact attitudes toward diversity. The report analyzes the challenges to effective humanitarian financing for education and makes the case for investing in the education of children whose parents migrate for work, in countries with high rates of emigration and those seeing high rates of immigration, and in short-term refugee emergencies and in protracted crises. It also offers recommendations that advance the aims of SDG 4.

Drawing on the experience of the United States, the discussion looks at different ways education policymakers, teachers, and civil society have responded to the educational needs of migrants and how to address the legal, administrative, or linguistic barriers that sometimes inhibit children from participating meaningfully and equally in education programs. Speakers--including the 2018 Teacher of the Year Mandy Manning; Refugee Council USA's Director Mary Giovagnoli; former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development Joan Lombardi; and Priyadarshani Joshi from the GEM Report--highlighted the centrality of education for the process of inclusion and reflect on the capacity of education systems to serve children and youth from migrant backgrounds. The discussion moderated by MPI's Margie McHugh explored possible solutions, and offered fresh ideas on how to ensure that education addresses diversity in and outside the classroom.