Migration Policy Institute Podcasts

International Migration

Episodes

Monday Feb 07, 2022

Concerns that large amounts of people will be displaced by climate change and head to wealthy countries in North America and Europe are often misplaced, according to migration scholar Hein de Haas. These types of narratives can tap into anti-immigrant sentiments, allow governments to avoid responsibility for their own failures, and may overlook the large numbers of people forced to remain in place amid environmental disaster, he argues in this episode. 

Friday Dec 10, 2021

Environmental disasters can force people out of their homes and communities, complicating responses to ongoing humanitarian protection efforts. As a result, many humanitarian organizations have started paying attention to the impacts of climate change for multiple aspects of their refugee protection work. For this episode, we speak with Joan Rosenhauer, the executive director of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, about how natural disasters and other environmental harms affect her organization’s work and its faith-based mission.

Friday Dec 10, 2021

MPI Europe Policy Analyst Liam Patuzzi moderated a breakout session where David Campbell, President, Jupia Consultants Inc.; Andrea Soler Eslava, Senior Rural Integration Project Manager, International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC); Danielle Gluns, Head of the Research and Transfer Office for Migration Policy, University of Hildesheim; Khmlin Haj Mohamad, Regional Refugee Ambassador, SHARE SIRA project (Expanding Social Orientation & Integration for Newcomers in Rural Areas in Europe); and Maher Dahdal, Regional Refugee Ambassador, SHARE SIRA project, discussed the following topics:
As smaller towns and rural areas have stepped up their efforts to welcome refugees and migrants in recent years, what can we learn about these communities’ resources and limitations in promoting social inclusion and cohesion? What new bottlenecks has the COVID-19 pandemic generated?
What does social innovation for inclusion look like in rural areas, and what conditions does it need to develop? How is it linked with other trends shaping the future of small and rural communities—such as demographics, infrastructural, and environmental ones?
How can small communities successfully transfer and adapt innovative practices that originated in larger cities? At the same time, how can they nurture ‘home-grown’ innovations specifically tailored to their context(s)?

Friday Dec 10, 2021

In a breakout session, MPI Europe Senior Policy Analyst Jasmijn Slootjes led a discussion with Beba Svigir, Chief Executive Officer, Calgary Immigrant Women's Association; Lama Jaghjougha, Founder, Raise Women's Awareness Network; Kava Spartak, Director, YAAR e.V; and Drocella Mugorewera, Board Member of Refugee Congress and Executive Director of Bridge Refugee Services, United States on the following topics:
What are the key success factors for interventions aiming to protect groups at high risk of exclusion and marginalization, promoting their well-being and participation? How far have we come since 2015-16, and what is still missing?
How have organizations adapted their models of service provision in response to the pandemic, and how successful are these adaptations proving to be—for example, in recreating a sense of community and trust even in virtual and hybrid formats?
How can holistic, highly tailored, and often resource-intensive forms of support be sustained and brought to scale?
What models can help leverage the entrepreneurialism, innovativeness and resilience of migrant and refugee women, whose vital role in our societies has been further highlighted by the pandemic?

Friday Dec 10, 2021

This virtual conference explores how the diverse landscape of partnerships, social enterprises, participatory models, and community-led initiatives spearheading social innovation for inclusion has fared during COVID-19. It also focuses on how this ecosystem can emerge strengthened from the pandemic, and be a vital force in addressing new humanitarian challenges.
Welcoming Remarks by:
Hanne Beirens, Director, MPI Europe
Brian Street, Refugee and Migration Affairs Officer, U.S. Mission to the European Union
Mary Coulter, Counsellor for Migration, Mission of Canada to the European Union,
Paul Soete, President of the Thematic Study Group on Immigration and Integration, European Economic and Social Committee

Thursday Dec 09, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic effect on the corporate sector, disrupting operations, ushering in changed thinking about the office environment, and chilling business travel. How has the business world responded? And in what way are COVID-19 protocols, new innovations, and trends in working practices affecting the decisions that companies make about the mobility of their workforce? In this episode, we speak with two former government officials who are now in the private sector—Ian Robinson of the immigration law firm Fragomen and Brendan Ryan, CEO of Nomadic, which provides digital solutions for corporate travel—about the trends and policy environment shaping business mobility decisions, whether the rise of the Omicron variant might scupper plans to restart travel, and whether the rise of digital nomad visas represent a fad or permanent shift.

Thursday Dec 02, 2021

In the 20 years since the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) was founded, international migration trends and policies have changed in dramatic ways. The number of migrants has increased, many more migrants are in mixed flows with humanitarian protection needs, and migration has become a much more salient political issue in countries around the world. What do these trends presage for the future in terms of international migration governance and humanitarian protection?
During an armchair discussion, the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration, António Vitorino, and MPI cofounder and President Emeritus Demetrios G. Papademetriou discussed the evolution of international migration governance and its possible future. The conversation was moderated by Meghan Benton, Director for International Research, MPI and MPI Europe.

Thursday Dec 02, 2021

In the 20 years since the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) was founded, international migration trends and policies have changed in dramatic ways. The number of migrants has increased, many more migrants are in mixed flows with humanitarian protection needs, and migration has become a much more salient political issue in countries around the world. What do these trends presage for the future in terms of international migration governance and humanitarian protection?
The conference opened with a panel discussion on humanitarian protection with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, MPI co-founder Kathleen Newland, and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) President Wendy Young.

Wednesday Dec 01, 2021

Within Latin America, Costa Rica is a top immigrant-destination country. New dynamics emerged beginning in 2015 as migration flows became increasingly mixed, with the arrival of refugees, seasonal and permanent immigrants, and extracontinental migrants transiting the country en route to destinations further north. With increasing numbers of Venezuelans and extracontinental migrants, and more recently a surge in Nicaraguan arrivals, there are greater pressures on the Costa Rican migration system’s capacity. The arrivals also have tested society’s acceptance of immigrants amid the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic, which strained government resources and presented unique challenges for migrants. Yet migration holds opportunities as Costa Rica potentially stands to benefit from this influx of human capital if properly managed.
This webinar marks the release of a report examining the state of Costa Rica’s institutional framework and initiatives supporting the integration of migrants and refugees, a particularly critical policy area as the immigrant population continues to grow. The discussion, which features key Costa Rican government officials and members of the private sector and civil society,  explores where the migration system is most advanced and where challenges remain, along with how to better foster immigrant integration, in particular for recent arrivals, as well as social cohesion. Topics include regularization and registration, health, employment, and education.
The event was in Spanish and this is the live English interpretation.

Wednesday Dec 01, 2021

Dentro de América Latina, Costa Rica es uno de los países principales de destino de migrantes. Desde el 2015, han surgido nuevas dinámicas a raíz de la diversificación de los flujos migratorios, dado la llegada de refugiados, migrantes estacionales y permanentes y migrantes extracontinentales que transitan por el país en ruta hacia destinos más al norte. Con un número creciente de venezolanos, migrantes extracontinentales, y más recientemente un aumento en las llegadas de nicaragüenses, el sistema migratorio costarricense ha enfrentado mayores presiones de capacidad. Las llegadas también han puesto a prueba la aceptación de los migrantes por parte de la sociedad en medio de la pandemia de COVID-19, que ha agotado los recursos gubernamentales y ha presentado desafíos para los migrantes. Sin embargo, la migración ofrece oportunidades y Costa Rica podría beneficiarse de esta afluencia de capital humano si se gestiona adecuadamente.Este webinar marca la publicación de un informe que examina el marco institucional y las iniciativas del estado de Costa Rica que apoyan la integración de migrantes y refugiados, un área de política particularmente crítica a medida que la población migrante continúa creciendo. El debate, que conta con funcionarios de alto nivel del gobierno de Costa Rica y miembros del sector privado y la sociedad civil, explora dónde está más avanzado el sistema migratorio y dónde persisten los desafíos, junto con cómo fomentar mejor la integración de los inmigrantes, en particular para los recién llegados. Los temas incluyen la cohesión social, regularización y registro, salud, empleo y educación. 

Wednesday Nov 24, 2021

With migration a dynamic phenomenon in the Americas—with significant Central American flows to the U.S. border, and much smaller but growing numbers of South Americans and others traveling north—the U.S. government increasingly is realizing that migration management cannot occur only at the U.S.-Mexico border and must include cooperation with Mexico, Central America, and other countries in the hemisphere such as Canada, Costa Rica, and Panama. This recognition of migration as a regional system requires a new set of policies and ways of engagement with countries across the Americas, as Migration Policy Institute (MPI) President Andrew Selee discusses with colleague Andrea Tanco. The conversation also turns to the evolution of the immigration debate over the past two decades and the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Wednesday Oct 27, 2021

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. 

Friday Oct 22, 2021

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 de migrantes y refugiados como una oportunidad de desarrollo para los países de acogida. A la vez, hay mucho por hacer para aumentar la cohesión social frente a preocupaciones públicas sobre el alcance y la magnitud de esta migración. ¿Qué estrategias se han implementado en Colombia hasta ahora y qué pueden aprender otros países en la región, y globalmente, de la experiencia colombiana?En este webinario organizado por el Instituto de Políticas Migratorias (MPI) y el Departamento de Inclusión Social de la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA) ponentes examinan cuestiones de integración y cohesión social en Colombia. La conversación se enfoca en un programa innovador del gobierno colombiano, Café por la Integración, que busca abrir espacios para dialogar con comunidades clave a lo largo del país.  También se explora cómo la comunidad internacional puede apoyar a los países que están recibiendo altas cantidades de personas venezolanas, como Colombia, mientras intentan estabilizar la situación de migrantes tanto como la de las comunidades de acogida, además de potenciar los beneficios de la migración y limitar sus posibles desventajas.

Thursday Oct 14, 2021

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.

Thursday Oct 14, 2021

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 the role of think tanks has evolved over the last two decades, in this conversation with MPI’s Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan. They also look ahead to the future challenges that will dominate immigration policymaking in the years ahead.

Thursday Oct 14, 2021

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, to learn from the COVID-19 response to improve decision-making for handling future cross-border pandemics. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Kelley Lee, head of the Pandemics and Borders initiative at Simon Fraser University in Canada, about what the future holds, and whether decisionmakers truly learn to adapt or instead pull out the playbook from the last crisis.

Monday Oct 11, 2021

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, about what extreme heat means for migrants.

Tuesday Sep 28, 2021

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 quienes ocasionalmente llegan como refugiados como parte integral de sus comunidades. Pero ¿cómo se están traduciendo estas agendas políticas nacionales en ciudades que están manejando una afluencia de inmigrantes? ¿Qué políticas se están aplicando a nivel local con respecto a la integración de los migrantes en el mercado laboral y los sistemas de educación, salud, vivienda y servicios sociales? ¿Qué se puede aprender de esfuerzos recientes para dar la bienvenida a los inmigrantes en las comunidades locales?
En el primer webinario de una nueva serie de eventos que analiza cómo las ciudades de América Latina y el Caribe están abordando estos problemas, esta conversación con líderes de ciudades medianas examina la respuesta social de la región que ha resultado en la integración de nuevas llegadas de migrantes en comunidades locales. Los ponentes ofrecen reflexiones sobre sus experiencias en la gestión de la migración en el nivel local, la obtención de recursos financieros, la coordinación con los gobiernos nacionales y estatales, y el desarrollo e implementación de políticas de integración local.

Wednesday Sep 22, 2021

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 public health requires coverage for the entire community has renewed interest in tackling issues faced by marginalized populations.
With COVID-19 likely to significantly reshape health-care systems in Europe and worldwide, there is a window of opportunity to test new strategies to tackle longstanding migrant health disparities, and ensure that structural changes accommodate the complex needs of diverse populations. What lessons can be learned from strategies that arose during the pandemic and can they inform more inclusive health care post-pandemic? This webinar features experts and policymakers assessing the most promising strategies to ensure migrant health after the pandemic, as well as the related challenges and opportunities. 
Speakers highlight key findings from the ApartTogether study about the impact of the pandemic on migrants, reflect on the implications of the public-health crisis for migrant health, examine practical strategies that countries such as Portugal have taken, and discuss the most pressing challenges and issues facing migrants in European public-health systems today. This webinar is part of the Integration Futures Working Group initiative supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung.  A related report from the project — Healing the Gap: Building Inclusive Public-Health and Migrant Integration Systems in Europe — also addresses some of the topics raised on this webinar. 

Wednesday Sep 15, 2021

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 COVID-19 pandemic.
This global scarcity in resettlement places has been paralleled by innovation. States have shown creativity in designing resettlement programs and in growing access to protection via complementary pathways, including educational and employment ones. The Three-Year Strategy (2019–2021) on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways, launched following the adoption of the Global Compact on Refugees in 2018, aims to achieve more resettlement opportunities for refugees, as well as better access for refugees to complementary pathways. To support the goals of the Three-Year Strategy, the Sustainable Resettlement and Complementary Pathways Initiative (CRISP), led by UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), provides support to states and key stakeholders to establish, expand, or renew resettlement programs and advance complementary pathways of admission.
This Migration Policy Institute Europe webinar marked the launch of a report that sets out a series of recommendations for how UNHCR, national governments, civil society, and other partners can most effectively support the growth of resettlement and complementary pathways in the years ahead. The webinar highlighted the recommendations developed by MPI Europe in collaboration with the University of Ottawa Refugee Hub showcased in the report, which was commissioned by UNHCR with CRISP support.

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