Is the Door Closing? Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan Migration

Nearly 4 million Venezuelans have moved to other Latin American and Caribbean countries over the past few years as Venezuela’s economy imploded and internal political tensions worsened, making this movement the largest forced migration crisis in recent Latin American history and one of the largest emergencies in the world. 
These host countries have generally tried to accommodate the arrivals, most offering basic education and emergency health care, as well as legal status for many. But as the exodus from Venezuela continues, some governments are beginning to erect barriers to entry and to struggle with the challenges of integrating newcomers into local communities. 
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) is tracking the changing policy landscape and migration trends, and on this webinar launched two resources useful to publics, service providers, and policymakers alike: 
a Latin American and Caribbean Migration Portal that offers up-to-date, authoritative research and data on migration and policies in the region, and 
a report examining the migration and integration policy responses of 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to increased Venezuelan and Nicaraguan migration.
MPI President Andrew Selee and report co-author Jessica Bolter were joined by Luisa Feline Freier, Assistant Professor of Social and Political Science, Universidad del Pacífico (Peru) and Juliana Miranda Rocha, Coordinator, Serviço Jesuíta a Migrantes e Refugiados (SJMR) Brasil, who discussed relevant policies, in particular with regards to entry requirements and legal status.
MPI held a related Spanish-language webinar; click here to access that recording. 

16th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference- The Humanitarian and Migration Crisis Originating in Central America: The Need for Regional Approaches

In recent years, the humanitarian and migration crisis in the three Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras has resulted in increasing international migration, particularly of women and children as well as unaccompanied minors. Most of them cross the Guatemala-Mexico border to head towards the United States, while some migrate to countries in the region, such as Costa Rica. Many are fleeing serious violence carried out by gangs and other non-state actors, though the search for better livelihoods and family reunification with relatives already in the United States plays a role as well. Governments do not control territories where gangs and drug cartels rule, nor are they able to protect women and girls from domestic abuse and other forms of violence or insecurity. Natural disasters, climate change, food insecurity, and poor economic conditions exacerbate the situation for vulnerable people. This panel discussed the best ways for governments, international organizations, and NGOs in the region to address this crisis, particularly in terms of root causes and the protection of families and children.
Speakers include:
Chiara Cardoletti-Carroll, Deputy Regional Representative for the United States of America and the Caribbean, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
Anthony Fontes, Assistant Professor, School of International Service, American University
Maureen Meyer, Director for Mexico and Migrant Rights, WOLA
Andrew Schoenholtz, Professor from Practice, Georgetown Law; Director, Human Rights Institute; Co-Director, Center for Applied Legal Studies

16th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference- Drawing a New Line: Recent Changes in U.S.-Mexico Border Policy

Under the current administration, U.S.-Mexico border polices have dominated headlines, becoming both the symbol and testing ground of hardline immigration policy. Family separation, the deaths of children in immigration custody, and the detention of men, women, and children in unsafe, overcrowded conditions have stirred national concern.
The asylum system alone has been hamstrung by “metering” that slows entry to a trickle, enormous court backlogs, the wholesale return to Mexico of asylum applicants awaiting their court appearances, and policies that attempt to force applicants to first seek protection in other countries.
This panel explores what these policies have meant to asylum seekers and the communities that straddle the 2,000-mile-long line. Topics include family separation, Remain in Mexico, the wall, state and local work, and more. The panelists also considered whether the administration is achieving results with its efforts to reshape overall enforcement, the responses from local border communities, and related litigation.
Speakers include:
Dylan Corbett, Founding Director, Hope Border Institute
Sue Kenney-Pfalzer, Director Border and Asylum Network, HIAS
Joel Rose, Correspondent, National Desk, National Public Radio
Anna Gallagher, Executive Director, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

Panel: La Respuesta Internacional ante las Crisis Humanitarias Migratorias de Venezuela y Nicaragua

La respuesta internacional ante las crisis humanitarias migratorias de Venezuela y Nicaragua (Panel 3)
Chiara Cardoletti-Carroll, Representante Regional Adjunto del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados para los Estados Unidos de América y el Caribe (UNHCR)
Luca Dall’Oglio, Jefe de Misión, Organización Internacional para la Migraciones (OIM) de EE. UU.
Dana Francis, Directora, Oficina de Asistencia para Europa, Asia Central, y las Américas, Oficina de Población, Refugiados y Migración, Departamento de Estado de EE. UU.
Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian, Directora, Departamento de Inclusión Social, Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA)
Moderador: Juan F. Jiménez Mayor, Ex Primer Ministro y Ex Ministro de Justicia de los Derechos Humanos del Perú
¿Nuevos enfoques hacia la protección y la integración de migrantes y refugiados en la región?
Diego Chaves, Investigador Visitante, MPI
Jessica Bolter, Analista de Políticas Públicas, MPI
Mientras las crisis continúan desarrollándose en Venezuela y Nicaragua, más de 4,5 millones de personas han dejado a esos países, con la mayoría instalándose en países vecinos en la región. Hasta la fecha, los países latinoamericanos generalmente han respondido por buscar maneras pragmáticas para recibir e integrar migrantes y refugiados de Venezuela y Nicaragua.
Esta serie de debates en panel examina los desafíos futuros mientras países de la región busca establecer estrategias futuras para responder a flujos migratorios a gran escala. Responsables políticos y principales interesados de la región, así como representantes de instituciones internacionales destacadas involucradas en la respuesta regional, ofrecen sus puntos de vista sobre requisitos de entrada cambiantes; vías legales y proceso de asilo; acceso a la educación, servicios de salud y servicios públicos; y las oportunidades y retos que esos flujos migratorios exponen por el futuro de la región.
Las observaciones dadas en inglés fueron traducidas al español en esta grabación.

Panel: Respuestas Regionales a Migrantes y Refugiados Nicaragüenses

Respuestas regionales a flujos migratorios nicaragüenses (Panel 2)
Carlos Andrés Torres Salas, Viceministro de Gobernación y Policía, Ministro de Gobernación y Policía de Costa Rica
Harold Villegas-Román, Asesor al Viceministro del Interior y la Policía; y Comisionado, Comisión de Visas Restringidas y Refugio del Estado de Costa
Alberto Cortés Ramos, Profesor, Departamento de Ciencias Políticas, Universidad de Costa Rica
Manuel Orozco, Director del Programa de Migración, Remesas y Desarrollo, Diálogo Interamericano
Mientras las crisis continúan desarrollándose en Venezuela y Nicaragua, más de 4,5 millones de personas han dejado a esos países, con la mayoría instalándose en países vecinos en la región. Hasta la fecha, los países latinoamericanos generalmente han respondido por buscar maneras pragmáticas para recibir e integrar migrantes y refugiados de Venezuela y Nicaragua.
Esta serie de debates en panel examina los desafíos futuros mientras países de la región busca establecer estrategias futuras para responder a flujos migratorios a gran escala. Responsables políticos y principales interesados de la región, así como representantes de instituciones internacionales destacadas involucradas en la respuesta regional, ofrecen sus puntos de vista sobre requisitos de entrada cambiantes; vías legales y proceso de asilo; acceso a la educación, servicios de salud y servicios públicos; y las oportunidades y retos que esos flujos migratorios exponen por el futuro de la región.
Las observaciones dadas en inglés fueron traducidas al español en esta grabación.

Panel: Respuestas Regionales a Migrantes y Refugiados Venezolanos

Palabras de bienvenida y descripción general: Andrew Selee, Presidente, Instituto de Políticas Migratorios (MPI)
Respuestas regionales a la migración venezolano (Panel 1)
Frieda Roxana Del Águila Tuesta, Superintendente Nacional de Migraciones, Perú
Christian Krüger Sarmiento, Director General, Migración Colombia
Andrés Alfonso Ramírez Silva, Coordinador General, Comisión Mexicana de Ayuda a Refugiados (COMAR)
Hernán Yánez González, Subsecretario de Protección Internacional y Atención a Inmigrantes, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana del Ecuador
José Tomás Vicuña, Director Nacional, Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes, Chile  
Raísa Ortiz Cetra, Miembro, Equipo Internacional, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales en Argentina
Moderador: Andrew Selee, Presidente, MPI
Mientras las crisis continúan desarrollándose en Venezuela y Nicaragua, más de 4,5 millones de personas han dejado a esos países, con la mayoría instalándose en países vecinos en la región. Hasta la fecha, los países latinoamericanos generalmente han respondido por buscar maneras pragmáticas para recibir e integrar migrantes y refugiados de Venezuela y Nicaragua.
Esta serie de debates en panel examina los desafíos futuros mientras países de la región busca establecer estrategias futuras para responder a flujos migratorios a gran escala. Responsables políticos y principales interesados de la región, así como representantes de instituciones internacionales destacadas involucradas en la respuesta regional, ofrecen sus puntos de vista sobre requisitos de entrada cambiantes; vías legales y proceso de asilo; acceso a la educación, servicios de salud y servicios públicos; y las oportunidades y retos que esos flujos migratorios exponen por el futuro de la región.
Las observaciones dadas en inglés fueron traducidas al español en esta grabación.

The International Response to the Venezuelan & Nicaraguan Humanitarian Crises (Panel 3) & New Approaches (Conclusion) - Latin American Responses to the Venezuelan & Nicaraguan Migration Crises

The International Response to the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Humanitarian Crises (Panel 3)
Chiara Cardoletti-Carroll, Deputy Regional Representative for the United States and the Caribbean, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Luca Dall’Oglio, Chief of Mission, International Organization for Migration (IOM) USA
Dana Francis, Director, Office of Assistance for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of State
Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian, Director, Department of Social Inclusion, Organization of American States (OAS)
Moderator: Juan F. Jiménez Mayor, former Prime Minister and former Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Peru
New Approaches toward Protection and Integration in the Region?
Diego Chaves, Visiting Fellow, MPI
Jessica Bolter, Associate Policy Analyst, MPI
 
As crises continue to unfold in Venezuela and Nicaragua, more than 4.5 million people have left both of those countries, with most settling in neighboring countries in the region. To date, Latin American countries have generally responded by finding pragmatic ways to receive and integrate migrants and refugees from Venezuela and Nicaragua.
This series of panel discussions examines the challenges ahead as countries in the region seek to chart future strategies for responding to large-scale forced migration flows. Leading policymakers and key stakeholders from the region, as well as representatives of major international institutions involved with the regional response, offer their views on changing entry requirements; legal pathways and asylum processes; access to education, health care, and public services; and the opportunities and challenges that these migration flows present for the future of the region.
Remarks given in Spanish have been translated into English in this recording.

Regional Responses to Nicaraguan Outflows (Panel 2) - Latin American Responses to the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration Crises

Regional Responses to Nicaraguan Outflows (Panel 2)
Carlos Andrés Torres Salas, Vice Minister of the Interior and Police, Costa Rica
Harold Villegas-Román, Advisor to the Vice Minister of the Interior and Police; and Commissioner, Restricted Visa and Refugee Commission, Costa Rica
Alberto Cortés Ramos, Professor, Political Science Department, University of Costa Rica
Moderator: Manuel Orozco, Director, Migration, Remittances, and Development Program, Inter-American Dialogue
As crises continue to unfold in Venezuela and Nicaragua, more than 4.5 million people have left both of those countries, with most settling in neighboring countries in the region. To date, Latin American countries have generally responded by finding pragmatic ways to receive and integrate migrants and refugees from Venezuela and Nicaragua.
This series of panel discussions examines the challenges ahead as countries in the region seek to chart future strategies for responding to large-scale forced migration flows. Leading policymakers and key stakeholders from the region, as well as representatives of major international institutions involved with the regional response, offer their views on changing entry requirements; legal pathways and asylum processes; access to education, health care, and public services; and the opportunities and challenges that these migration flows present for the future of the region.
Remarks given in Spanish have been translated into English in this recording.

Regional Responses to Venezuelan Migration (Panel 1) - Latin American Responses to the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration Crises

Latin American Responses to the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration Crises
Welcome Remarks and Overview: Andrew Selee, President, Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Regional Responses to Venezuelan Migration (Panel 1)
Frieda Roxana Del Águila Tuesta, Superintendent of Migration, Peru
Christian Krüger Sarmiento, Director, Migration Colombia
Andrés Alfonso Ramírez Silva, Director, Mexican Refugee Commission (COMAR)
Hernán Yánez González, Under Secretary of International Protection and Assistance for Immigrants, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador
Jose Tomás Vicuña, National Director, Servicio Jesuita de Migrantes, Chile
Raísa Ortiz Cetra, Member, International Team, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales, Argentina
Moderator: Andrew Selee, President, MPI
As crises continue to unfold in Venezuela and Nicaragua, more than 4.5 million people have left both of those countries, with most settling in neighboring countries in the region. To date, Latin American countries have generally responded by finding pragmatic ways to receive and integrate migrants and refugees from Venezuela and Nicaragua.
This series of panel discussions examines the challenges ahead as countries in the region seek to chart future strategies for responding to large-scale forced migration flows. Leading policymakers and key stakeholders from the region, as well as representatives of major international institutions involved with the regional response, offer their views on changing entry requirements; legal pathways and asylum processes; access to education, health care, and public services; and the opportunities and challenges that these migration flows present for the future of the region.
Remarks given in Spanish have been translated in this recording.

The Colombian Response to the Venezuelan Migration Crisis: A Dialogue with Colombia’s Migration Czar

The political and economic unraveling of Venezuela has sparked the flight of more than 4 million people in what now stands as the largest exodus of migrants in the western hemisphere—a number that could exceed 5 million by year’s end. More than 1.4 million Venezuelans have settled in Colombia, which has generously opened its doors.
As the primary destination for Venezuelans, Colombia is providing a variety of legal pathways through temporary programs that allow the new arrivals access to work permits, public services, and protection from possible exploitation. And in September 2018, Colombia joined other countries in adopting the Declaration of Quito on Human Mobility of Venezuelan Citizens in the Region and launched an action plan emphasizing regularization and integration for migrants.
However, Colombia’s capacity to continue to host further arrivals is being stretched amid increasing pressure on public services and local economies, the growing recognition these arrivals will be more than short-term guests, and the strong possibility of additional inflows. Also at play is the slow arrival of international assistance. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has deemed the Venezuelan crisis one of the most underfunded humanitarian appeals in the world.
As the crisis continues to unfold, the Migration Policy Institute and Inter-American Dialogue hosted a conversation--with Felipe Muñoz, Advisor to the President of Colombia for the Colombian-Venezuelan Border; Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, MPI's International Program Associate Director;Michael Camilleri, Director of the Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program at the Inter-American Dialogue; and MPI's President Andrew Selee--on how Colombia is coping with this influx, plans for future policy decisions, and developments in regional and international cooperation, including with the United States.

Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy: Building a Responsive, Effective Immigration System

The U.S. immigration system is widely acknowledged as being broken. Despite multiple attempts, solutions have proven elusive for administrations and Congress for more than two decades. The evidence of dysfunction is in every direction: Vastly oversubscribed categories for employment visas, deep disagreement between Washington and many state and local governments about immigration enforcement and policy priorities, political paralysis over what to do about a long-settled unauthorized population, years-long caseloads tied up in the immigration court system, sharp pullbacks in refugee admissions and other humanitarian programs, and, most recently, a protracted migration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
As the United States is mired in inaction, its legal immigration system resting on laws dating back to 1965 and 1990, other major immigrant-destination countries have created flexible, modernized immigration systems. What changes are needed to overcome the failings of the current system and meet U.S. economic and security interests in the decades ahead? What values and principles should guide future immigration policymaking?
To answer these and similar questions, the Migration Policy Institute is launching a major new initiative—Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy—that aims to generate a big-picture, evidence-driven vision of the role immigration can and should play in America’s future. This multi-year initiative will provide research, analysis, and policy ideas and proposals—both administrative and legislative—that reflect new realities and needs if immigration is to continue to be a comparative advantage for the United States as a society. Key topics will include employment based-immigration, humanitarian programs, and immigration enforcement.  
Historically, immigration policymaking and legislation have only succeeded through across-the-aisle cooperation and consensus-building. This initiative is animated by a commitment to re-energizing such bipartisanship in shaping and advancing feasible solutions.
At this event, marking the initiative's launch, MPI's Doris Meissner is joined in a conversation with former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Cecilia Muñoz, former Director of White House Domestic Policy Council.

(Spanish Language Event) A New Migration Policy for A New Era: A Conversation with Mexico's Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero

On her first official trip to Washington, DC, Secretary of the Interior Olga Sánchez Cordero offered a public address on Mexico’s new approach to migration policy at MPI.
Under the new administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico is adopting a new approach to addressing migration flows, including efforts to issue work and humanitarian visas that allow Central American immigrants to stay in Mexico for periods of time, as well as strengthening the country’s asylum system. Secretary Sánchez Cordero discussed these and other steps the López Obrador administration is undertaking as Mexican migration to the United States has slowed, while movement from Central America to and through Mexico has increased in recent years.
The discussion was primarily conducted in Spanish. 

Evento con la Secretaria de Gobernación de México Olga Sánchez Cordero

No se pierda el discurso que dio la Secretaria de Gobernación de México Olga Sánchez Cordero en el Instituto de Políticas Migratorias durante su primera visita oficial a Estados Unidos. Enfocó su discurso en cambios a la estrategia para abordar flujos de migrantes centroamericanos que llegan y pasan por México bajo la administración del presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador. La nueva política mexicana priorizará objetivos para lograr una migración segura, ordenada y regular, ella dijo. Escuche aquí:

A New Migration Policy for A New Era: A Conversation with Mexico's Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero

On her first official trip to Washington, DC, Secretary of the Interior Olga Sánchez Cordero offered a public address on Mexico’s new approach to migration policy at the MPI.
Under the new administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico is adopting a new approach to addressing migration flows, including efforts to issue work and humanitarian visas that allow Central American immigrants to stay in Mexico for periods of time, as well as strengthening the country’s asylum system. Secretary Sánchez Cordero discussed these and other steps the López Obrador administration is undertaking as Mexican migration to the United States has slowed, while movement from Central America to and through Mexico has increased in recent years.
The discussion at this event was mostly conducted in Spanish, and this version is the simultaneous English interpretation. 

Creatividad Dentro de la Crisis: Opciones Legales para Inmigrantes Venezolanos en América Latina

Huyendo de una economía colapsada, severa escasez de alimentos y medicinas, así como conflictos políticos, más de 3 millones de venezolanos se encuentran viviendo fuera de su país, lo que los convierte en uno de los flujos migratorios y de refugiados más grandes y de mayor velocidad en cualquier región del mundo. Alrededor de 80 por ciento de los venezolanos que dejaron el país se han establecido en otros países de la región. Aunque algunos países latinoamericanos ya habían construido sistemas migratorios que podían manejar un flujo de esta escala, la mayoría de los gobiernos han tenido que improvisar para crear marcos legales que permitan la entrada y presencia de estos migrantes en su país, así como su acceso al mercado laboral, la educación y los servicios de salud.
Sin que se vislumbre el fin de la crisis económica y política que ha derivado en este flujo de personas, y con estimaciones de que hasta 5.4 millones de venezolanos podrían encontrarse viviendo fuera de su país hacia finales de 2019, los gobiernos en América Latina ahora enfrentan el reto de pasar de una planeación ad-hoc para esta población a una de largo plazo, así como de integrarlos en los mercados laborales y comunidades de acogida. 
Convocamos un seminario en línea (webinar) en español en ocasión del lanzamiento del informe, Creatividad dentro de la crisis: opciones legales para inmigrantes venezolanos en América Latina, preparado por MPI y la Dirección de Inclusión Social de la Organización de Estados Americanos, que describe donde se han asentado los migrantes venezolanos; las medidas que han utilizado los gobiernos latinoamericanos para regularizar el estatus legal de estos migrantes; y los esfuerzos por integrar a los recién llegados en sus nuevas comunidades de residencia.
Los expertos que participaron también tocaron algunas de las lecciones que los países latinoamericanos pueden ofrecer a otros países alrededor del mundo respecto al manejo de flujos masivos de migrantes y refugiados, en un momento en que los gobiernos latinoamericanos se encuentran innovando nuevas políticas y procedimientos para el manejo de temas migratorios.

The Changing Landscape of Interior Immigration Enforcement Under Trump

Within days of the inauguration, the Trump administration announced sweeping changes that are reshaping the immigration enforcement system in the U.S. interior by which removable noncitizens are arrested, detained, and deported.  In ways big and small, the administration is reorienting the enforcement system. At the same time, there is growing pushback, particularly from states and localities unwilling to cooperate with federal enforcement. How do arrests and deportations under the Trump administration compare to past administrations? How are state and local governments, civil society, and consulates responding? What are the impacts of new policies on federal enforcement, federal-state-local enforcement relationships, and immigrant communities?  To assess the changes and their impacts, Migration Policy Institute researchers visited 15 jurisdictions across the United States, both those cooperating, such as Houston, and those limiting cooperation, such Los Angeles. Their findings are contained in a major MPI report. It reflects interviews across a broad spectrum including ICE field leadership, senior local law enforcement and elected officials, immigration attorneys, community service providers, immigrant-rights advocates, consular officials, and former immigration judges. The report also provides analysis of national ICE data obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests. 
 
This discussion examinining the operation of today’s interior enforcement system features remarks by:
Randy Capps, Director of Research, U.S. Programs, MPI
Muzaffar Chishti, Director, MPI's office at NYU School of Law
J. Thomas Manger, Chief of Police, Montgomery County, Maryland, and President, Major Cities Chiefs Association
Gary Mead, former Executive Associate Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
Rafael Laveaga, Head of Consulate of Mexico in Washington, DC (responsible for DC, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia) 
Doris Meissner, Senior Fellow and Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program, MPI  
   

Immigration Data Matters: How to Find the Most Accurate Resources

With immigration increasingly visible in the news and the political space in the United States and internationally, getting access to accurate, high-quality data is essential for publics and policymakers to understand immigration’s demographic effects and impacts on the economy, education and labor systems, and the communities in which immigrants and their families live and work.
This event marks the release of an updated version of the popular Immigration Data Matters guide, which directs users to more than 220 international and U.S. data sources, and explains how to navigate sometimes complex datasets issued by government statistical agencies, international organizations, and reputable research organizations. This handy online guide includes data sources covering everything from the size of foreign-born population stocks and flows to citizenship applications, children in immigrant families, refugee admissions, migrant deaths, international student enrollment, global remittance flows, enforcement activities, and much more. 
At a time of proliferating data sources on immigration and immigrants, the presenters (Jeanne Batalova, MPI Senior Policy Analyst and Data Hub Manager, MPI; Mark Mather, Population Reference Bureau Associate Vice President for U.S. Programs; Elizabeth M. Grieco, Pew Research Center Senior Writer/Editor and former U.S. Census Bureau Foreign-Born Population Branch Chief; and Marc Rosenblum, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Director of the Office of Immigration Statistics at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) discuss where some of the most user-friendly data can be accessed, including MPI’s own Migration Data Hub. They share their insights on how to avoid common pitfalls in using existing immigration data and highlight relevant data sources available from international organizations and national governments, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  

La Situación de Cambio Constante entre EE UU y México: Tendencias y Políticas de Migración, Incluyendo Menores No Acompañados

This is a Spanish language call. 
La migración de México a Estados Unidos ha disminuido debido a una combinación de factores en Mexico (una economía en mejora, una tasa de natalidad decreciente y mejores oportunidades educativas y laborales), asi como mas seguridad fronterizo del lado estadounidense. Hoy en dia el número de detenciones de migrantes de otros países supera el número de detenciones de mexicanos en la frontera. Por primera vez la Oficina del Censo de Estados Unidos ha reportado que China y India han superado a México en términos de nuevos flujos de inmigrantes al país. Al mismo tiempo, el Congreso de los Estados Unidos debate si se debe extender mas el muro en la frontera con México y agregar miles de agentes adicionales a la Patrulla Fronteriza. 
Durante los últimos años ambos países han incrementado el número de detenciones de migrantes de Centroamérica que transitan por México para llegar a los Estados Unidos. Con la reciente decisión de la administración Trump de poner fin al trámite de la libertad condicional para los menores que buscan ingresar a los Estados Unidos a través del Programa de Menores de Centroamérica (CAM, por sus siglas en inglés), el tema de los menores no acompañados en México, su tratamiento, protección internacional y otras necesidades serán cuestiones políticas más urgentes para México, que ha detenido a más de 50,000 menores no acompañados de Centroamérica desde 2014. Esta oleada ha cuestionado la capacidad de las autoridades mexicanas de inmigración para mantener los requisitos legales para la protección de menores. 
Durante este seminario, ponentes presentaron hallazgos de un reciente informe del Instituto de Políticas Migratorias (MPI, por sus siglas en inglés) que utiliza datos de agencias gubernamentales mexicanas, entrevistas con funcionarios clave y relatos de la sociedad civil para examinar el marco legal para la protección de menores no acompañados y su aplicación, al igual que las brechas entre este marco y su aplicación durante los procesos de detención, interrogación y alojamiento. El nuevo presidente de MPI, Andrew Selee, también expuso cómo el cambio en la dinámica política en Estados Unidos puede afectar las cuestiones migratorias con México, así como los efectos en la relación bilateral en medio de tensiones sobre el muro fronterizo, la renegociación del acuerdo del TLCAN y una cifra significativa de repatriaciones de migrantes mexicanos. Después de breves presentaciones, los ponentes respondieron preguntas de la audiencia. 

Taming the Seas: Safety, Protection, and Attempts to Create Order in Maritime Migration Corridors

In recent years, dramatic images of migration—struggling boats crammed dangerously beyond capacity; two sisters, champion swimmers, towing their foundering boat to safety; a little boy’s body lying face down in the sand—have seized worldwide attention and catapulted unauthorized maritime migration onto national and international policy agendas. Whether it is the overwhelming Mediterranean crisis or movements across the Bay of Bengal and the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden, in the Caribbean, or around Australia, crisis has followed crisis, leaving almost intractable problems for policymakers. The challenges have only become more complex, widespread, and dangerous in recent years.  
  
While the issues presented by unauthorized maritime migration are constantly evolving, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) provides analysis, in a book discussed at this event, on some common themes that have emerged over the past decade, along with practical recommendations. This book, All at Sea: The Policy Challenges of Rescue, Interception, and Long-Term Response to Maritime Migration, is based on case studies of unauthorized movements by sea in several parts of the world. This book discussion explores the different facets of maritime migration—the multiple state and nonstate actors; the mixed flows of refugees and other migrants; the overlapping and sometimes contradictory legal regimes; fluctuating state policies; the secondary movements of people from countries of first asylum; the constantly shifting sources, routes, and destinations; and the inter-relatedness with other equally complex problems—and how these together create a “wicked problem” for governments, civil society, the private sector, and international organizations to tackle together.

Beyond Brexit: The Policy and Political Lessons for Immigration-Anxious Countries

The United Kingdom’s vote to exit the European Union has given new momentum to euroskeptic, nationalist, and anti-immigration movements elsewhere in Europe. While many of the policy impacts of the referendum will not be known for a while yet, the vote has pointed, in stunning fashion, to the rising public anxiety over immigration levels and concerns over governments' ability to manage flows and foster successful immigrant integration.
On this webinar, MPI Europe President Demetrios Papademetriou, who is also President emeritus of MPI, and experts associated with MPI’s Transatlantic Council on Migration discuss the political and policy lessons that can be learned from Brexit and applied to debates in both Europe and North America, including how to address concerns over immigration, identity, and immigrant integration while managing migration in a globalized economy. The discussion will also touched on a Transatlantic Council report, Understanding and Addressing Public Anxiety About Immigration.