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1. Promoting Evidence-Informed Immigrant Integration Policymaking

Author:
Jasmijn Slootjes
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Across Europe, immigrant integration policy has often been forged in the heat of crisis and driven by political priorities. This can be seen in the response to millions of people fleeing war in Ukraine and to the 2015–16 migration and refugee crisis. Resources and attention are much less frequently devoted to gleaning lessons from integration initiatives and using them to improve policymaking going forward. Yet, pressing labor shortages, strained government budgets, and social cohesion challenges all point to the importance of implementing integration policies that efficiently use limited resources—and that work. This policy brief explores why immigrant integration has fallen behind other policy areas in embracing an evidence culture and suggests ways to remedy this lag. It first examines recent progress and key gaps in this area, and then maps the obstacles that continue to hinder an evidence revolution in integration policy. The brief concludes with recommendations for creating an environment in which evidence-informed integration policymaking can thrive, including through the effective use of pilot projects, targeted funding, stakeholder engagement, and capacity-building initiatives.
Topic:
Migration, Law, European Union, Immigrants, Integration, and Immigration Policy
Political Geography:
Europe

2. Healing the Gap: Building Inclusive Public-Health and Migrant Integration Systems in Europe

Author:
Jasmijn Slootjes
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed European health-care systems to their limits, as millions of Europeans have fallen ill and hundreds of thousands have died from the virus. But these harms have not been felt evenly. Immigrants and refugees have had disproportionately high risks of infection and mortality, in part due to frontline and close-proximity jobs. This uneven impact has drawn increased attention to factors that have long created vulnerabilities for migrants across the health continuum, including greater exposure to drivers of ill health (such as low income and poor housing) and barriers to accessing health services. There is also a close link between migrant health and integration, as health problems may prevent immigrants from completing integration courses, from finding or maintaining employment, and from participating fully in their communities. Ensuring that health disparities are addressed and do not become long-term barriers to integration thus promises to foster more inclusive societies in addition to its benefits for individuals, families, and public health. This report examines the impact of the pandemic on Europe’s migrant populations and how European governments and nongovernmental actors have responded, including with initiatives to improve health-care accessibility. It situates this discussion within a broader look at how the migrant health policy field has grown since the early 2000s, and how trends that have emerged during the COVID-19 crisis may further shape this policy area.
Topic:
Refugees, Immigrants, Public Health, Integration, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Europe