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1. Linking Migrant Reintegration Assistance and Development Goals

Author:
Camille Le Coz and Ravenna Sohst
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Migration and development are deeply linked. The level of social and economic development in a country shapes why and where people move, and the movement of people affects development in countries of origin, transit, and destination. For migrants returning to their countries of origin, conditions in the communities to which they return shape their employment prospects, access to public services, and other important parts of re-establishing their lives. Recognizing that reintegration does not happen in a vacuum, European policymakers involved in assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) programs and some origin-country governments have increasingly pushed to add a development angle to reintegration projects. By improving social and economic conditions for returnees and the communities in which they live, these efforts aim to foster sustainable reintegration, boost local development, and reduce the likelihood that returnees will migrate again. However, the path to achieving these intersecting goals is unclear. This issue brief examines the potential benefits of connecting reintegration projects more closely with development goals, mapping existing approaches to creating such links as well as these approaches’ limitations. The brief also outlines measures that could help future policies and programs overcome common hurdles.
Topic:
Development, Migration, Governance, Deportation, Reintegration, and Migrants
Political Geography:
Europe

2. Leveraging Predeparture Counseling to Support Returning Migrants’ Sustainable Reintegration

Author:
Lucía Salgado
Publication Date:
05-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Across the European Union, assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) programs have proliferated over the past several decades, amid mounting pressure on policymakers to increase the return rate of migrants without a right to stay in Europe. These programs are considered more cost-effective, humane, and pragmatic from a diplomatic perspective, and ultimately aim to help migrants reintegrate successfully into their communities of origin. Much of the reintegration assistance AVRR programs offer occurs after migrants arrive in their origin countries, but there is growing awareness that kickstarting this support before the return journey can play a decisive role in reintegration outcomes. It can have the dual benefits of helping migrants develop a clearer picture of life after return, and of collecting information that origin-country service providers can use to support them effectively after they arrive. Yet, the potential of predeparture counselling may remain untapped if information gaps between actors in origin and destination countries are not addressed. This policy brief provides an overview of predeparture counseling and information-sharing challenges in European AVRR programs. It then explores strategies for improving the exchange of information and, thus, better leveraging predeparture counseling to support returnees’ sustainable reintegration.
Topic:
International Cooperation, International Organization, Governance, European Union, Borders, Integration, Deportation, and Illegal Immigration
Political Geography:
Europe

3. Embedding Reintegration Assistance for Returning Migrants in the Local Context: The Role of Referrals

Author:
Ravenna Sohst and Camille Le Coz
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
The objectives of European reintegration programs for migrants returning to their countries of origin have expanded in recent years. Reintegration assistance, instead of being delivered as standardized support packages, is increasingly being designed to take into account the multiple dimensions of returnees’ reintegration—economic, social, and psychosocial—and the context of the communities in which they settle. As these programs become more complex, it has also become clear that no one service provider can offer all of the various services necessary to meet returnees’ diverse needs and profiles. One way to broaden the range of supports available to returning migrants and embed reintegration assistance into the local context is to refer returnees to local actors, including government agencies and civil-society organizations. Such referrals, particularly when combined with capacity-building assistance for local partners, can help connect returnees with tailored, long-term support. Yet, there is no consensus across reintegration programs as to how referral mechanisms should be organized, what types of services referral partners should deliver, the level of budget support different actors need, and how their work should be monitored. This policy brief explores the role of referrals in reintegration programming, offering a typology of approaches taken across programs to date. It also discusses common challenges, emerging good practices, and promising next steps to improve the local embeddedness of reintegration assistance.
Topic:
International Cooperation, International Organization, Migration, Governance, Integration, Deportation, Reintegration, Immigration Policy, and Illegal Immigration
Political Geography:
Europe and Global Focus

4. Putting Migrant Reintegration Programs to the Test: A Road Map to a Monitoring System

Author:
Lucía Salgado, Radu-Mihai Triculescu, Camille Le Coz, and Hanne Beirens
Publication Date:
01-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
European policymakers have renewed their commitment to increase returns of migrants determined not to have a right to stay in the European Union, and to cooperate with returnees’ countries of origin to support their reintegration. And as investments in assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) initiatives have grown, so too has pressure to demonstrate that these programs are living up to the high expectations for them. Yet there is little clarity, let alone consensus, on what “successful” reintegration is or how best to achieve it. This MPI Europe report examines what is and is not known about returnees' economic, psychosocial, and social reintegration. It also discusses the need to build and strengthen monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems to help address pressing knowledge gaps, track the impact of AVRR investments, and inform program decision-making. To do so, it lays out a set of guiding principles and explores key questions about the design, ownership, funding, and impact of M&E efforts.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Governance, Border Control, European Union, Immigrants, Deportation, Immigration Policy, and Illegal Immigration
Political Geography:
Europe

5. Four Years of Profound Change: Immigration Policy during the Trump Presidency

Author:
Jessica Bolter, Emma Israel, and Sarah Pierce
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Over the course of four years, the Trump administration set an unprecedented pace for executive action on immigration, enacting 472 administrative changes that dismantled and reconstructed many elements of the U.S. immigration system. Humanitarian protections were severely diminished. The U.S.-Mexico border became more closed off. Immigration enforcement appeared more random. And legal immigration became out of reach for many. All of this was accomplished nearly exclusively by the executive branch, with sweeping presidential proclamations and executive orders, departmental policy guidance, and hundreds of small, technical adjustments. This report, which concludes a series of MPI reports providing an overview of policies at different points during the Trump administration, chronicles the immigration actions, large and small, that President Donald Trump and his administration took from January 20, 2017, through January 20, 2021. After an overview of the transformation of the U.S. immigration system during this historic period, the report breaks these hundreds of changes down by issue area: the administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic; border and interior enforcement; actions involving the Department of Justice and the immigration court system; the admission of refugees, asylum seekers, and other humanitarian migrants; changes to vetting and visa processes, which involve the State Department, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Department of Labor; and actions involving agencies usually less central to immigration policy discussions. As the authors write, “While it may be possible for subsequent administrations to rescind many of these changes, others cannot simply be unwound.” Many are likely to remain on the books for years to come, with a lasting impact on the U.S. immigration system.
Topic:
Law Enforcement, Border Control, Employment, Refugees, Citizenship, Economy, Resettlement, Donald Trump, Asylum, Integration, Deportation, COVID-19, Immigration Policy, Illegal Immigration, and DREAM Act
Political Geography:
United States of America

6. The Central Role of Cooperation in Australia’s Immigration Enforcement Strategy

Author:
Henry Sherrell
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Over the past three decades, cooperation with other countries has become a central part of Australia’s immigration enforcement strategy. These partnerships are central to Australian efforts to deter irregular maritime migration, tackle people smuggling, provide access to humanitarian protection while minimizing abuse of the asylum process, and return people without grounds to remain. International cooperation has not been without challenges, however. While effective in curbing irregular maritime arrivals, Australian policies—including boat turnbacks and offshore processing of asylum claims in other countries—have raised serious concerns about asylum seekers’ access to effective refugee status determination processes, human-rights violations, and the substantial costs of such policies. This report from MPI's Transatlantic Council on Migration examines the role cooperation plays within Australian immigration enforcement. It looks at bilateral cooperation with countries such as Indonesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, and the United States, as well as regional cooperation through the Bali Process. Among the questions it asks: What should Australia prioritize for future cooperation? How can partnerships be made more sustainable? And how should Australia approach the tradeoffs inherent to this cooperation, particularly those surrounding access to humanitarian protection?
Topic:
International Cooperation, Governance, Border Control, Refugees, Smuggling, Asylum, Deportation, Immigration Policy, and Illegal Immigration
Political Geography:
Australia

7. EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration: Crafting a Road Map to Better Cooperation with Migrants’ Countries of Origin

Author:
Camille Le Coz
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
The return of irregular migrants and asylum seekers whose claims are denied and their sustainable reintegration into origin-country communities have long been priorities for many European policymakers. This has been driven by concerns about low rates of return among those ordered to leave and the implications of this for EU migration and asylum systems. Some are also concerned about the manner in which returns are carried out, with research suggesting that voluntary returns are both more humane and less costly than forced returns. In April 2021, the European Commission published its first EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration. The strategy lays out principles to strengthen European assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) programs, increase voluntary returns, and improve the return process and post-return reintegration assistance. To achieve the strategy’s objectives, European policymakers will need to invest in an often-neglected dimension of AVRR—cooperation with migrants’ countries of origin. This policy brief explores the ways in which origin- and destination-country priorities on returns diverge, opportunities for cooperation where their interests align, and possible next steps for building on the principles outlined in the EU strategy.
Topic:
Development, International Cooperation, International Organization, European Union, Refugees, Asylum, Deportation, Remittances, and Immigration Policy
Political Geography:
Europe

8. Immigration Enforcement and the Mental Health of Latino High School Students

Author:
Randy Capps, Jodi Berger Cardoso, Kalina Brabeck, Michael Fix, and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
As public discourse around immigration has become more highly charged and immigration policies have seen sweeping changes in the United States, immigration enforcement has generated fear in immigrant communities across the country—fears that extend beyond the unauthorized immigrant population to immigrant families with U.S.-born children and legal immigrants. This report explores how fear of immigration enforcement is related to the mental health and school engagement of young Latinos, the fastest-growing group of high school students nationwide. It also considers the role of other stressors, including discrimination and economic hardship, and factors that may support students’ resilience, such as spirituality and strong family relationships. This analysis draws its findings from a study that was conducted by researchers from the Migration Policy Institute, University of Houston, and Rhode Island College during the 2018–19 school year and that had two components: self-assessments completed by hundreds of Latino students in 11 high schools, and semistructured interviews with dozens of education professionals and community experts. The two study sites—Harris County, TX and Rhode Island—offer contrasting immigration-enforcement contexts. Among the study’s findings are: A majority of the students in both Harris County and Rhode Island (67 percent versus 52 percent) feared that someone close to them would be arrested and deported. While fears were more common among youth in Harris County, which has a higher level of immigration enforcement, these findings suggest deportation fears are not limited to places where enforcement is widespread. More than half of the students reported symptoms of mental-health conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or depression at levels high enough to warrant treatment. Students who feared immigration enforcement most acutely—and who changed their behaviors as a result—had the worst mental-health outcomes. Almost one-third of students in the study had changed their behavior as a result of enforcement fears. In interviews, educators also described school and community strategies for supporting Latino students’ mental health, including approaches to establishing a welcoming environment, reforming disciplinary practices, and connecting students with in-house and external mental-health resources.
Topic:
Education, Immigration, Law Enforcement, Mental Health, Deportation, and Latino Issues
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

9. One Year after the U.S.-Mexico Agreement: Reshaping Mexico’s Migration Policies

Author:
Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
On June 7, 2019, after months of heightened Central American migration through Mexico to the United States, the Mexican and U.S. governments signed an agreement to work together to manage the migration of Central American asylum seekers and other migrants. This ushered in an intense period of policy and institutional change that is reshaping Mexico’s immigration enforcement and humanitarian protection systems. After being threatened with steep tariffs on Mexican goods, Mexico agreed to step up enforcement efforts, accepted the expansion of the U.S. Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP, also known as Remain in Mexico) along the U.S.-Mexico border, and promised to increase collaboration with the United States to disrupt migrant-smuggling networks. In turn, the United States pledged to expedite the asylum cases of migrants waiting in Mexico under MPP and invest in economic development efforts in southern Mexico and Central America to address the drivers of migration. While the full impact of the deal will likely take years to unfold, this policy brief takes stock of what has changed in the first year since its signing. It charts trends in migrant apprehensions and returns by Mexican authorities, and the volume of asylum applications filed in Mexico. The brief also examines challenges that have intensified during this time, including the precarious conditions many migrants face while waiting in Mexican border communities for their U.S. asylum cases to be heard and the COVID-19 pandemic that hit in early 2020. Looking ahead, the brief highlights opportunities for further policy development.
Topic:
Treaties and Agreements, Immigration, Border Control, Refugees, Asylum, Deportation, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Central America, North America, Mexico, and United States of America

10. Rethinking the U.S.-Mexico Border Immigration Enforcement System: A Policy Road Map

Author:
Doris Meissner
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
The immigration enforcement regime at the U.S.-Mexico border offers a vivid example of how existing policies, laws, and resource investments are markedly out of step with new migration realities and future needs. A border enforcement system designed to address the once-dominant flows of single adults from Mexico seeking to enter the United States illegally for work is ill prepared to deal with more complex mixed flows of families and unaccompanied children from Central America, some seeking humanitarian protection, others opportunity. Consistent with its world view of immigration as threat, the Trump administration has responded by shutting down any meaningful access to humanitarian protection and asylum, by invoking a public health authority to expel more than 205,000 arrivals during the COVID-19 pandemic, and by constructing hundreds of miles of border barriers. Yet these strategies cannot succeed over the long term, nor are they consistent with U.S. law and international agreements and principles on protection. In this road map, MPI Senior Fellow and former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Commissioner Doris Meissner outlines some of the steps to a more effective approach, one that builds on border management as an enduring function. Rather than a sole focus on thwarting illegal arrivals, successful border management requires cross-agency and cross-governmental collaboration that marries effective border security with fair, humane enforcement. This report is part of MPI’s multiyear Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy initiative, which is generating a big-picture, evidence-driven vision for the role immigration can and should play in America’s future. To learn more about the initiative and read related research, check out the initiative’s home page.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Immigration, Governance, Border Control, Asylum, and Deportation
Political Geography:
North America, Mexico, and United States of America