Refugee Resettlement Needs Outpace Growing Number of Resettlement Countries
Mike Nicholson
Migration Policy Institute
November 1, 2012
Refugee resettlement initiatives have extended beyond the traditional provider regions of North America, Western Europe, and Oceania, broadening from 14 states in 2005 to 26 in 2012. However, projected needs are expected to continue to far outpace the number of available spaces. This article investigates the various explanations for why more countries in Latin America, Asia, and other regions are opening resettlement places.

Visas for Entrepreneurs: How Countries are Seeking Out Immigrant Job Creators
Madeleine Sumption, Migration Policy Institute
June 13, 2012
For economic and political reasons, more governments are turning to visas to admit select groups of highly skilled immigrants (especially in high-tech and high-growth fields) to their countries to boost entrepreneurship and enhance job creation. A look at the challenges, opportunities, and increasing popularity of these entrepreneur visa programs.

The Under-Registration of Births in Mexico: Consequences for Children, Adults, and Migrants
Karen Mercado Asencio
President, Be Foundation Derecho a la Identidad
April 12, 2012
An estimated 7 percent of people in Mexico were not registered with the government at birth and thus lack official record of their name, age, parentage, and citizenship. Without a birth certificate, unregistered Mexican children lack access to education, health care, and basic social services, while unregistered adults face significant economic and civic-integration challenges. Both groups are more vulnerable to being trafficked, exploited, or recruited into criminal groups. This article provides a primer on this important issue, with insight into the experiences of unregistered, unauthorized Mexican immigrants in the United States.

The Basics of E-Verify, the US Employer Verification System
Marc Rosenblum and Lang Hoyt
Migration Policy Institute
July 13, 2011
Just a fraction of all US employers use E-Verify, a federal system that checks potential employees' immigration status and their eligibility to work. MPI's Marc Rosenblum and Lang Hoyt explore E-Verify's history, how the program works, and the arguments for and against making it mandatory.

Free Movement in Europe: Past and Present
Saara Koikkalainen
University of Lapland
Gifford Center for Population Studies at the University of California, Davis.
April 21, 2011
The European Union is an area of free movement that covers more than 4 million square kilometers and encompasses 27 countries. Saara Koikkalainen of the University of Lapland and the University of California-Davis discusses the history and current trends of free mobility in Europe.

Migrant Social Networks: Vehicles for Migration, Integration, and Development
Maritsa V. Poros
City University of New York
March 30, 2011
Migrant networks span the divide between origin and destination countries and profoundly impact the lives of migrants, their families, and their communities. Maritsa Poros of City University of New York explains how these social networks are formed, how they are utilized, and the effects they have on migration and development processes.

Filling Labor Shortages through Immigration: An Overview of Shortage Lists and their Implications
Madeleine Sumption
Migration Policy Institute
February 23, 2011
Many governments use shortage lists to either facilitate or discourage economically-motivated immigration into particular occupations or fields, but the practice of doing so raises a variety of practical and philosophical questions. MPI's Madeleine Sumption discusses the challenges of maintaining shortage lists and developing immigration policies around them.

Plyler v. Doe: Still Guaranteeing Unauthorized Immigrant Children's Right to Attend US Public Schools
Michael A. Olivas
University of Houston
September 9, 2010
The US Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that all children, no matter their immigration status, have the right to attend a US public school from kindergarten through 12th grade. Michael Olivas of the University of Houston examines the original case, direct and indirect challenges to it, Plyler's role in the college-tuition debate, how Plyler could be challenged in the near term, and its long-term outlook.

"It's Not Just About the Economy, Stupid" - Social Remittances Revisited
Peggy Levitt, Wellesley College and Harvard University
Deepak Lamba-Nieves, MIT and Center for the New Economy
May 21, 2010
Beyond traditional remittances, migrants bring with them and send back social remittances: ideas, know-how, practices, and skills. Peggy Levitt and Deepak Lamba-Nieves explain how social remittances work, their benefits and disadvantages, and how they can scale up.

The Basics of E-Verify, the US Employer Verification System
Marc Rosenblum
Migration Policy Institute
April 30, 2009
Just a fraction of all US employers use E-Verify, a federal system that checks potential employees' immigration status and their eligibility to work. MPI's Marc Rosenblum explores E-Verify's history, how it works, and the arguments for and against making it mandatory.

Material Support to Terrorism — Consequences for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the United States
Swetha Sridharan
Council on Foreign Relations
January 30, 2008
Counterterrorism policies have had an unintended, negative effect on asylum and refugee resettlement in the United States. Swetha Sridharan of the Council on Foreign Relations explains the origins of the material-support bar, which groups it has affected, and how the US government is addressing the problem.

Selecting Economic Stream Immigrants through Points Systems
Demetrios G. Papademetriou
Migration Policy Institute
May 18, 2007
The US Congress is considering a bill that includes a points system for permanent immigration. MPI's Demetrios G. Papademetriou outlines how points systems work, which countries have used them, their political benefits, and trends in points-system use.

Assimilation Models, Old and New: Explaining a Long-Term Process
Susan K. Brown and Frank D. Bean
University of California, Irvine
October 1, 2006
From the infamous "melting pot" to segmented assimilation to an identity-based model, Susan K. Brown and Frank D. Bean of the University of California, Irvine explore the various ways academics conceptualize assimilation.

Citizenship in a Globalized World
Greta Gilbertson
Fordham University
January 1, 2006
At its most basic, citizenship refers to membership conferred by a state. Greta Gilbertson of Fordham University outlines the many citizenship models and looks at the recent growth of multiple, supranational, and quasi-citizenship.

Schengen and the Free Movement of People Across Europe
Julia Gelatt
Migration Policy Institute
October 1, 2005
Schengen eliminated border controls between European countries, and established a common external border. MPI's Julia Gelatt explains the changes brought by Schengen and the effects Schengen has had on European border control, visa, and asylum policies.

Why Countries Continue to Consider Regularization
Amanda Levinson
September 1, 2005
Over the past 25 years, regularization programs have become more common. Amanda Levinson explains their challenges, their outcomes, and why governments choose such programs.

The Political Importance of Diasporas
Steven Vertovec
University of Oxford
June 1, 2005
Belonging to a diaspora entails a consciousness of, or emotional attachment to, a place of origin and its culture. Steve Vertovec of the University of Oxford explains the role diasporas play in migrant-sending and migrant-receiving countries.

Trafficking, Smuggling, and Human Rights
Jacqueline Bhabha
Harvard University
March 1, 2005
Jacqueline Bhabha of Harvard University untangles the difference between trafficking and smuggling and explains how human rights protections vary for migrants who are trafficked versus those who are smuggled.

Transnational Migrants: When "Home" Means More Than One Country
Peggy Levitt
Wellesley College and Harvard University
October 1, 2004
Peggy Levitt of Wellesley College and Harvard University explains how migrants can belong to two or more societies and what this trend means for policymakers.

Confronting the Realities of Forced Migration
Stephen Castles
Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
May 1, 2004
Stephen Castles of the University of Oxford outlines the categories of forced migrants and the factors driving their movement.

Integration: The Role of Communities, Institutions, and the State
Rinus Penninx
October 1, 2003
Rinus Penninx of the University of Amsterdam maps out the key elements of integration, the process by which immigrants become accepted into society.

Family Unity: The New Geography of Family Life
Kate Jastram
University of California at Berkeley
May 1, 2003
Kate Jastram of the University of California at Berkeley explains how states must balance border control concerns with their international obligations to respect and support family life.

Women and Migration: Incorporating Gender into International Migration Theory
Monica Boyd, University of Toronto
Elizabeth Grieco, Migration Policy Institute
March 1, 2003
Migration theory has traditionally failed to explain the different migration experiences and outcomes of men and women. Monica Boyd of the University of Toronto and MPI Data Manager Elizabeth Grieco explain gender's role.

Refugees: Risks and Challenges Worldwide
Sharon Stanton Russell
Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
November 1, 2002
The term "refugee," like the people it describes, can cover a lot of ground. Sharon Stanton Russell, Research Scholar at MIT, maps out out who qualifies for refugee status, as well as the most pressing issues facing the community of institutions tasked to protect them.

Immigrant Integration: Building to Opportunity
Brian Ray
Migration Policy Institute
October 1, 2002
What does integration mean in a dynamic and culturally diverse socio-political context? MPI Policy Analyst Brian Ray examines the difficulties that lie ahead for policy makers.

The Internally Displaced in Perspective
Monette Zard
Migration Policy Institute
May 22, 2002
Uprooted from their homes, but still living on their native soil, the world's 20-25 million "internally displaced persons" present a dual challenge to concepts of national sovereignty and humanitarian action. Monette Zard, Policy Analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, provides the basic facts about what now amounts to a global crisis.