Migration Policy Institute Podcasts

No single world region has experienced a greater relative increase in international migration since 2010 than Latin America and the Caribbean. Buffeted by displacement crises, economic dislocation, and changing migrant demographics, Latin America and the Caribbean have seen migration become one of the most pressing issues of our time. And while movement from the region toward the United States has...

It is no easy task to say with certainty that a particular storm, drought, or other extreme weather event causes human displacement, or that those individual events are due to human-caused climate change. Hurricanes, wildfires, mudslides, monsoons, and other sudden-onset events, as well as slow-onset ones such as drought, extreme heat, and sea-level rise have happened for millennia. To attribute s...

The fact there is a growing backlash to immigration in communities around the world is well established. What is less discussed are the solutions to address decline in social cohesion and rise in mistrust, misinformation, and prejudice. Meaningful contact between different groups can reduce tensions. Under the right conditions, this dynamic can strengthen social cohesion when newcomers and members...

As migrant return flows grow in complexity, the effectiveness of reintegration programming is coming under renewed scrutiny in Europe and Latin America. In Europe, the longstanding model of providing individual return packages—such as a small cash grant or temporary shelter—continues. But in an effort to make reintegration more sustainable, some policymakers are rethinking the future of this type...

The small island nations that make up the Caribbean are incredibly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Many people and businesses are concentrated along the coastline, exposing them to intensifying hurricanes and rising sea levels. Are these hazards prompting greater displacement, either within the region or beyond? And could they reduce tourism, prompting economic shocks to countries dep...

The global race for international talent has arrived. As populations in advanced industrial economies age and work evolves, labor shortages in critical sectors are increasingly driving countries to look outside their borders for workers. But in this context, who gets to migrate? And how? Crucially, can labor mobility be managed in a way that benefits workers, employers, countries of origin, and co...

Does AI have a role to play in mapping and predicting climate migration trends? In this episode of the podcast, we explore the issue with John Aoga, a postdoctoral researcher at UCLouvain in Belgium. He led a study using machine learning algorithms to trace how climate shocks affected migration intentions in several countries in West Africa. We discuss his findings and the broader promise and peri...

As the focus on returning failed asylum seekers and other migrants to their countries of origin remains high, there is a commensurate need to consider reintegration support that assists returnees in rebuilding their lives. Reintegration programs help returnees establish the social, economic, and psychosocial foundations needed to regain stability and, in the process, can aid host communities while...

During his campaign, Donald Trump pledged swift and sweeping actions on immigration enforcement and policymaking more broadly. From his first day back in office, President Trump and his team began delivering on their promised “shock and awe,” with policies ranging from a halt to refugee resettlement and dramatically widened immigration enforcement in the U.S. interior to an effort to end birthrigh...

Under the right circumstances, climate-induced migration can aggravate the drivers of violent conflict. In places such as the Middle East and West Africa’s Sahel region, migration during times of environmental precarity can upset delicate social and demographic balances and place additional pressure on local authorities. Left to fester, the results can be deadly. This episode explores this connect...

Floods, drought, extreme temperatures, and other climate events have devastated parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Repercussions of climate change come on top of years of conflict, which have left countless numbers of people unable to adapt to changing conditions. In response, many have fled, either in short-term displacement or permanent migration. Our podcast speaks with researchers Maryam Abbas...

Connecting with and providing counselling to irregular migrants, especially those living on the streets or in transit, is crucial for addressing irregular migration. Yet it remains a challenging and underexplored area, due in part to the difficulty engaging with a population often living in precarity and avoiding contact with authorities due to fear of deportation or past negative experiences. A p...

Natural disasters and other impacts of climate change are already affecting migration, but often in complex ways. This episode, we speak with Julia Neusner, a lawyer and researcher with the International Refugee Assistance Project. She has conducted surveys and interviews with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border about whether, where, and how they have experienced climate impacts, and offers some of...

Immigration has been a central issue for the Biden presidency, with the administration challenged by record levels of arrivals of asylum seekers and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border while also seeking to modernize the bureaucracy that manages the U.S. immigration system and rebuild a refugee resettlement system that had plunged to a record low under the prior administration. Sharply critic...

For the more than 25 million U.S. residents who have limited proficiency in English, language barriers can prevent or hinder access to critical public services such as education, health care, emergency response, and the legal system. Federal, state, and local government agencies also regularly need to communicate with linguistically diverse communities to conduct outreach, deliver services, and pr...

Successive displacement crises over the past decade, combined with limited growth in traditional resettlement, have highlighted the urgent need for alternative legal pathways for people in need of international protection. Civil-society organizations across Europe, often in collaboration with governments and other stakeholders, have launched various refugee sponsorship initiatives and complementar...

Despite the ongoing war and heavy destruction across Ukraine, some of the more than 6 million Ukrainians who fled after Russia’s invasion in February 2022 are already returning to Ukraine. As of August 2024, an estimated 1 million Ukrainians had returned to their country from abroad, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). While most visit briefly, to see family or tend to...

A growing body of evidence links climate events such as sea-level rise or droughts to migration—both within and across borders. As climate change amplifies the risks and severity of disasters, policymakers should better understand their options for managing how environmental change interacts with mobility. Held ahead of the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference, this webinar offered concr...

Many countries need more workers to fill jobs in clean energy and other sectors that are critical in the fight against a warming planet. Immigrants may be one part of the solution to the challenges posed by climate change. But governments have been slow to ramp up responses to recruit, train, or accredit foreign-born workers necessary for the green transition, with one model estimating a shortage...

The international humanitarian protection system that was built in the aftermath of World War II does not offer protection for people displaced by climate change. In this episode, former UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees T. Alexander Aleinikoff, who is now Executive Dean of The New School for Social Research, calls the refugee system “broken.” Rather than expanding to accommodate climate mi...

The ways in which people talk about climate migration can affect how individuals are treated. While many activists frame climate migrants as blameless victims of circumstance and even refer to them as “climate refugees,” this approach does not always lead to public sympathy. Moreover, highlighting the role of climate in displacement can unintentionally cause a backlash among host communities, who...

The Arctic region is warming much faster than other parts of the world. Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden—have a reputation for being at the forefront of efforts to combat climate change. But does their track record also extend to helping people who have been displaced by environmental impacts, internally and internationally? In this episode, we discuss the impacts and...

Climate change is remaking vacations, particularly in hot months. Extreme heat can be deadly for tourists and events such as wildfires, hurricanes, and sea-level rise can devastate tourism-dependent communities. Tourism is also a major contributor to climate change, and some travelers have begun rethinking their plans, taking emissions into account as they consider transportation and destinations....

More than 25 million U.S. residents have limited proficiency in English, and as the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated, all levels of government have an important need to deliver services, outreach, and critical health and safety information to individuals and communities who communicate in languages other than English. Providing access to public services and information for individuals who have limit...

Floods and other fast-moving natural disasters are becoming more common and more severe because of climate change. When these disasters strike, they can displace huge numbers of people. This episode turns to Brazil, where historic flooding in 2024 forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. Our guest is Valéria Emília de Aquino, a human-rights lawyer and researcher in Brazil.