The global humanitarian protection system is at a critical juncture. It is under major strain as record numbers of people have been forced out of their homes by a complex array of factors and protracted crises. Yet at the same time, a system created in the wake of World War II no longer meets today’s challenges and is increasingly coming under political pressures, with some countries chafing at protection obligations.

In this episode of the World of Migration podcast, one of the leading voices in the humanitarian protection world, Vincent Cochetel, discusses the future of refugee protection and the evolution of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) with Meghan Benton, MPI’s director of global programs.

Public trust in migration systems—and in democracy more broadly—is eroding. As rapid demographic shifts fuel anxieties in many communities, governments are feeling the pressure and responding with increasingly restrictive policies—scaling back immigration, imposing stricter integration requirements, and narrowing pathways to long-term residency and citizenship.

Will these sweeping, highly visible policies designed to signal control meaningfully address the real pressures communities face and restore trust in the democratic institutions charged with governing migration?

This discussion, held in Berlin in collaboration with the Robert Bosch Stiftung, examines the relationship between migration policy, integration approaches, public trust, and democratic resilience in Europe and beyond. Looking at new research on public attitudes toward immigration and institutional trust, speakers explore how migration policy decisions—not just political narratives—shape public opinion and societal well-being.

Speakers:

Meghan Benton, Director of Global Programs, Migration Policy Institute (MPI)

Ben Mason-Sucher, Program Lead,Migration, More in Common Germany

Frank Sharry, Consultant, British Future; an advisor to the Kamala Harris campaign; former head of U.S. immigrant-rights organizations

Ulrich Weinbrenner, Former Director General for Migration, Refugees, and Return Policy, German Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community

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 dominated much of the public discourse, in fact, most migrants from the region remain within Latin America and the Caribbean.

How are these countries responding to this new reality?

In a newly published Stanford University Press book, On the Move: Migration Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean, Migration Policy Institute (MPI) President Andrew Selee and coauthors Valerie Lacarte, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, and Diego Chaves-González offer the first comprehensive look at policy responses by governments in the region and shed light on the lesser-known dynamics of migration in, to, and through the region.

Through compelling storytelling and rigorous analysis, the authors uncover how governments and societies in Latin America and the Caribbean are adapting—unevenly, yet innovatively—to an era of unprecedented human mobility.

This webinar features discussion of the authors’ key findings, surprising patterns, and the urgent policy questions facing Latin America and the Caribbean today.

Andrew Selee, President, MPI

Valerie Lacarte, Senior Policy Analyst, MPI

Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Senior Policy Analyst, MPI

Diego Chaves-González, Senior Manager, Latin America and Caribbean Initiative, MPI

Opening Comments by: Roberta S. Jacobson, Founding Partner, Dinámica Americas; former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs; former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico