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 seeking to address the drivers of irregular migration. Putting this support into practice is, however, very challenging—particularly in fragile settings, where infrastructure and services are limited, livelihood opportunities are scarce, and communities often contend with insecurity.

Beyond difficulties accessing housing and property, many returnees experience significant psychosocial needs, including trauma and social stigma. Organizations supporting returning migrants also navigate specific challenges, including difficulties operating in some areas and engaging with local and national authorities.

On this Migration Policy Institute Europe webinar, speakers outline under what conditions return to these fragile settings happen, and representatives from organizations that support returning migrants in Iraq, Somalia, and other fragile environments explore the specific challenges those environments pose for designing and delivering reintegration support. They also discuss the role that reintegration programming can play in helping returnees rebuild their lives and strengthening social cohesion.

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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 birthright citizenship. Other high-profile actions, including the declaration of an “invasion;” dispatch of deportees to third countries such as Panama, Costa Rica, and El Salvador; and first-ever peacetime triggering of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, have followed.

Amid the “flood the zone” tempo and blizzard of headlines and legal filings during the administration’s first 100 days, it is sometimes difficult to anticipate which actions will have the greatest impact and be most long-lasting.

On this webinar, MPI analysts assess the most consequential actions taken during the first 100 days, detail the litigation picture, and analyze some of the early effects of policies on communities across the United States.

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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 connection between climate change and human mobility in conversation with journalist Peter Schwartzstein, author of the book The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence.

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 Abbasi and Nasrat Sayed about how climate change is compelling migration in Afghanistan and Pakistan, layering on top of conflict as a driver for displacement.

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 pervasive lack of trust coupled with a concealed lifestyle often prevents irregular migrants in Europe from accessing critical information about existing services, pathways to regularization, and voluntary return options. As a result, many remain unaware of the support available to help them exit irregularity.

In recent years, various stakeholders have sought to strengthen outreach and counselling for irregular migrants, whether to encourage voluntary return, provide information on regularization, or raise awareness about access to services. However, the fragmented nature of these initiatives, combined with a lack of evidence on their effectiveness, highlights the need for greater collaboration and dialogue.

This webinar brings together policymakers, practitioners, and other experts to explore the value of outreach and counselling to irregular populations and the policy goals and approaches used. The conversation includes key findings from an MPI Europe brief, offering valuable insights into challenges for those involved in outreach and counselling activities aimed at irregular migrants. The brief offers some recommendations as well as a proposed framework to advance the knowledge base in the field.

The conversation also discusses the first steps towards a more solid evidence base made under the Reaching Undocumented Migrants (RUM) project carried out by the Return and Reintegration Facility (RRF), an EU-funded entity that supports EU Member States and other Schengen countries as they seek to increase the effectiveness of their return and reintegration programming. The RUM project aims to develop and promote evidence-based tools, datasets, and processes that can be used by a wide European community of practice to improve outreach to irregular migrants within the European Union.

Speakers include:

• Jan Braat, Senior Policy Advisor, Migration, Diversity, and Integration, Municipality of Utrecht, the Netherlands
• Giulia Bruschi, Data and Research Project Manager Europe, Mixed Migration Centre
• Christina Jespersen, Senior Project Manager, Return and Reintegration Facility
• Jeroen Vandekerckhove, Head of International Relations, Fedasil, Belgium
• Moderator: María Belén Zanzuchi, Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute Europe

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 their stories here. More than 40 percent of respondents said they experienced climate-related disasters, but few said those factors were the primary reason why they moved—offering further evidence of the fact that the linkages between changing climates and migration are not always clearcut.

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 criticized by both the left and the right for its actions to manage the border—accused of being too hard and too soft—the administration was unable to tame the immigration issue, which became central to the 2024 national elections. This was despite a record number of immigration-related executive actions taken by President Joe Biden and federal agencies, outpacing what had been seen as the most activist presidency yet on immigration under Donald Trump.

Taking office amid a global pandemic that dramatically reshaped human mobility and economies and coming on the heels of an administration that viewed immigration chiefly as a threat, the Biden administration sought to set a new immigration agenda amid a rapidly changing global, regional, and national picture.

How did the administration meet this time of immense challenge? This MPI webinar examines the Biden record on border management, the legal immigration system, refugee resettlement, and other aspects of immigration. It featured findings from a new analysis of the Biden administration’s actions on immigration during its four years.

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 provide information. Removing language barriers to public services—commonly known as providing language access—has been a longstanding civil-rights requirement for state and local agencies and other entities that receive federal funding. These realities and growing U.S. linguistic diversity have made the provision of language access an important practical concern for all levels of government.

State governments, in particular, can play important and unique roles in expanding language access given key functions and services they directly oversee, such as elections, policing, and granting drivers’ licenses, as well as the broad powers they hold in receiving and administering funds for numerous federal programs and funding streams.

This webinar from the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy explores language access efforts in Colorado, Michigan, and New York—three states that provide important lessons for ensuring the effectiveness and long-term viability of state laws and policies that seek to ensure public services and information are accessible to all residents, regardless of the language they speak.

State leaders provide insights into how their language access efforts evolved, how they are structured, and innovative approaches undertaken to reduce language barriers across their states. This webinar also previews findings from an MPI report on recent language access work undertaken by Colorado’s state agencies.