• Migration Is Rising, but So Do Border Barriers

    The global population grew by a quarter over the past 20 years, but the numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers doubled in the same time frame. Today, one in 97 people is forcibly displaced. In 2015, it was one in 175. The trend of rising migration parallels another trend that attempts to halt or at least manage the first, as more and more countries are building, or announcing, various border wall complexes.

  • Democrats Wand to Use Budget Proposal to Legalize Undocumented Immigrants

    Democrats will try to use the budget proposal – and the reconciliation process — to provide a direct pathway to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants in America. The details of the measure have not yet been released, and passage is far from certain, as there are many political and procedural hurdles to overcome.

  • Citizenship and Bank Access for Immigrants Would Add “Enormous Amount of Money” to U.S. Economy

    Immigrants living in the U.S. illegally have been an “unrecognized driver of the economy for decades,” writes an immigration researcher. By limiting immigrants’ economic options, the U.S. is missing out on additional growth in its own economy — especially with an aging American population, he argues.

  • Evaluating Border Security Technologies on the Plains (and in the Skies) of North Dakota

    Safeguarding and securing the northern border against threats and illegal activities, such as human trafficking and smuggling of illicit drugs, presents unique challenges because of its various distinct landscapes and multiple points of entry into the country.

  • Supreme Court: Migrants Temporarily in US Ineligible for Permanent Residency

    The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday that 400,000 immigrants from 12 countries living in the United States for humanitarian reasons are not eligible to become permanent residents. Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, said that U.S. immigration law blocks migrants who entered the country illegally from obtaining permanent residency, or “green cards,” although they have Temporary Protected Status.

  • How Does Climate Change Drive Migration, and What Can Be Done about It?

    April saw a 20-year high in the number of people stopped at the U.S./Mexico border, and President Joe Biden recently raised the cap on annual refugee admissions. Stanford researchers discuss how climate change’s effect on migration will change, how we can prepare for the impacts and what kind of policies could help alleviate the issue.

  • Denmark Passes Law Which Would Send Away Asylum Seekers

    Denmark’s parliament Thursday approved a measure that would allow the nation to relocate asylum seekers to an as yet unnamed third country, most likely outside Europe. The measure would allow the nation to transfer asylum seekers to detention centers in partnering countries, where their cases would then be reviewed from those countries.

  • Berlin Court: Searching Phone of Asylum-Seeker Was Unlawful

    Refugees have sued Germany for searching their cell phones during asylum applications. Regional judges have now ruled one such search unlawful. The impact could be far-reaching.

  • Turning Technology against Human Traffickers

    Last October, the White House released the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. The plan was motivated, in part, by a greater understanding of the pervasiveness of the crime. This increasing awareness has also motivated MIT Lincoln Laboratory to harness its technological expertise toward combating human trafficking.

  • Biden to Quadruple Refugee Cap

    U.S. President Joe Biden, who initially decided to keep intact his predecessor’s historically low number of annual refugee admissions, Monday announced he is quadrupling this year’s total. Two weeks ago, the White House announced that the cap for the current fiscal year would be kept at 15,000, the level set by former President Donald Trump. That announcement came despite Biden’s promise that after his inauguration in January he would significantly expand the program.

  • U.S .Pledges Central America Aid, Programs to Address Migration

    U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to speak Tuesday with community organizations in Guatemala, a day after the United States announced economic and other efforts to help Guatemala and its neighbors slow uncontrolled migration.

  • Increasing Immigration Vital to the U.S. Continued Global Economic Leadership: Study

    A new report presents data which show that increasing immigration is vital to the U.S.’ continued global economic leadership, and how the U.S. must raise immigration levels in order to remain the world’s largest economy, maintain a strong, competitive workforce, and outperform global competitors. “At a time when population dynamics promise rapid aging and a drop in economic productivity, welcoming more newcomers would make the United States workforce younger and more prosperous,” said the report’s lead author.

  • Supreme Court Asked to Review DHS’s Warrantless Searches of International Travelers’ Phones, Laptops

    The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Massachusetts on Friday filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the Department of Homeland Security’s policy and practice of warrantless and suspicionless searches of travelers’ electronic devices at U.S. airports and other ports of entry.

  • Money Alone Can’t Fix Central America – or Stop Migration to U.S.

    To stem migration from Central America, the Biden administration has a $4 billion plan to “build security and prosperity” in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador – home to more than 85 percent of all Central American migrants who arrived in the U.S. over the last three years. The Biden plan is based on a sound analysis of Central America’s dismal socioeconomic conditions. As a former president of Costa Rica, I can attest to the dire situation facing people in neighboring nations. As a historian of Central America, I also know money alone cannot build a viable democracy.

  • Colombia Gives Nearly 1 Million Venezuelan Migrants Legal Status and Right to Work

    Colombia will grant legal status to all Venezuelan migrants who fled there since 2016 to escape their country’s economic collapse and political crisis. The bold new policy – which will give nearly 1 million undocumented migrants rights to legal employment, health care, education and Colombian banking services for 10 years – is driven by both empathy and pragmatism, says Colombian president Ivan Duque.