Immigration

Former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough on the state of US immigration policy, the case for refugee resettlement, and national identity.

Migration and displacement are among the greatest policy challenges of this century. Governance of the humanitarian system is at a crossroads, and key innovations shaking up traditional ways of working provide a window of opportunity for a broader, pragmatic reform effort. CGD has launched a ne...

Louise Arbour, Special Representative for International Migration at the United Nations, on why we need to do better on migration, how international cooperation enhances national sovereignty, and what’s at stake in the ongoing negotiations for the Global Compact for Migration. 

Too often, migration debates focus on what the effects of immigration are: Do migrants take jobs and drive down wages of native workers? Are refugees a drain on public services, taking advantage of social welfare? Facing this challenge means asking a different and more fruitful question:&n...

The US is going to use aid to shape migration. That’s at least how the president’s remarks seem to have laid it out at an immigration roundtable last month, when he announced his White House is “working on a plan to deduct a lot of aid” from countries whose nat...

The United States will be changing how it admits foreign farm workers. Done right, this presents a big opportunity to meet clear goals of the current administration: to reduce unauthorized migration and create US jobs. Three core tenets to keep in mind: non-seasonal work, visa portability,...