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Begin New Search Content Type Policy Brief Publication Year within 10 Years

3101. National Minority Capital: Introducing the New Concept

Author:
Zora Popova
Publication Date:
10-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
The aim of this issue brief is to present the novel concept of national minority capital and to define it against the background of minority and social capital studies. The concept is based on analysis of empirical evidence within the frameworks of past ECMI research projects and the conceptual models designed for their purposes. It sits at the intersection of regional development studies, minority studies and social capital theory, which helps it to offer an alternative perspective and inspire further interdisciplinary academic research and debates on the topic. Although the model and the theory are only at their initial stage, the discourse that they introduce can help policy and decision makers in their strategic planning. National minority capital can become an asset and economic advantage to states but only if they can manage diversity so that individuals belonging to minority communities feel motivated to offer their cultural competences to the benefit of the multicultural societies to which they belong.
Topic:
Governance, Multiculturalism, Minorities, Ethnicity, and Identity
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3102. European Union-Western Balkans: for a revised membership negotiation framework

Author:
Pierre Mirel
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Robert Schuman Foundation (RSF)
Abstract:
Whilst the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003 opened up European prospects for the Western Balkans, the agenda that was promoted then has hardly been completed to date. These countries have experienced worrying democratic regression in a serious demographic and economic situation which is playing into the hands of re-emerging powers. The re-engagement of the European Union with the Berlin Process and the six flagship initiatives on the part of the Commission, approved in 2018 is positive, but is now seen to be lacking. Divisions are still deep, and reconciliation is waning. Given the fragile stability of these countries, which are now being wooed by third parties, the time has come for a new approach. Economic and political re-engagement, including the launch of membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, but based on a new framework, is vital for the very security of Europe.
Topic:
Security, European Union, Regional Integration, Negotiation, and Reconciliation
Political Geography:
Europe and Balkans

3103. Money Wise: Improving How EU Funds Support Migration and Integration Policy Objectives

Author:
Hanne Beirens and Aliyyah Ahad
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
The 2015–16 European migration crisis put unprecedented strain on EU and national migration systems, and exposed the limits of EU funding mechanisms when pressed to keep pace with rapidly changing migration conditions. Since then, finding ways to better manage migration and help newcomers integrate into European societies has shot to the top of EU, Member State, and local policy agendas. European policymakers are in the midst of negotiating the next multiannual financial framework (MFF)—the European Union’s budget framework through 2027—making this an important time to reflect on how EU financial instruments could be adjusted to reflect the increased importance and changed face of migration and integration policy in Europe. This policy brief explores three key challenges: (1) how to make EU funds more inclusive by involving diverse and on-the-ground stakeholders in decision-making processes, (2) how to make sure that these financial instruments complement each other and other EU policy tools, and (3) how to ensure that decisions about EU funds are made based on solid evidence of what has and has not worked in the past. Through a close look at the European Social Fund (ESF) and Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund (AMIF), the brief offers recommendations for increasing the participation of small and community-led organizations, improving accountability and reporting systems, and more.
Topic:
Migration, Immigration, Governance, European Union, and Integration
Political Geography:
Europe

3104. Mitigating the Effects of Trauma among Young Children of Immigrants and Refugees: The Role of Early Childhood Programs

Author:
Maki Park and Caitlin Katsiaficas
Publication Date:
04-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
A child’s early years are a time of exceptional growth, and ones that can be profoundly affected by traumatic experiences. Research has firmly disproven the idea that infants and toddlers are “too young” to be affected by such experiences, leading to an increased awareness of the need for trauma-informed services for children. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs have the potential to play a central role in identifying and addressing the effects of trauma, with lifelong benefits. Discussions of how to build a trauma-informed approach into ECEC programs, however, generally do not take into account the unique experiences of children of refugees and other immigrants. For example, children who are themselves refugees may have experienced persecution and flight, while U.S.-born children with refugee parents may be affected by such experiences secondhand. Other postmigration stressors, such as chronic exposure to discrimination or, among families with unauthorized immigrant members, fear of deportation can also affect young children’s socioemotional and cognitive development. This issue brief explores the types of trauma that may affect young children in immigrant families, what the effects of those experiences may be, and what can be done to protect children against them. Among these opportunities: promoting the systematic use of mental health screening tools that are appropriate both for young children and for use across cultures, and boosting collaboration between ECEC providers, health services, and organizations that work with immigrants to ensure that young children and their families are referred to needed services in a timely fashion.
Topic:
Education, Children, Refugees, Immigrants, and Trauma
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3105. Noncitizens in the U.S. Military: Navigating National Security Concerns and Recruitment Needs

Author:
Muzaffar Chishti, Austin Rose, and Stephen Yale-Loehr
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Noncitizens have a long history of serving in the U.S. military, and in many periods, the promise of expedited naturalization has been used to encourage them to do so. More than 760,000 noncitizens have enlisted and obtained U.S. citizenship over the past century, with peaks during the World Wars and a smaller uptick since September 11, 2001. Yet in recent years, Congress and the Defense Department have raised vetting requirements and changed training and naturalization timelines for noncitizen recruits, citing national security concerns. Such concerns are nothing new, but past military policies have generally reflected the view that national security is better served by having a fully staffed and highly skilled fighting force than by keeping noncitizens out. This policy brief puts these recent changes into context, offering both a historical look at noncitizens in the U.S. military and analysis of how they could help meet modern recruitment needs. Among other things, the brief looks at the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program, through which more than 10,000 noncitizens with in-demand skills have entered the military since 2008 and before recent policies effectively halted the program. The brief also discusses approaches policymakers could take to balance security concerns with the potential benefits of allowing noncitizens with key linguistic, cultural, health-care, and cyber skills to serve in the armed forces.
Topic:
Immigration, Employment, Citizenship, Military Service, and Noncitizens
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

3106. Legal Protections for K-12 English Learner and Immigrant-Background Students

Author:
Julie Sugarman
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Although education is in many ways a responsibility of states and localities, the U.S. federal government also has an important role to play. National laws, court rulings, and policy guidance help ensure that English Learner (EL) and immigrant-background students have equitable access to a meaningful education. It is then up to states and school districts to color in many of the details as they implement these protections in their free, public primary and secondary school systems. This EL Insight lays out seven key ways the U.S. government protects the educational rights of EL and immigrant-background students, including those with Limited English Proficient and unauthorized-immigrant family members. It also explains the legal framework behind these rules, who enforces them, and how they can be seen in action in schools across the country. Some of the policies highlighted in this brief—such as using a two-step home language questionnaire and English assessment to identify which students are ELs—are well established and look similar across the country. Others, such as requirements for what credentials teachers must have to work with ELs, vary considerably. And while some legal protections have become a basis for strengthening broader educational policy, many have limitations or have fallen short their implementation. This brief is the latest in a series of English Learner Insights, which also includes an introduction to finding and using EL data and to the instructional models schools use to serve ELs.
Topic:
Education, Immigration, Language, and ESL
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

3107. Migration, Development, and Global Governance: From Crisis toward Consolidation

Author:
Kathleen Newland
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
International migration is inherently an issue that links countries together. But divergent goals and concerns among the world’s origin, transit, and destination countries have meant that until recently, there has been little agreement on what form international cooperation on migration should take. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, adopted by the vast majority of states in December 2018, marks what the author of this policy brief describes as “an important milestone in international cooperation on what has been the global issue most resistant to compromise.” This brief is the culmination of a collaborative project between the Migration Policy Institute and the German Development Cooperation Agency that has provided a development perspective on the Global Compact. It has tracked the compact’s negotiation and begun to look ahead to its implementation, exploring some of the most important and complex questions at the heart of this process, such as: What is the relationship between migration and development? How does labor mobility affect development in migrants’ countries of origin? How has the governance of international migration changed in recent years, and how is it likely to change going forward? The brief draws together key findings on these and other timely topics—including migrant returns and reintegration, and how development assistance could help refugee-hosting countries build effective humanitarian protection systems.
Topic:
Development, Migration, Immigration, Governance, and Refugees
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3108. Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy: New Realities Call for New Answers

Author:
Doris Meissner
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
The U.S. immigration system is in desperate need of an overhaul—and has been for many years. What has been missing is an alternate vision for a path forward that treats immigration as a comparative advantage and strategic resource, while also accounting for heightened security and rule-of-law imperatives, that can together further U.S. interests, values, and democratic principles as a society. This concept note outlines a new MPI initiative, Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy, that seeks to fill this gap. The multiyear initiative will generate a big-picture, evidence-driven vision of the role immigration can and should play in the future of the United States, acknowledging policymakers are operating against a backdrop of globalization challenges, tech-induced disruptions reshaping the future of work, growing competition for talent, and national polities increasingly skeptical of government’s ability to manage migration. The initiative's starting point is to recognize that there are new realities facing the United States that should drive immigration policymaking in the coming period, not a return to the tired debates of the past 20 years that have foundered again and again amid rising partisanship and polarization. Among these new realities: a rising old-age dependency ratio, changing challenges at the U.S.-Mexico border, need for greater flexibility in the immigration systems as other countries have modernized their immigrant-selection systems, and a shattering of the bipartisan consensus that for decades has seen legal immigration as a positive. Historically, immigration policymaking and legislation have only succeeded through across-the-aisle cooperation and a search for common ground. This initiative is committed to re-energizing such bipartisanship and recapturing a new center in formulating and advancing fresh, feasible solutions.
Topic:
Immigration, Border Control, Employment, and Economy
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

3109. Immigration and the U.S. Labor Market: A Look Ahead

Author:
Harry J. Holzer
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
In the coming decades, the U.S. labor market will experience major transformations that challenge the country’s economic growth and competitiveness. The native-born workforce will age and shrink as baby boomers retire and birth rates decline. Technological innovations, though unlikely to result in mass unemployment as some observers fear, will displace some workers, particularly in low-skilled occupations. And traditional employer-employee relationships are becoming less common as contracting, outsourcing, and other alternative staffing arrangements spread. While these forces may bring some productivity increases, they are also likely to result in rising inequality between skilled and unskilled workers, lower economic growth, and mismatches between the skills workers have and those that are increasingly in demand. What role, this think piece by a former chief economist for the U.S. Labor Department asks, can immigration play in mitigating these undesirable economic outcomes and supporting U.S. economic growth? Immigration could help employers hire for hard-to-fill positions, and it could reduce the costs and increase the availability of goods and services, especially in growing sectors such as health and elder care. But while immigration may benefit employers and workers with complementary skills, particularly at the high end of the skills spectrum, it can negatively affect some low-skilled workers, who have already been hard hit by technological change, globalization, and weakening labor unions. Reforms of immigration policy to support economic growth should thus be paired with a broader agenda and investments to raise the skills and earnings of workers without college degrees, whether native born or immigrant. The brief was commissioned for MPI’s multiyear Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy initiative, which aims to generate a big-picture, evidence-driven vision for the role immigration can and should play in America’s future. To learn more about the initiative and read related research, check out the initiative's home page.
Topic:
Education, Immigration, Employment, and Labor Market
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

3110. How Does Immigration Fit into the Future of the U.S. Labor Market?

Author:
Pia M. Orrenius, Madeline Zavodny, and Stephanie Gullo
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
2018 was a banner year for the U.S. economy, but long-run projections are much less bright. Intensifying forces—including the aging of the workforce, stagnating labor force participation rates, and emerging gaps between the skills U.S. employers seek and those workers possess—are poised to significantly reshape the U.S. labor market. Other trends, including globalization and automation, are likely to dramatically transform how and where work is done. Against the backdrop of these changes, this think piece asks: What role can immigration play in bolstering future workforce and economic growth, and meeting shifting demand for both high- and low-skilled labor? In addition to supporting labor force growth, the brief’s authors conclude that immigrant workers can help mitigate a number of other symptoms of the U.S. economy’s long-run malaise, including low productivity growth, declining domestic geographic mobility, and falling entrepreneurship. But while immigration may benefit employers, consumers, and some U.S. workers, it can adversely affect others, particularly low-skilled U.S. natives and earlier-arrived immigrants. A plan to increase employment-based immigration, the authors contend, should thus be paired with policies and programs to support these groups in acquiring new skills and shifting to growing sectors. The brief is part of MPI’s multiyear Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy initiative, which aims to generate a big-picture, evidence-driven vision for the role immigration can and should play in America’s future. To learn more about the initiative and read related research, check out the initiative's home page.
Topic:
Education, Immigration, Employment, Economy, and Labor Market
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America