Immigration Policy Lab

Global migration is at an all-time high, driven by growing economic and demographic disparities, intensifying climate change, and conflict and violence. If managed well, migration can improve the lives of over a quarter of a billion people who are currently on the move, foster prosperity in host communities, and catalyze economic growth. If managed poorly, migration can result in extensive human suffering and prolonged humanitarian crises, provoke public backlash, and exacerbate social inequalities that persist for generations. 

Although global migration impacts countless nations, relatively little is known about how to maximize the benefits and minimize the costs of migration. Political roadblocks, misinformation, and a lack of rigorous evidence stand in the way of policy solutions that could benefit host societies and migrants alike.

The Immigration Policy Lab is filling this evidence gap and driving policy change through partnership-based research with key players in global migration policy. Using big data, creative research designs, and cutting-edge analytical tools, IPL works with governments, nonprofits, and service providers to craft and test policies, generating rigorous evidence and innovative solutions in three key areas: 

1. Supporting Migration Choices: In partnership with Mercy Corps, IPL developed an innovative model providing rural households in Niger with information and assistance to support regional migration. While traditional development aid has focused on “development in place,” this research will generate evidence on whether using development aid to support safe, legal, and productive labor migration can help individuals and communities achieve better economic outcomes.
    
2. Drivers of Successful Immigrant Integration: Through a partnership with one of the largest resettlement agencies in the U.S., Global Refuge, IPL developed GeoMatch, an AI refugee resettlement tool that received Stage 2 funding from SIL in 2021. Using machine-learning, GeoMatch generates data-driven recommendations for the locations where refugees are most likely to thrive. IPL also created the  Immigrant Integration Index, a standardized, multi-dimensional measure of immigrant integration that is enabling governments, academics, and practitioners around the world to conduct comparative, systematic research on the integration of different migrant groups across contexts. Moreover, IPL has conducted research in partnership with US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the State of New York that is providing new evidence on the impact of, and barriers to, obtaining citizenship. 
    
3. Impacts of Migration On Host Communities: In partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), IPL launched an intervention that aims to build business networks among refugee and host entrepreneurs through business groups and neighborhood associations in Uganda and Kenya. This study will generate evidence on the impact of improving refugees’ and hosts’ social capital and forging economic and social ties between refugee and host entrepreneurs, offering  governments and aid organizations key insights on an underutilized path for improving the lives of millions of refugees.