policy + research
After the Assad regime fell in December 2024, several European governments swiftly announced they would suspend asylum processing for Syrians. Yet, the pressure for refugee returns had existed well before the regime’s fall. In Jordan, local NGOs highlight ongoing concerns about who is responsible for ensuring that refugee returns are ...
+ Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic hit undocumented migrant workers, a population already living in precarious and particularly hard circumstances. Often overlooked and misunderstood, their lives remain largely invisible with limited data available to illustrate their struggles, especially in times of crisis. In Geneva, Switzerland, many grappled to cope with losing their jobs,
...
As Japan grapples with labor shortages and a rapidly aging population, its peri-urban cities increasingly rely on immigrants. Yet, without a cohesive national immigration policy, grassroots organizations like International Friendship Associations (IFAs) quietly provide the only community support for many immigrants. Offering services such as language education and legal guidance, ...
+ Read moreEuropean asylum policy still has a long way to go to better address protection challenges. The EU’s new Pact on Asylum has been created to manage some of the existing imbalances by assisting countries receiving more seekers with relocations, financial aid, or taking responsibility for applicants and easing their pressure. ...
+ Read moreSwitzerland’s seasonal worker statute – abolished in 2002, tied residence permits to employers. According to theory, such regulation gives employers greater bargaining power in wage-setting and could lower wages. Strengthening immigrants’ social and economic rights through the Agreement on the Free Movement of People (AFMP) may have helped reduce the ...
+ Read more