Trends in Mass Migration

An illustration of migration using silhouettes of people walking across the globe. Image by Carlos Gardel / Adobe Stock

Image by Carlos Gardel / Adobe Stock

Dates:

July 15, 2020: Mass Migration and Labor Markets
July 29, 2020: Mass Migration and Demographics
August 12, 2020: Mass Migration and COVID-19
August 26, 2020: Mass Migration and Education
September 9, 2020: Mass Migration and Border Policy
September 23, 2020: Mass Migration and Technology

Location:

Online Webinar

Register:

This event series has passed.

About the Webinar Series

Every year, millions of people leave their homelands to start their lives somewhere else. Some seek promising new jobs, family ties, or cultural opportunities. Some are seeking relief from crushing poverty or lack of economic opportunities. Others are fleeing war or persecution. Still others are escaping the effects of a long-term drought, a devastating hurricane, or some other kind of climate change or natural disaster.

While individuals’ reasons for wanting to resettle vary, steadily rising numbers of migrants over the past two decades (there are 272 million migrants today) suggest that migration is becoming one of the most pressing issues of our time. Countries around the world are establishing policies to manage these circumstances.

This webinar series, brought to you by RAND’s Mass Migration Strategy Group, brings together RAND’s interdisciplinary work on migration-related trends, opportunities, challenges, and solutions.

In each webinar, RAND researchers present analysis in three areas that represent some of the biggest migration policy issues during next decade: 1) migration due to conflict; 2) migration due to climate change or natural disasters; and 3) migration across the United States southern border. The series is designed to explore the commonalities and differences in migration in various circumstances.

Webinars

Webinar 1: Mass Migration and Labor Markets

Date:

July 15, 2020

Time:

10:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT

This webinar will discuss how migration has affected labor markets in several contexts. Kathryn Edwards will discuss challenges and solutions in the labor market in Puerto Rico due to out-migration after Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, research conducted as part of Puerto Rico’s recovery plan [PDF]. Daniel Egel will discuss Jobs Make the Difference, a United Nations Development Program study on employment of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria. Shanthi Nataraj will discuss Opportunities for All, a RAND study that surveyed Syrian refugees and employers about economic opportunities in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Moderator:

Shelly Culbertson
Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation

Presenters:

Kathryn Edwards
Associate Economist, RAND Corporation
Daniel Egel
Economist, RAND Corporation
Shanthi Nataraj
Director, Labor and Workforce Development Program, RAND Corporation

Webinar 2: Mass Migration and Demographics

Date:

July 29, 2020

Time:

10:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT

This discussion will focus on mass migration demographics across borders, whether international or United States state borders, and key implications. Blas Nũnez-Neto will talk about patterns and changes in migration over the U.S southern border in recent years. Melissa Finucane will talk about migration because of climate change across state borders in the United States. Louay Constant will talk about mass migration demographics of refugees globally and in the Middle East.

Moderator:

Aaron Clark-Ginsberg
Associate Behavioral/Social Scientist, RAND Corporation

Presenters:

Blas Nuñez-Neto
Associate Director, Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC); Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation
Melissa Finucane
Senior Social/Behavioral Scientist, RAND Corporation
Louay Constant
Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation

Webinar 3: Mass Migration and COVID-19

Date:

August 12, 2020

Time:

10:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT

This panel will focus on the intersection between the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and mass migration. Shelly Culbertson focus on how COVID-19 is affecting refugees in camps and urban areas and possible policy solutions. Aaron Clark-Ginsberg will discuss climate change migration and the pandemic interact. Blas Nuñez-Neto will describe policy issues related to COVID-19 and management of the U.S. southern border, including effects to date, and future implications.

Moderator:

Benjamin Preston
Director, Community Health and Environmental Policy Program; Senior Policy Researcher; RAND Corporation

Presenters:

Shelly Culbertson
Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation
Aaron Clark-Ginsberg
Associate Behavioral/Social Scientist, RAND Corporation
Blas Nuñez-Neto
Associate Director, Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC); Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation

Webinar 4: Mass Migration and Education

Date:

August 26, 2020

Time:

10:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT

This webinar will focus on education of children in situations in which large numbers of people have migrated. Rita Karam will talk about refugee education in Lebanon and Jordan. Andrea Prado Tuma will talk about education in Puerto Rico in the context of outmigration after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, research conducted as part of Puerto Rico’s recovery plan [PDF]. Julia Kaufman will talk about education of undocumented migrant children and asylum seekers who have crossed the southwestern border in the United States.

Moderator:

Shelly Culbertson
Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation

Presenters:

Rita Karam
Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation
Andrea Prado Tuma
Associate Behavioral/Social Scientist, RAND Corporation
Julia Kaufman
Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation

Webinar 5: Mass Migration and Border Policy

Date:

September 9, 2020

Time:

10:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT

This webinar focuses on RAND’s work related to mass migration and border policy, with emphasis on the U.S. southern border and border policy in the EU. Doug Ligor will discuss aspects of the current legal and policy framework for migration over the United States southern border. Victoria Greenfield will discuss what we know about human smuggling from Central America to the U.S. border, including revenues and the role of transnational criminal organizations, before COVID-19. Charles Ries will describe European Union border policies and actions following the 2015 migrant and refugee crisis.

Moderator:

Aaron Clark-Ginsberg
Associate Behavioral/Social Scientist, RAND Corporation

Presenters:

Doug Ligor
Senior Behavioral/Social Scientist, RAND Corporation
Victoria Greenfield
Senior Economist, RAND Corporation
Charles Ries
Vice President, International, RAND Corporation

Webinar 6: Mass Migration and Technology

Date:

September 23, 2020

Technology is being deployed and used in evolving ways in settings in which large number of people are migrating. This panel discussion will feature recent RAND projects. Jim Dimarogonas will talk about technology in refugee settings, including how it is used in identity management, education, and other key areas, and how it could be better developed and managed. Elina Treyger will discuss an assessment of technology approaches as border control at the United States southwest border. Russell Hanson will talk about RAND studies on tracking the spread of COVID-19 through air travel data.

Time:

10:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT

Moderator:

Shelly Culbertson
Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation

Presenters:

Jim Dimarogonas
Senior Engineer, RAND Corporation
Elina Treyger
Political Scientist, RAND Corporation
Russell Hanson
Research Software Engineer, RAND Corporation

Register for this Program

Please register online to attend. Information about how to join the webinar will be sent to registered attendees before the event.