Webinar — The Mediterranean and Central American Migration Crises Examined

In 2015, the number of migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Mediterranean dramatically grew, with as many as 1 million people arriving in Europe by sea. In 2018 and 2019, the U.S. also experienced an escalation of migrant arrivals — especially children, families and asylum seekers — resulting in a humanitarian emergency at its southern border with Mexico. Collectively, these patterns have created an unprecedented crisis of governance on the issue of migration and human mobility.

Both Europe and the U.S. have been attempting to mitigate such crises for decades, using tactics like preferential trade agreements, visa facilitation and development aid to bring transit countries on board with their migration control preferences. In both contexts, European and American migration control policies have transformed countries like Morocco, Turkey and Mexico into “buffer zones” with international and domestic political implications. The politics of migration have also influenced the global political landscape, bringing into office anti-immigration parties and leaders and polarizing public opinion. Despite international efforts, no solution has been found to facilitate human mobility in a legal and orderly manner. At this webinar, a panel of experts examined the struggle to accommodate migrant and asylum seeker arrivals both in the United States and in the European Union.

This webinar was co-sponsored by the Center for the Middle East and the Center for the United States and Mexico. Follow @BakerInstitute on Twitter, and join the conversation with #BakerMigration.

Agenda

11:00 a.m. — Presentation
11:30 a.m. — Q&A

Welcome Speaker

Kelsey Norman, Ph.D.
Fellow for the Middle East; Director, Women’s Rights, Human Rights and Refugees Program, Baker Institute

Panelists

Carmela Godeau
Regional Director, MENA Regional Office of the International Organization for Migration

Matthew Reynolds
Regional Representative for the U.S. and the Caribbean, UNHCR

Andrew Selee, Ph.D.
President, Migration Policy Institute