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The Migration Policy Institute

March 20, 2020

Dear John xxxxxx,

Travel bans, border closures, and other migration management tools did not prove effective at blocking COVID-19 from spreading across international borders. Indeed, the virus is now in every corner of the world save Antarctica.

But as governments move away from the goal of containment toward trying to slow the spread of the virus within their countries, closing borders to nonessential travel (as the United States and Canada have done) may be a logical extension of asking people to stay home. In this new mitigation phase, travel restrictions may be a useful part of the policy toolkit in the context of social distancing and restricting *all* forms of human movement.

However, as we explain, border controls are only one piece of the puzzle. They must be combined with other interventions to be effective, among them medical testing, limiting contact to exposed individuals, and ensuring everyone has access to medical care in the event of infection. And these controls must be implemented in ways that advance public health goals (for instance by avoiding overcrowded screening areas at airports). There also are broader philosophical considerations, including whether immigration enforcement operations, and widespread detention of asylum seekers and other migrants awaiting immigration hearings, may conflict with public health imperatives during this crisis.

You can find our updated commentary, which reflects the rapidly shifting policy developments and terrain, here: www.migrationpolicy.org/news/coronavirus-not-a-migration-problem

Best regards,

Michelle Mittelstadt
Director of Communications and Public Affairs,
Migration Policy Institute


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The Migration Policy Institute is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to analysis of the movement of people worldwide. MPI provides analysis, development and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at the local, national and international levels. For more on MPI, please visit www.migrationpolicy.org.
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