May 22, 2024 Dear John, The 22 governments that are signatories to the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection met earlier this month in Guatemala to assess progress on the pact two years into its life and to lay out an actionable agenda for the next year. The meeting took place at a time when migration across the Americas has increased dramatically, with Latin American and Caribbean countries seeing a near doubling of their migrant populations between 2010 and 2022, and record arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border. The sheer scale of displacement crises in the hemisphere, the ability to engage in longer journeys, and shifting demographics help explain the rising movements. In a new commentary, Migration Policy Institute (MPI) President Andrew Selee examines how well Los Angeles Declaration signers are collaborating on achieving their shared aims. He notes that the agenda setting in Guatemala included conversations around how to measure progress on the integration of displaced populations, coordinated efforts that address smuggling and build humane and effective migration controls, and discussion of expanding regular pathways that recognize changing labor market dynamics and humanitarian protection needs. “Hemispheric cooperation is no substitute for fair, consistent, and effective domestic policies on immigration and displacement,” Selee writes. “However, in an era when cross-border mobility is increasing dramatically in the Americas, tied to changing labor market dynamics, displacement crises, and technology, domestic policies alone will never be sufficient. Cooperation will only become more vital to building a future in which people move through channels that are safe, orderly, and regular, and in which migration is an option rather than a necessity.” Read the commentary in full here: www.migrationpolicy.org/news/los-angeles-declaration-second-anniversary. |
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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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