The International Migration Initiative works to improve protections for refugees and vulnerable migrants, to stop the exploitation of migrant workers, and to build stronger ties between host communities and newcomers.
We work with a wide range of actors around the world, including civil society groups, national and local governments, international organizations, faith groups, and the private sector.
Our program areas are the following:
- Twenty-first century protection: We support efforts to enhance the quality and accessibility of protection for refugees and migrants. This includes demonstrating how policy reforms, community-based mechanisms, and new operational models can improve upon and complement existing protection systems.
- Fair work: Migrant workers are inherently vulnerable to exploitation, which is why it is especially important to ensure that when abuses do occur, laws and legal systems will protect workers. We support efforts to ensure that governments and businesses give migrant workers a fair deal, and that migrants are able to organize and participate in the policy debates that influence their rights.
- Welcoming and integrated societies: We aim to empower people and groups that can accelerate inclusion of migrants and refugees at the local level, with a focus on cities. This includes involving cities in national, regional and global policymaking; promoting innovative solutions to integration challenges at the city level; bringing individuals with migrant and refugee backgrounds into city administrations; and nourishing welcoming movements in communities and university settings.
Featured Work
Voices
For Essential Workers, Labor Rights Are Essential
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the labor rights movement has made gains in the struggle for essential workers’ rights. These gains are welcome—but many of them are temporary. Here's why more must be done.
publication
The Emma Lazarus Campaign Executive Summary
This executive summary details the unprecedented collaboration between the Open Society Foundations and partners that took place across the United States in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Nation of Immigrants
What the U.S. Still Owes Undocumented Workers
In the United States today, “essential” workers are more likely to be immigrants, and many of them are undocumented. Given all that these people have risked to keep society afloat, they deserve far more support.