The January 2021 Portuguese Presidency of the EU promises to prioritize the new Migration and Asylum Pact proposed by the European Commission in September 2021. It faces many challenges, including adequate Frontex border patrols, protecting both asylum seekers and migrants arriving in frontline states, processing legitimate claims, preserving free movement within the EU, and relocating or deporting these arrivals. Governance obstacles abound, given the changing politics on Europe’s sea and land borders and resistance of some member-states to the obligations of solidarity and shared responsibility for immigration and integration. The speakers will discuss current immigration issues to Europe and offer some comparative observations in light of the new US Administration’s approach.
Speakers:
Hanne Beirens is Director of Migration Policy Institute Europe. She specializes in European Union policies related to asylum and migration, human trafficking, labor migration, and youth.
Prior to joining MPI as Associate Director in 2015, Dr. Beirens worked as a Lead Managing Consultant for ICF Consulting, where she focused on impact assessments, feasibility studies, and evaluations for the European Commission, with a particular focus on EU asylum and migration policy, as well as developing products within the European Migration Network (EMN), including pan-European studies and the EMN annual report. Topics covered include reception facilities for asylum seekers, unaccompanied children, and non-EU harmonized protection statuses. Earlier, Dr. Beirens worked as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Applied Social Studies of the University of Birmingham, evaluating services, organizations, and community-based initiatives pursuing the integration of asylum seekers, refugees, and third-country nationals. She also has worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and as an independent consultant for the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO). She holds a master’s degree in race and ethnic relations (with distinction) and a PhD in sociology and ethnic relations on the participation of minors in armed conflict, both from the University of Warwick (UK).
James F. Hollifield is Ora Nixon Arnold Chair in International Political Economy, Professor in the Department of Political Science, and Director of the Tower Center at SMU. He also is a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, a Fellow at the Institut zur Zukunft der Arbeit (IZA) at the University of Bonn, and a Fellow at the Global Migration Centre at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Hollifield has written widely on issues of political and economic development, with a focus on migration. His most recent books include Understanding Global Migration (Stanford University Press), Migration Theory, soon to be in its 4th edition with Routledge, and International Political Economy: History, Theory and Policy (Cambridge University Press). Hollifield has served as an advisor for governments around the world and for many international organizations on matters of migration and human and economic development.
Moderator:
Hilary Silver is Professor of Sociology, International Affairs, and Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington University.