The Mixed Migration Review 2025 looks at how geopolitical turmoil is reshaping migration, including:
– normalisation of the extreme
– aid cuts & weakened multilateralism
– double-edged role of AI in migration
MMR launches on 20 Nov → https://f.mtr.cool/dqrdnevtfm
#MMR2025

The report: Opening Doors, Hardening Borders - a critical analysis of the Biden administration’s approach to mixed migration & lessons for Europe - based on secondary sources, data, & interviews with +30 experts
📘

The lesson for Europe:   Coherent communication and really owning the policy are key. Ultimately, Biden's set of highly bifurcated policies failed to garner favour from either pro-immigrant factions or more hardline conservatives that deemed the situation at the border a “crisis.”

Yet the story was never told, the narrative was not owned by the Biden administration. The public debate focused on border chaos, not results.
By the time the Biden administration approach to migration was working, it had already lost political ground.

Despite its shortcomings, the Biden administration had a working model of managed migration — balancing openness and control more effectively than most governments in decades. It showed that regional cooperation like the Safe Mobility Offices can share protection responsibility.

But many people who didn’t qualify for these legal pathways found it harder than ever to reach or claim asylum. Combined with stronger cooperation with Mexico’s border forces, access to protection narrowed, and more people were pushed into dangerous routes north.

The U.S. launched Safe Mobility Offices (SMOs) in Guatemala, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador — regional hubs to process protection and migration cases closer to home. A first step toward shared responsibility for protection across countries.

What worked under Biden? Irregular crossings fell sharply in the later part of his term, especially for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans under the CHNV parole programme. For those groups, crossings dropped by over 90%. Safe and lawful routes help redirect migration.

Most of these reforms were built on presidential authority, not Congressional law.
Within months of the 2025 change in administration, nearly all were rolled back — progress without a lasting foundation.

When President Biden took office, he promised to make U.S. migration policy more humane. His approach was two-fold: expand legal pathways while tightening border control to deter irregular crossings. It worked — at least in part. 👇

Read our report on Afghan Returns for more findings on:
➡️ Assistance during the journey
➡️ Future plans & remigration
➡️ Livelihoods & income
➡️ Access to healthcare
➡️ Perceived risks
➡️ Gendered aspects of return
🔗