Migration Policy in LAC

The number of migrants and refugees from Venezuela has reached virtually every country in the region. In parallel, Central and North America experience mixed migration movements of people from Central America, African, Asian and Caribbean countries trying to reach the US. Governments of the region have responded in different ways. Some have adopted an open border policy, imposed increasing restrictions on the migrant's mobility, and others have put safe third country agreements.

The panel will discuss the landscape of migration in LAC and the innovative policy and private sector solutions to address and mitigate the effects of migration. The conference will also discuss the role of social and humanitarian organizations to support displaced people better.

Speakers:
Sarah Bermeo: Political economist, associate professor of public policy and political science in the Sanford School at Duke University and director of graduate studies for the Master of International Development Policy (MIDP) program housed in the Duke Center for International Development. Her research lies at the intersection of international relations and development, with a particular focus on foreign aid, trade agreements, migration, and the global public good.

Rachel Schmidtke: Advocate for Latin America at Refugees International working on advocacy strategies responding to the Central American and Venezuelan crisis. Previously, she was a program associate at the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars developing the migration portfolio and producing policy work on Mexico, Central America, and U.S. migration, asylum, and refugee policy. Rachel received her M.A. in International Development Policy from Duke University, focusing on migration, Latin American foreign policy, and gender.

Erik Wibbels: Co-Director of DevLab@Duke at Duke University. His research focuses on development, redistribution and political geography and has been published by Cambridge University Press, World Politics, International Organization, American Political Science Review and other journals. Current major projects include a USAID-funded effort to integrate machine learning, forecasting and rigorous field interventions to early-identify government crackdowns on civil society an a research with Te Conecta and RTI International on how the deportation of Guatemalans from the U.S. impacts households and communities on both sides of the border, as well as large field projects on local policing in Ghana and Guatemala.

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