A world where migration is a choice – Spring 2023

To our alumni and friends,

Record numbers of migrants are attempting the dangerous trek to the United States and Europe in search of safety and a decent standard of living. Yet, despite mounting evidence that the strategy of “prevention through deterrence” is no match for the powerful forces uprooting people from their homes, policymakers continue to rely on restrictionist policies that severely compromise the human security of migrants and affected communities.    

At Leir, we seek to expose this and other mismatches between policy and reality and to privilege the lived experiences of migrants and those around them. We do so by engaging people, programs, and partners in empirically rigorous, applied research. Our ultimate goal is to achieve a world where migration is a choice; in the interim, we seek more humane and effective responses to forced displacement in all its forms. Unfortunately, recent developments like the war in Ukraine, the conflicts in Ethiopia and Sudan, the earthquakes in Türkiye, the uptick in criminal violence in once-relatively safe countries such as Ecuador, Chile, and Costa Rica, and the lingering effects of the global pandemic continue to push people from their homes.