Center for Migration Studies of New York

10/06/2026

People in immigration detention should not be cut off from their faith communities and pastoral care.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis has filed a lawsuit challenging restrictions that it says prevent Catholic clergy from meaningfully ministering to immigrants detained at the Saint Genevieve County Jail in Missouri.

As reported by Reuters, the restrictions have limited priests’ ability to privately hear confessions, celebrate Mass, administer Communion, and provide the anointing of the sick.

For people facing the isolation and uncertainty of immigration detention, access to clergy and spiritual care can provide comfort, community, and human connection. Ensuring that detained immigrants can receive pastoral care is part of recognizing their inherent dignity and humanity.

Read the full Reuters story: https://buff.ly/4iVNAER

10/06/2026

Join the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) for our 2026 Annual Gala on Monday, November 9, from 6:00–9:00 PM at 48 Wall Street in New York City.

This year, we are proud to recognize four distinguished honorees for their leadership, service, and commitment to immigrant communities:

🏆 Immigration Achievement Award: Alex Ladouceur
🏆 Lifetime Achievement Award: Msgr. Kevin Sullivan
🏆 Humanitarian Service Award: Fried Frank
🏆 St. John Baptist Scalabrini Honor: Missionaries of St. Charles

Join friends, partners, and supporters of CMS for an evening of cocktails, dinner, and celebration as we honor their contributions and support CMS’s work to advance the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees, and newcomers.

📅 November 9, 2026 | 6:00–9:00 PM
📍 48 Wall Street, New York, NY

🎟️ Purchase your tickets at https://buff.ly/u89zBkC.

Join the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) for 2026 Annual Gala on November 9, 2026 at 6:00pm – 9:00pm at 48 Wall Street NYC located at 48 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005. We look forward to...

10/05/2026

Join the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) for our annual Academic & Policy Symposium on November 9, 2026, from 10:00 AM–5:00 PM ET at Fried Frank in New York City.

The symposium will bring together scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and advocates for timely conversations on migration research, policy, and the challenges facing immigrant communities.

📍 Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, New York City
🎟️ Registration: $95, including a meal
🎓 Student rate: $25

Register today at https://buff.ly/Z2WRPUP and join us for a day of research, dialogue, and connection.

Join the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) for its annual Academic & Policy Symposium on November 9, 2026, from 10:00am to 5:00pm ET. The symposium will be held at the law offices of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver...

09/30/2026

🌍 What happens when European migration policies extend far beyond Europe?

Cathrine Talleraas and Ida Marie Savio Vammen explore the “rippling effects” of European migration governance across Africa—and how these interventions interact with African actors and realities.

📖 Read the full article in the summer 2026 edition of the International Migration Review.

https://buff.ly/nSC2bGZ

This article advances the concept of “rippling effects” as an analytical approach in research on European migration governance in Africa. By adopting a targeted...

09/28/2026

📚 The 2026 Academic & Policy Symposium is coming up!

Join CMS for a full day of discussion and exchange regarding migration and advocacy with scholars, policymakers, and migration experts.

📅 November 9th
📍 Fried Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
🎟️ $95 | Students: 25

For more information: https://buff.ly/3QoXaNX

The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) is a think tank and an educational institute devoted to the study of international migration, to the promotion of understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, and to public policies that safeguard the dignity and rights of migrants, r...

09/25/2026

In case you missed it: Best Practices in the Pastoral and Social Care of Immigrants.

Earlier this summer, CMS and brought together Catholic leaders to discuss practical ways dioceses, parishes, religious communities, and individuals can accompany and advocate for immigrants and their families amid heightened immigration enforcement.

🎥 Rewatch the webinar: https://buff.ly/PocrwYi

The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) is a think tank and an educational institute devoted to the study of international migration, to the promotion of understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, and to public policies that safeguard the dignity and rights of migrants, r...

09/21/2026

⛪️ What should immigrant justice look like at the parish level?

Catholic IMMpact's "Parish Based Immigrant Justice Planning Guide" offers parishes a roadmap for organizing around immigrant justice—from Catholic social teaching and education to advocacy, protection, and community building.

📖 Explore the guide: https://buff.ly/BwZn32B

The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) is a think tank and an educational institute devoted to the study of international migration, to the promotion of understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, and to public policies that safeguard the dignity and rights of migrants, r...

09/16/2026

🌎 Who gets to be considered a refugee?

Recently in the Journal on Migration and Human Security, Philippa Osim Inyang challenges the traditional binary between “refugee” and “economic migrant,” arguing that it is doctrinally outdated and normatively indefensible in light of contemporary displacement realities.

⚖️ Inyang develops the concept of “structural persecution” to describe situations in which socio-economic harm can be traced to identifiable state actions, omissions, or broader systems of power—and demonstrates how these circumstances may fall within the meaning of persecution under existing refugee law.

🤝 The article proposes an interpretive framework that would allow refugee law to respond more coherently to modern displacement dynamics without altering the existing definition of a refugee under the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Read “Legally Excluded, Structurally Persecuted: Rethinking Asylum Beyond the Refugee–Economic Migrant Divide.”

https://buff.ly/nq9RrC2

Executive Summary This article argues that the long-standing binary between “refugees” and “economic migrants” is doctrinally outdated and normatively indefensi...

09/10/2026

📊 In case you missed it: Understanding the U.S. Undocumented Population

Recently, CMS brought together leading researchers to discuss its latest 2024 estimates of the undocumented population—and what the data reveal about growth, long-term settlement, and changing immigration patterns.

The undocumented population reached 14.6 million in 2024, with more than one-third holding temporary or “liminal” statuses.

▶️ Rewatch the webinar and explore the data: https://buff.ly/XpFum2m

Select a state or multiple states on the map below, then scroll down. National estimates are shown when no area is selected.