E.g., 04/18/2024
E.g., 04/18/2024
Marissa Esthimer
MPI Authors

Marissa Esthimer

Marissa Esthimer was Editor of the Migration Information Source, the Migration Policy Institute's respected online journal. She works as an analyst in the public sector.

Previously, she was a Communications and Web Specialist at MPI, where she worked on dissemination of the Institute’s research, monitoring of the Institute's media mentions, and on website operations and publication design and production. She has also worked as a pro bono online media consultant for a nonprofit that aims to provide job training for Latinos in the Washington, DC metro area. Previously, she interned at the Center for International Policy and the Center for Democracy in the Americas, where her work focused on U.S. relations with Latin America. She spent a semester studying in Argentina.

Ms. Esthimer graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor's degree in anthropology and government. She also holds a master of public policy degree from The George Washington University.

Bio Page Tabs

Outside of the Justice Department building
Feature
October 3, 2019
Crisis in the Courts: Is the Backlogged U.S. Immigration Court System at Its Breaking Point?

With a backlog of more than 1 million removal cases, the U.S. immigration court system is in crisis. Pressure from external forces, internal challenges, and lagging resources for the courts at a time of massive increases in spending on immigration enforcement have contributed to the backlog. This article explores how the system got to the breaking point, and what opportunities for reform exist.

GermanyAfDPoster MarkusSpiske Flickr
Top Ten
December 8, 2017
Nativism Goes Mainstream, Moving the Needle on Migration Policy

In 2017, nationalists in Europe and the United States continued seizing on public concerns about immigration and diversity, making gains in pushing their agendas. While their success at the polls was mixed, nativist politicians have succeeded in reshaping broader migration debates, with growing political fragmentation and mistrust of establishment parties making it easier for them to break through.

stjc nt ColombiaTumacoDisplacedCommunity Flickr
Feature
January 14, 2016
Protecting the Forcibly Displaced: Latin America’s Evolving Refugee and Asylum Framework

Signed more than 30 years ago, the Cartagena Declaration sought to address rising flows of refugees and establish regional solidarity in refugee protection in Latin America. This article explores the evolution of refugee and asylum policies in Latin America amid the long-running Colombian civil war, as well as the region's response to the current global refugee crisis.

Cover Top10 9Borders
Top Ten
December 8, 2015
Border Skirmishes Resonate in National Domestic Politics

Facing electoral challenges, falling approval rates, and weak economies, some political leaders in 2015 altered border policies or engaged in conflicts across borders as tools of domestic policy. This trend looks at the effects on migration of conflicts between Venezuela and Colombia, Russia and Ukraine, and India and Nepal.

Cover Top10 1Refugees UNHCR
Top Ten
December 18, 2014
World Confronts Largest Humanitarian Crisis since WWII

The number of people around the world forcibly displaced by conflict or persecution reached its highest total since World War II, with more than 51.2 million fleeing their country or displaced within it, the UN refugee agency reported in 2014. An estimated 13.6 million people have been displaced by conflicts in Syria and Iraq alone, constituting what the UN High Commissioner for Refugees dubbed a mega-crisis.

Recent Activity

Articles
October 3, 2019

Crisis in the Courts: Is the Backlogged U.S. Immigration Court System at Its Breaking Point?

With a backlog of more than 1 million removal cases, the U.S. immigration court system is in crisis. Pressure from external forces, internal challenges, and lagging resources for the courts at a time of massive increases in spending on immigration enforcement have contributed to the backlog. This article explores how the system got to the breaking point, and what opportunities for reform exist.

Articles
December 8, 2017

Nativism Goes Mainstream, Moving the Needle on Migration Policy

In 2017, nationalists in Europe and the United States continued seizing on public concerns about immigration and diversity, making gains in pushing their agendas. While their success at the polls was mixed, nativist politicians have succeeded in reshaping broader migration debates, with growing political fragmentation and mistrust of establishment parties making it easier for them to break through.

Articles
January 14, 2016

Protecting the Forcibly Displaced: Latin America’s Evolving Refugee and Asylum Framework

Signed more than 30 years ago, the Cartagena Declaration sought to address rising flows of refugees and establish regional solidarity in refugee protection in Latin America. This article explores the evolution of refugee and asylum policies in Latin America amid the long-running Colombian civil war, as well as the region's response to the current global refugee crisis.

Articles
December 8, 2015

Border Skirmishes Resonate in National Domestic Politics

Facing electoral challenges, falling approval rates, and weak economies, some political leaders in 2015 altered border policies or engaged in conflicts across borders as tools of domestic policy. This trend looks at the effects on migration of conflicts between Venezuela and Colombia, Russia and Ukraine, and India and Nepal.

Articles
December 18, 2014

World Confronts Largest Humanitarian Crisis since WWII

The number of people around the world forcibly displaced by conflict or persecution reached its highest total since World War II, with more than 51.2 million fleeing their country or displaced within it, the UN refugee agency reported in 2014. An estimated 13.6 million people have been displaced by conflicts in Syria and Iraq alone, constituting what the UN High Commissioner for Refugees dubbed a mega-crisis.