Countries determine their own policies for accepting immigrants and refugees. No country has open borders. What is the difference between an immigrant and a refugee? Who determines this difference? How do international laws and groups affect national laws? Or even state laws? WorldBoston, Boston Network for International Development, and the United Nations Association of Greater Boston join forces to host this Great Decisions on Refugees and Global Migration. Mary Truong, Jeffrey Thielmen, and Professor Karen Jacobsen expand on the process of the immigration system, its triumphs and shortcomings.
Mary Truong is the Executive Director for Massachusetts Office of Refugees. For the Office of Refugees she also serves as Commissioner and State Refugees Coordinator. Additionally, she is the Patient Relations and Outreach Director at Dorchester House Multi Service Center.
Jeff Thielman is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Institute of New England, an organization that serves more than 2,000 immigrants and refugees each year. Previously he was the President of Cristo Rey Boston High School and the Vice President of the Cristo Rey Network, which serves students with families with limited financial resources.
**Karen Jacobsen** is the Henry J. Leir Professor in Global Migration at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Friedman School of Nutrition, and directs the Refugees and Forced Migration Program at the Feinstein International Center. Professor Jacobsen’s current research explores urban displacement and global migration systems, with a focus on the livelihoods and financial resilience of migrants and refugees. In 2013-2014 she was on leave from Tufts, leading the Joint IDP Profiling Service (JIPS) in Geneva. From 2000-2005, she directed the Alchemy Project, which explored the use of microfinance as a way to support people in refugee camps and other displacement settings.