Human Rights & Reconciliation Immigration & Migration
Protecting the Rights of Migrants and Immigrants
Northern Ireland | Republic of Ireland | South Africa | United States | 1998 - 2014
Across the world, people are uprooting themselves seeking better lives in other countries. Yet, millions of people migrating to the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, South Africa and immigrating to the United States are often denied basic rights and face discrimination and exploitation.
Atlantic’s investments have supported groups in these countries advocating for policy reform and working to build opportunity, provide hope and promote dignity for millions of these most vulnerable, marginalized and undervalued individuals.
What We Learned From This Work
The public narrative impacts the success of advocacy on migration and immigration issues, underscoring the importance of investing in strategic communications.
Even a well-constructed and strategic advocacy campaign sometimes cannot surmount policymakers who lack the will to advance legislation. In many cases, advocates have had better results pursuing remedies in court.
It is essential to collect evidence about how migrants are being treated to demonstrate to government the actions needed to remedy inequities in the system and provide essential services.
Making Progress
Here is a sampling of what has been achieved through Atlantic’s work on behalf of immigrants and migrants:
Expanded Legal Rights
Atlantic grantees helped secure greater legal protections for migrants. For example, those protections helped domestic workers, young women and people at risk of human trafficking across Ireland.
Fairer Treatment
South African courts ruled that asylum seekers and refugees are entitled to the same access to education, health and housing as the county’s citizens.
Deferring Deportations
In 2012, President Barack Obama announced the United States would halt deportations of undocumented youth who came into the country as children, and instead would grant them temporary permission to stay.
Here’s Who’s Helping Write the Next Chapter in This Continuing Story
A Topic of Continuing Attention
Summaries of Case Studies, Evaluations & Reports
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Evaluation of The Atlantic Philanthropies Migration Programme
Source: RAND Europe
Over the course of the 1990s and continuing through 2007, Ireland experienced a substantial increase in migration. The large influx of people from other countries seeking a better life placed pressures on the existing legislative framework that regulated the rights of migrants. It also put…
Resource type: Evaluation
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Advocacy, Politics & Philanthropy: A Reflection on a Decade of Immigration Reform Advocacy
Source: Innovation Network
This Innovation Network report examines the impact and shares lessons from Atlantic’s $70.3 million effort between 2004 and 2014 to reform the U.S. immigration system. Among the topics covered: How the campaign unified multiple advocates behind an agenda focused on comprehensive federal reform. The trade-offs…
Resource type: Research Report
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Migrants and the Irish Economy
Source: The Integration Centre
Immigration should be viewed as an opportunity to be embraced rather than a cost to be minimised, according to this report from economist Jim Power and the Integration Centre, an Atlantic grantee. The non-Irish population in Ireland is highly skilled with qualification levels exceeding that…
Resource type: Research Report
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Shattered Families: The Perilous Intersection of Immigration Enforcement and the Child Welfare System
Source: Applied Research Center
Deportations and detentions of undocumented immigrants are destroying families, according to a ground breaking report by the Applied Research Center (ARC). The report documents, for the first time, the national scale and scope of this problem. When parents are detained or deported, their children are…
Resource type: Research Report
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South African Civil Society and Xenophobia
Source: Strategy & Tactics
This comprehensive 500-page report, coordinated by Strategy & Tactics, was written by some of South Africa's leading social and political scientists as well as civil society activists. The report analyses the conditions that allowed xenophobic violence to erupt in South Africa in May 2008, leaving…
Resource type: Research Report
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FOMACS Retrospective – The Story So Far
Source: Forum on Migration and Communications (FOMACS)
This online case study, commissioned by Atlantic, presents snapshots of projects demonstrating how The Forum on Migration and Communications (FOMACS) strengthens the voices of migrants and NGOs who work in the migrant sector by using collaboration, creative arts, digital media and storytelling as catalysts for social…
Resource type: Case Study
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Republic of Ireland
This book tells the story of how The Atlantic Philanthropies’ 30 years of investments had an extraordinary impact on the Republic of Ireland—from helping breathe life into the nation’s university system and its research capabilities, to supporting major advances in human rights, and spurring the…
Resource type: Insight
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Northern Ireland
This book tells the story of Atlantic’s grantmaking in Northern Ireland, where it helped promote peace, reshape education, improve public services, and strengthen organizations to promote and protect people’s rights.
Resource type: Insight
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