In 2025 the world faces profound political shifts, a strained humanitarian and multilateral system, widening inequality, and accelerating technological change and climate crises. This year’s Mixed Migration Review (MMR) explores migration in the context of intensified geopolitical turmoil.
What once seemed unthinkable in migration policy has become increasingly accepted, reflecting a major shift in political and social norms. This “normalisation of the extreme” illustrates how ideas once outside the mainstream can enter the realm of political acceptability. An essay by Chris Horwood and Bram Frouws.
Virtual Launch of the Mixed Migration Review 2025
Panel Discussion: “When the Extreme Becomes Normal – Rethinking Migration Governance in Times of Geopolitical Turmoil”
Panellists: Jacqueline Baylon, Filmmaker & Journalist; Pedro Rios, Director, U.S./Mexico Border Program (AFSC); Catherine Woollard, Adjunct Professor of Law, Free University of Brussels; Professor Carlos Vargas-Silva, University of Oxford.
Moderator: Roberto Forin, Deputy Director, Mixed Migration Centre (MMC).
This section examines mixed migration trends across Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, Europe, and Asia in 2025. Each region includes a Keeping Track overview, expert insights, thematic snapshots, and an interview with a migrant or refugee offering a firsthand view of life amid geopolitical turmoil.
In 2025, across Africa, intersecting factors of conflict, climate change, weak governance and poverty continued to drive migration and displacement. Increasing securitisation of migration within Africa — from surveillance to mass arrests, pushbacks and deportations — has resulted in greater risks for migrants and refugees.
In 2025, the Middle East saw deep instability. Gaza’s population faced starvation, bombardment, and repeated displacement under Israel’s offensive and blockade. Escalations involving Israel in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Yemen left tensions high and impacted mixed migration dynamics. Post-Assad Syria saw tentative returns, while migrant workers in the Gulf continued to face exploitation and limited protection.
The US administration’s new asylum and immigration policies in 2025 have reverberated across the Americas. The upheaval has left many asylum seekers stranded in Mexico or en route in Central America and driven reverse migration back towards South America.
Irregular migration to Europe dipped in 2024 and early 2025, though some routes saw a resurgence. A more hostile mood towards migrants and refugees is reflected in deportation drives, rising intra-EU border controls, and the rollback of resettlement, migrant welfare and family reunification.
In 2025, the situation for migrants and refugees in Asia became more precarious. The forced return of millions of Afghans continued, while Rohingya faced increasingly hostile policies across the region, including detentions and deportations. Governance challenges and weak protections for migrant workers contributed to migration-related vulnerability.
Each year, the Mixed Migration Centre runs an essay competition for young and emerging writers, researchers and thinkers from the Global South. Here we showcase five essay winners from the 2025 competition selected for their unique perspectives on current mixed migration issues.
Each year, the Mixed Migration Review features two companion reports — Normalising the extreme and Resisting the extreme. In 2025, the former is crowded with harmful migration practices, while the latter offers only a handful of positive actions amid an increasingly restrictive landscape.
London, UK, 2025.
Explore in‑depth analysis, data, and stories on mixed migration dynamics, featuring regional overviews, migrant voices, and expert insights.
