Immigrants significantly benefit the U.S. economy by growing the labor force, filling essential jobs in sectors like services, construction, and tech. In this episode, panelists discuss the effects of recent refugee and immigration policy developments on the U.S. economy.

Background Reading:

• This article outlines the critical role immigrants have long played in boosting the U.S. economy and GDP.
• This article highlights how the second Trump administration has ramped up immigration enforcement, putting pressure on federal, state, and local agencies to meet the president’s deportation goals.

Host: Nelson W. Cunningham, Former President, McLarty Associates; Former Senior Advisor for Economic Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Former Special Advisor on Western Hemisphere Affairs; CFR Member

Guests: Steven A. Camarota, Director of Research, Center for Immigration Studies

Andrea R. Flores, Founder, America’s Promise

Pia Orrenius, Vice President and Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

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To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: Immigration Policy and the U.S. Economy

In this episode, David Miliband, president and chief executive officer of the International Rescue Committee, discusses the new IRC Emergency Watchlist report. The report highlights the countries at highest risk of humanitarian crisis in 2026, and evaluates the international community’s progress and shortcomings.

Background Reading:

• This article discusses Venezuela’s dire humanitarian landscape, as the White House reviews potential military operations in the region.
• This article examines Sudan’s humanitarian crisis, and a stubborn lack of international attention to its plight.

Host: Andrea Mitchell, Chief Washington Correspondent and Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, NBC News

Guest: David Miliband, President and Chief Executive Officer, International Rescue Committee; Former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, United Kingdom

Want more comprehensive analysis of global news and events sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe to CFR’s Daily News Brief newsletter.

To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: Forecasting Humanitarian Risk in 2026: A Conversation with David Miliband.

In this episode, panelists discuss examples of U.S. presidents leveraging executive power to confront political violence, human rights abuses, and other global challenges, highlighting the ways in which presidential leadership has shaped the United States’ legacy of responsibility.

Host: Jacob M. Weisberg, Executive Chair, Pushkin Industries; Chair, Committee to Protect Journalists

Guests: Meena Bose, Executive Dean, Public Policy and Public Service Programs and Director, Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra University; CFR Member

David J. Scheffer, Senior Fellow, CFR

Ruti G. Teitel, Ernst C. Stiefel Professor of Comparative Law and Codirector, Center for International Law, New York Law School

Want more comprehensive analysis of global news and events straight to your inbox? Subscribe to CFR’s Daily News Brief newsletter.

To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit it on our YouTube channel: Reckoning with History: Presidential Leadership and Moral Responsibility.