E.g., 07/24/2026
E.g., 07/24/2026
Kate Hooper
Experts & Staff
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Kate Hooper

Senior Policy Analyst

(202) 266-1942

 

Kate Hooper is a Senior Policy Analyst with MPI’s International Program, where she leads MPI’s global work on labor migration. Her areas of research include legal migration pathways, fair and ethical recruitment, the implications of remote work and other nontraditional working arrangements for immigrant selection systems, labor market integration, and complementary pathways for displaced populations.

Ms. Hooper has advised governments and intergovernmental organizations on legal migration pathways and opportunities to adapt immigration and immigrant integration policies to respond to emerging labor market trends. She had a part-time secondment to the United Nations Development Program, where she conducted an internal review of UNDP’s programming on return and sustainable reintegration.

Ms. Hooper is the primary point person for the Transatlantic Council on Migration, MPI’s flagship international initiative that brings together senior policymakers, experts, and other stakeholders to discuss responses to pressing migration, protection, and immigrant integration issues.

She holds a master’s degree with honors from the University of Chicago’s Committee on International Relations, and a bachelor of the arts degree in history from the University of Oxford. She also holds a certificate in international political economy from the London School of Economics.

Bio Page Tabs

Cover image for Creating Inclusive Urban Economies for Migrants and Refugees
Reports
May 2026
By  Kate Hooper, María Jesús Mora, Abigail Goldfarb and Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
Cover image for Building Refugee-Inclusive Labor Mobility Pathways
Reports
February 2026
By  María Belén Zanzuchi, Kate Hooper and Abigail Goldfarb
Cover image for Best Practices for Designing and Managing Labour Migration Corridors to Europe
Reports
December 2025
By  Kate Hooper, María Belén Zanzuchi, Abigail Goldfarb, Ravenna Sohst and Bertrand Steiner
Cover image for How Can Labor Migration Policies Help Tackle Europe’s Looming Skills Crisis?
Reports
June 2025
By  Kate Hooper, Tesseltje de Lange and Jasmijn Slootjes
Cover image for Migration Governance in Unsettled Times
Policy Briefs
April 2025
By  Meghan Benton, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan and Kate Hooper
Cover image for The Role of Immigrant Workers in the Green Transition
Policy Briefs
September 2024
By  Kate Hooper and Lawrence Huang
Cover image for Engaging Employers in Growing Refugee Labor Pathways
Reports
July 2024
By  Emma Dorst, Kate Hooper, Meghan Benton and Beatrice Dain
Cover image for Competing for Talent policy brief
Policy Briefs
April 2024
By  Kate Hooper and Ravenna Sohst

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Migrants on a boat

European leaders in 2017 pursued migration partnerships with North African countries, seeking to stem maritime arrivals across the Mediterranean. Italy struck a deal with Libya to provide support in cracking down on illegal migration and smugglers, while Germany signed cooperation agreements with Egypt and Tunisia. Meanwhile, widespread reports of migrant abuse in Libya are prompting questions about the limitations and human costs of these partnerships.

Brexit dgeezer Flickr

The United Kingdom's stunning decision to leave the European Union in June 2016, intertwined with rising concerns over migration, marked a significant setback to key objectives of the European project, including the right to free movement. Amid growing euroskepticism across the continent, it remains to be seen if the European Union will be able to reassert leadership to address migration and other issues in 2017 and beyond.

Cover Top10 10InvestorVisas

A number of countries in 2015 redesigned their immigrant investor visa programs in response to questions about their economic benefits or allegations of fraud. The reforms have in some cases made such programs far more costly and encouraged investment in higher-risk assets. Applications for such visas have fallen signficantly in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as policymakers may have overestimated demand.

Cover SPT China2015

With the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943 and normalization of U.S.-China relations in the late 1970s, Chinese immigration to the United States has steadily increased, to a population of more than 2 million. Using the latest data, this Spotlight highlights characteristics of Chinese immigrants from mainland China and Hong Kong, including their top state and metro areas of residence, immigration pathways, educational attainment, and more.

Cover Top10 3Borders UNHCR

In 2014 governments in Europe, North America, and Australia reacted to significant mixed flows of humanitarian, economic, and family-stream migrants with a range of new policies. These came as some migrants presented themselves to authorities for processing rather than trying to evade U.S. or European border controls, with the knowledge that backlogs and little political will for the removal of vulnerable populations might allow them to stay for extended periods.

Worker holds stack of paperwork
Short Reads
December 2025
By  Kate Hooper, Nurbanu Hayır and María Belén Zanzuchi
Graphic image of man's hand touching screen with word skills
Short Reads
July 2023
By  Kate Hooper, Jeanne Batalova and Julia Gelatt
Image of women and young children from Ukraine arriving at train station in Bucharest
Short Reads
October 2022
By  Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Kate Hooper
SeasonalWorkerCommentary ClausBunks Flickr
Short Reads
March 2020
By  Kate Hooper and Camille Le Coz
Video, Audio
February 26, 2026

This webinar explored labor migration pathways as a potential avenue for qualified refugees to access protection in Europe while helping meet destination countries’ skill needs. Speakers examined ways to make work visas more accessible to qualified refugees and how to remove barriers that prevent refugees from entering via the labor pathway. 

Video, Audio
December 11, 2025

Featuring discussion of a study that examines best practices for designing and managing labor migration corridors between EU Member States and partner countries, this webinar offers insights on how to connect employers and workers, promote skills development, protect migrant workers, and maximize benefits for both countries of origin and

The World Is Going Greener. What Role Can Immigrants Play?
Expert Q&A, Audio
December 12, 2024

Many countries need more workers to fill jobs in clean energy and other sectors that are critical in the fight against climate change. In this episode of our podcast Changing Climate, Changing Migration, Migration Policy Institute senior policy analyst Kate Hooper discusses the role immigrants can play.

Image of USCIS Director Ur Jaddou
Video, Audio
April 11, 2023

Marking the launch of MPI’s Global Skills and Talent Initiative, this webcast features senior policymakers and other experts discussing the extent to which labor market needs should shape future immigration policy decisions, and how countries are adjusting—and could adjust—their immigration systems to meet human capital and competitiveness needs.

Expert Q&A, Audio
March 15, 2023

Investor visa programs have become popular for countries seeking to attract foreign investment and stimulate economic growth. But how exactly do these programs work, and what are the potential benefits and drawbacks? MPI’s Kate Hooper speaks with Madeleine Sumption, the director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, about the range of investment visa programs, applicants’ motives, and more.

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Recent Activity

Reports
May 2026

Migrants and refugees make up notable shares of the workforce in many cities. By creating an environment in which they can find work, apply their skills, and thrive, urban areas can set themselves up to weather current and future economic changes, including the green and digital transitions. Drawing on a scan of city practices on four continents, this report examines the experiences and policy approaches of cities around the world.

Video, Audio, Webinars
February 26, 2026

This webinar explored labor migration pathways as a potential avenue for qualified refugees to access protection in Europe while helping meet destination countries’ skill needs. Speakers examined ways to make work visas more accessible to qualified refugees and how to remove barriers that prevent refugees from entering via the labor pathway. 

Reports
February 2026

When refugees can access mainstream work visas, this offers opportunities to find safety while also helping destination countries meet pressing labor needs. Yet the design of many work visas puts them out of reach for well-qualified refugees. This visa evaluation framework and scorecard highlight how different characteristics can make a visa more or less accessible, transparent, and predictable.

Short Reads
December 2025

The European Commission's forthcoming visa strategy must be complemented by national-level policy change given that EU-wide channels represent a small share of total legal migration pathways to Europe. To compete more fully for global talent, European governments will need faster, clearer, and more predictable visa procedures, as this short read explains.

Video, Audio, Webinars
December 11, 2025

Featuring discussion of a study that examines best practices for designing and managing labor migration corridors between EU Member States and partner countries, this webinar offers insights on how to connect employers and workers, promote skills development, protect migrant workers, and maximize benefits for both countries of origin and destination.

Reports
December 2025

Labor and skills shortages threaten the European Union’s economic growth. Attracting workers with sought-after skills from abroad will be an important means of addressing these challenges. This report examines best practices for designing and managing labor migration corridors between EU and non-EU countries, with the aim of benefiting countries of destination and origin, employers, and migrant workers alike.

Reports
June 2025

European employers are increasingly reporting difficulties finding workers with the right mix of skills, in sectors ranging from health care to information and communications technology. Alongside investments in workforce training and reskilling, a more joined-up EU approach to attracting and admitting immigrant workers with in-demand skills could help European societies address these shortages, as this report describes.

Policy Briefs
April 2025

Even as advanced economies with aging populations are increasingly reliant on immigrant workers, concerns have grown about how immigration could affect the cost of living and public infrastructure, causing support for even lawful immigration to wane. This issue brief explores why long-term planning is so challenging—yet essential—in the migration policy sphere, and identifies ways to create room for this strategic thinking.

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