The Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) applies the best in social science research and policy expertise to understanding international migration and its consequences. Founded in 1998, ISIM is part of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and affiliated with the Law Center at Georgetown University. ISIM focuses on all aspects of international migration, including the causes and responses to population movements, immigration and refugee law and policy, comparative migration studies, immigrant integration in host societies, and the effects of international migration on social, economic, demographic, foreign policy, and national security concerns. ISIM also studies internal displacement, especially the forced migration of people moving for reasons that would make them political or environmental refugees if they crossed an international border. ISIM conducts research and convenes symposia and conferences on U.S. immigration and refugee law and policies. It also undertakes comparative analysis of international migration issues affecting other countries, and of forced migration and responses to humanitarian emergencies.