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There is a growing need for policy that is relevant and realistic, not just a product of one authoritative voice, but a collective of voices. Migrants, especially migrant youth, need to be a part of the process. The changes in the legal and procedural policies need to occur not just in writing, but in practice as well. To do so, we must re-evaluate the prejudice and stigma that has grown around migrant workers enduring less than average working conditions in host countries.
In 2015, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) developed the Migration Governance Framework (MiGOF) to help define what a well-managed migration policy might look like at the national level. That same year, IOM’s member states welcomed the MiGOF, and the Migration Governance Indicators (MGI) was developed shortly after to put the MiGOF into action.
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) outlines the importance of technology in relation to migration in their briefing. Migrants with skills in the technology & information sector contribute in significant ways to innovation and research. Migrants and diaspora groups also are important channels in transferring technology from host countries back to countries of origin, through direct knowledge, remittances sent back home, and investments in enterprise development and research institutions.
It appears that receiving migrants is not an easy choice for governments to make as well. There have been claims in the UK that migrants, especially non-nationals working lower-wage jobs, are draining the welfare system and costing the government millions of pounds a year. This led to the speculation that perhaps the welfare system was being exploited by EU migrants. The Daily Mail published an article in 2013 discussing the data. Experts consulted didn’t find any reason to believe that migrants are explicitly to blame. However, it did very little in changing the sentiment around migrants.
The Missing Migrants Project by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports a staggering 3,123 migrant fatalities recorded worldwide in 2018 (November 5, 2018). This data comes from IOM, national authorities, and media sources, “tracking incidents which involve migrants, including refugees and asylum-seekers, who have died or gone missing in the process of of migration towards an international destination.”
