Migration
Global Migration
Migration is a hot button issue, frequently in the news, but migration-related terms and trends are widely misunderstood.
Migrant is a general term that refers to anyone who moves from one place of residence to another with the intention of staying for an extended period of time. Counter to the globalization narrative, the vast majority of the world’s migrants—approximately 80%—never leave their home country. They are known as internal migrants.
Those who do relocate to another country are called international migrants. According to the United Nations, there are an estimated 304 million international migrants in the world today, representing just over 3.5% of the world’s total population. While the absolute number of migrants has increased steadily over time, global migration as a share of total population has remained surprisingly consistent for more than a century.
While some migrants move voluntarily for work or school, or to reunite with family, others are forced to migrate to escape hardship like poverty, war, political persecution, or natural disasters. Data reported by the United Nations suggests that forced migration is a growing problem, with more than 120 million people forcibly displaced in 2024—or approximately 1 in every 67 people on Earth.
When a migrant resides in a destination country without permission, they are known as an undocumented migrant. Some politicians refer to them as “illegal aliens” to suggest that they are criminals and outsiders. However, most undocumented migrants have broken no criminal laws, as immigration violations are typically civil offenses, not criminal ones. Moreover, many undocumented migrants have deep ties to the communities where they live. For example, a recent study by the non-partisan Center for Migration Studies found that over half of the estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States have lived in this country for more than a decade, and about 5.1 million U.S. citizen children live in a household with an undocumented family member.
For more information:
https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/
https://www.unhcr.org/global-trends-report-2024
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/455478/how-migration-really-works-by-haas-hein-de/9780241998762
https://cmsny.org/publications/2024-mass-deportation-program-devastate-american-families-101024/