We are now halfway through 2024, a year that already has provided electoral shocks and other major global developments. Elections are a major theme of the year, with an estimated half the globe going to the polls at some point in 2024. They are also a theme of some of the articles published by the Migration Information Source so far. For instance, did you know that migrants globally are increasingly able to vote both in their countries of origin and destination? While rules regarding immigrants’ voting are often mischaracterized—and unauthorized immigrants are generally barred from participating in elections—legally present noncitizens can vote at some level in about 50 countries, and emigrants from 141 origin countries can vote in elections from abroad. The article Globally, Voting Rights Have Increased for Immigrants and Emigrants traces the evolution of these rights and how migrants’ voting patterns compare to those of the native born and nonmigrants. As the United States barrels towards November elections, there may be no policy issue debated more intensely than immigration. We review President Joe Biden’s record so far—and how it compares to former President Donald Trump’s—in Biden at the Three-Year Mark: The Most Active Immigration Presidency Yet Is Mired in Border Crisis Narrative. Looking to put current immigration trends in context? Turn to our incredibly useful guide to the Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States. There will soon be a new president in Mexico, once President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum takes office in October. As Francisco Alba explains in Mexico at a Crossroads Once More: Emigration Levels Off as Transit Migration and Immigration Rise, the country is at an inflection point, juggling new pressures as a country of transit and destination. When politicians in the Global North debate migration, it is often in reference to record levels of international displacement that have prompted questions about whether the globe is abandoning its decades-old commitment to international protection. Our article Is the Humanitarian Protection System Falling Apart or Quietly Evolving? considers this key question. In many cases, immigration anxieties center on whether there is enough housing to support new arrivals. Global Affordable Housing Shortages Can Harm Migrant Reception and Integration puts these concerns into context, illustrating the severe housing shortage worldwide and its ramifications for immigration and integration policies. Both humanitarian and housing pressures are on display in Ireland, a former largely migrant-origin country that now finds itself with a swelling immigrant population. A Small Country with a Huge Diaspora, Ireland Navigates Its New Status as an Immigration Hub tracks the emerald isle’s rapid about-face in recent decades. Finally, this year also marks five decades of the Philippines’ labor export program, a landmark effort to boost the country’s economic development by providing workers for industries around the world. Since taking office two years ago, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has seemed to double down on the labor export strategy launched by his father, as The Philippines’ Landmark Labor Export and Development Policy Enters the Next Generation describes. The next six months are likely to be just as eventful. Thank you for reading the Migration Information Source and please share our sign-up link with your friends and colleagues who might appreciate our analysis. Your support is greatly valued. Best regards, Julian Hattem
Editor, Migration Information Source
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