MPI's Migration Information Source Newsletter

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June 2, 2021

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Feature
Mexico's Search for Disappeared Migrants Has Evolved, but Challenges Remain
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/mexico-search-disappeared-migrants
Tens of thousands of migrants have gone missing in Mexico in recent years, with the country having one of world's highest rates of disappeared persons. In 2015, the Mexican government created institutions to investigate these cases and work with the missing migrants' families, who are often their most vocal advocates. This article explores the reasons why migrants disappear, as well the institutions established to investigate cases and their impact.

U.S. Policy Beat
Slowing U.S. Population Growth Could Prompt New Pressure for Immigration Reform
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/slowing-us-population-growth-immigration-reform
Results from the 2020 census show that the U.S. population has been growing at its slowest rate since the Great Depression. Reduced immigration has been one component of this sluggish population growth, which could pose a problem for the United States as people age and strain public retirement systems. This U.S. Policy Beat article examines how immigration fits into the country's demographic puzzle.


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EDITOR'S NOTE

Natural disasters last year caused three times as many displacements of people as incidents of conflict. That was one of the findings of a new report released in May by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), which recorded 40.5 million displacements globally during 2020.

According to the data, 9.8 million displacements within countries were the result of conflict and violence-mostly in Africa and the Middle East; 30.7 million were due to disasters. Among these disasters, nearly all displacements were weather-related, prompted by severe storms, floods, wildfires, or other events. In all, the number of displacements in 2020 was the highest in a decade and cumulatively there were more than twice as many internally displaced people (IDPs) as international refugees.

Afghanistan hosted the most people internally displaced at the end of 2020 due to disasters, at more than 1.1 million people. Another 3.5 million were displaced within the country due to violence. The largest number of IDPs due to conflict was in Syria, where nearly 6.6 million people were living away from their homes as of the end of 2020.

The IDMC's findings are startling, but not necessarily unexpected. Extreme disasters have continued to spur displacement and international migration so far this year. In eastern India last week, more than 1.2 million people were evacuated ahead of Cyclone Yaas's landfall, which came just days after Cyclone Tauktae struck the western coast. The country's top meteorological official said the increasing frequency of intense cyclones in the Arabian Sea might be linked to climate change.

The Migration Information Source has published a collection of articles analyzing how climatic events and the impacts of climate change affect, prompt, and in some cases potentially halt migration. We also have a podcast on the subject, called Changing Climate, Changing Migration.

Of course, natural disasters are not necessarily related to a changing climate. As many as one million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) city of Goma have been ordered to evacuate following the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo, which killed dozens. As in many cases, disasters, conflict, and broader issues of political and social instability combine to compel people to flee to safety; the eastern DRC has experienced protracted violence for years, and more than 2 million people had already been displaced by the conflict in the North Kivu province.

The IDMC's report is the latest evidence that natural disasters are among the most pressing causes of displacement today. But it is also a reminder that the drivers of forced migration do not act in isolation. Often they compound.


Best regards,

Julian Hattem

Editor, Migration Information Source

[email protected]


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NEW FROM MPI

U.S. Government Makes Significant Strides in Receiving Unaccompanied Children but Major Challenges Remain
www.migrationpolicy.org/news/unaccompanied-children-emergency-intake-site-challenges
By Mark Greenberg

Taking Stock of Dual Language Learner Identification and Strengthening Procedures and Policies
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/dual-language-learner-identification-procedures-policies
By Melissa Lazarín and Maki Park

EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration: Crafting a Road Map to Better Cooperation with Migrants' Countries of Origin
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/eu-strategy-voluntary-return-origin-countries
By Camille Le Coz

Ending the Invisibility of Dual Language Learners in Early Childhood Systems: A Framework for DLL Identification
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/framework-dual-language-learner-identification
By Maki Park and Delia Pompa


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HAVE YOU READ?

As Its Population Ages, Japan Quietly Turns to Immigration
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/its-population-ages-japan-quietly-turns-immigration

When Disaster Strikes: Responding to Migrants Caught in Crises
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/when-disaster-strikes-responding-migrants-caught-crises

Climate Change, Displacement, and Managed Retreat in Coastal India
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/climate-change-displacement-managed-retreat-india


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MEDIA CORNER

Cathryn Costello, Michelle Foster, and Jane McAdam are the editors of "The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law."
[link removed]

Giles Merritt, founder of the think tank Friends of Europe, is the author of "People Power: Why We Need More Migrants."
www.bloomsbury.com/us/people-power-9780755606566/

In "Man at the Airport: How Social Media Saved My Life – One Syrian's Story," Hassan Al Kontar writes about his months-long stay in the arrivals zone at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
www.tidewaterpress.ca/man-at-the-airport/

"The Other Side of Hope: Journeys in Refugee and Immigrant Literature" is a new literary magazine edited by refugees and immigrants in the United Kingdom.
[link removed]

Law professor Alison Peck examines an underexplored side of the U.S. immigration system in "The Accidental History of the U.S. Immigration Courts: War, Fear, and the Roots of Dysfunction."
www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520381179/the-accidental-history-of-the-us-immigration-courts

"Tread Brightly: Notes on Ethical Travel" features essays on the implications of study abroad programs, tourism, and other types of travel, edited by Sarika Bansal with Hassan Ghedi Santur and Marion Durand.
www.treadbrightlybook.com/

Together with members of the Rohingya community, the International Organization for Migration has launched the online Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre to document and preserve the Rohingya people's heritage.
[link removed]


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