Phiel Daphine Nacionales

BAC ZGE1102

How COVID-19 has changed the face of global migration?

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed human mobility for those of us washing our

hands vigorously and avoiding social contact. But in addition to these disruptions to

daily life, the pandemic could be fundamentally changing the face of global migration.

Much has been made of the important health and economic implications of COVID-19

that could linger well after workers return to work and travelers start traveling again. But

the current global cessation of movement is unprecedented in modern times. Some are

comparing the current pandemic to the so-called “Spanish Flu” of 1918, but from one

important perspective the two pandemics differ greatly: the face of global migration was

much different in the wake of WWI than in 2020. Thus, COVID-19 is likely to have

lasting migration implications long after people, health systems, and the economy

bounce back.

Not everyone wants to leave home, of course, but many (and many more than in 1918)

see migration as at least one future pathway, whether it be permanently or temporarily

with the hopes to one day return home. In many ways, the global economy relies on

people making decisions to migrate: Central American tomato pickers in Florida,

Bangladeshi construction workers in Abu Dhabi, and Indian entrepreneurs in

Melbourne. Global migration has proven to be an integral and necessary part of our

globalized economy, though its face has looked different in every region, country, and
city, as well as to each family. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing a shift in migration

rhetoric to include individual health security. Limitations on movement, while necessary

to manage the virus, can make it difficult for migrants and asylum seekers to access

protection, and may exacerbate inequality, discrimination and exploitation.

This new migration rhetoric will have long-term implications for socioeconomic inclusion

and social cohesion. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic and the fear of “the other” shifts

migration rhetoric further, by expanding the focus to include the risk to individual health

security, as well. Migrant key workers continue to perform crucial tasks on the front lines

of the global pandemic response. But the shutting down of economies, closure of

borders and fear of the invisible enemy is leading to the hardening of migration policies

around the world – and the rise of a new “health securitization” migration rhetoric.

 There are five ways that covid-19 change the Global Migration. First is the Migrant

labor—the engine of a globalized economy—stops moving. While exemptions

might be made for key professions (e.g., scientists, doctors, journalists, government

leaders), those who travel to work and travel for work may not be able to do so for the

foreseeable future. This will have family, economic, and potentially food security

implications. Migrant workers currently overseas may not be able to get home, and

families already dealing with complicated immigration and visa regimes may experience

prolonged separation for an entirely new reason. It is conceivable that, in response to

current and future quarantines or “stay at home” orders, businesses will also accelerate

development of automation capabilities, thereby removing some jobs often filled by

migrants more quickly. 2nd is the Global inequality increases, some of us are fortunate

enough to work from home during this time, benefiting from not only the requisite

physical and digital infrastructure but also the types of jobs that can be taken online.

Many labor migrants—especially of the low-skilled variety—do not have the option to

work from home. Like many lower-income people, they must physically go to work,

putting them at greater risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 and putting them in

further jeopardy because many do not have access to appropriate, financially-

accessible health care. According to the United Nations, “[migrants] and their families

are often part of marginalized and vulnerable groups that are already experiencing

economic hardship as a result of containment measures.” In an extreme case, that

could become more the norm as the pandemic worsens. For example, Iranian hospitals

are refusing to treat Afghan migrants, resulting in many returning home to a country with

a health infrastructure all but destroyed after decades of conflict. 3 rd is the Faucets turn

off more easily than they turn on. Though many migration pathways will reopen after

the threat of COVID-19 disappears, some political leaders such as Orbán will see

current migration restrictions as an opportunity to reinforce broader, longer-term

agendas built around xenophobia and the “othering” of migrants. As deaths inevitably

increase in the days and weeks ahead, these leaders will have increasing public

support for tighter short-term migration restrictions. What the public does not realize is

that it may not be as easy to turn the flow of migration back on after it has been turned

off. 4th is the Forced migrants are unable to move, keeping vulnerable people in
harm’s way. Though this commentary focuses heavily on the potential longer-term

implications of restrictions to labor migration, already vulnerable forced migrants will

also suffer from fewer movement options. Already at risk of COVID-19, the forcibly

displaced—refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons—and other

forced migrants are also faced with diminished institutional capacity offering them

support. In Italy, this means that recently arriving asylum seekers face mandatory two-

week quarantines and vastly fewer or no integration services even after the 14 days due

to mandatory country-wide restrictions on workers going to work. If forced migrants—

such as those coming to Italy via Libya—are seen as bringing COVID-19 with them,

public opinion from Sicily to Sweden will undoubtedly harden in ways that will not soon

go away. And lastly, Global migration goes increasingly into the shadows. There is

growing evidence that limits on safe, orderly, and regular migration push vulnerable

people—as many as 100 million globally —into shadowy irregular pathways. As

I wrote recently, “[irregular] migration exists because there are not enough opportunities

for safety and prosperity at home and too few regular means through which to remedy

that lack of opportunities.” COVID-19 means that there are fewer regular means for

migration than there were a couple months ago. When combined, the economic,

inequality, political, and displacement-related implications discussed above will only

increase desperation at a time when fewer migration pathways exist. In such a scenario,

those feeling compelled to move will do so increasingly using smugglers, traffickers, and

other illicit groups. Migration will be increasing in and among developing countries with

weaker health systems and rule of law. Irregular migrants will travel in close quarters

with other people. They will cross international boundaries without documentation or
health checks. In the age of COVID-19, they will also put themselves, their fellow

travelers, and anyone in their extended path at grave risk.