Impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic
on migration

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted

migrants throughout the globe. Low-skilled
migrants, refugees, and internally-
displaced migrants are at a higher risk of
contracting the virus. The pandemic has
also aggravated the dangers of already-
dangerous migration routes. Since the
outbreak of COVID-19, international
organizations have recorded a spike in
human rights abuses suffered by migrants,
especially in Africa, Latin America, and
Asia. The restrictions on travel, imposed
as a measure to contain the virus, have
resulted in a rise in "stranded migrants,"
individuals who want to return to their
home countries but cannot.

Impacts on migrant health

Low-wage labor migrants …

Low-skilled labor migrants have

contracted the pandemic in
disproportionately high rates than citizens.
According to the International
Organization for Migration, a United
Nations-affiliated agency, poverty is a
major cause in the spread of COVID-19
among migrant populations in relation to
citizens. Low-income migrant workers
tend to live in crowded housing, perform
strenuous work, and eat poorly, all of
which put them at higher risk of
contracting COVID-19. The share of
immigrant workers living in poverty is high
in several OECD countries (32 percent in
Spain, 25 percent in the United States, and
30 percent in Italy in 2017). Pandemic-
triggered unemployment has affected
citizens and migrants alike, but since
migrants do not benefit from government
relief packages, they become more
impoverished and therefore more likely to
contract the virus. Furthermore, low-wage
migrants have limited familiarity with
available health resources, whether
because of language barriers or because
they have limited exposure to official
medical directives. Low-income migrants
also lack access to the same levels of
health insurance as citizens. Moreover,
migrants are overrepresented in sectors
defined as essential, both because they
tend to work in infrastructure sectors (in
2020, 69 percent of all migrants in the
United States worked in essential
infrastructure jobs), and because they tend
to work in jobs where working from home
is impossible. In Saudi Arabia and
Singapore, migrants made up 75 percent
and 94 percent, respectively of all new
confirmed cases in May-June 2020.[1][2][3]
Refugees and internally-displaced
migrants
…

Refugees are among the most vulnerable

to COVID-19, especially those residing in
camps and temporary shelters. They are at
heightened risk of contracting diseases
because of their poverty, overcrowded
living conditions limited access to medical
services, and exclusion from benefits
given to citizens. Refugees and asylum
seekers make up about 10 percent of all
international migrants, and according to
the International Organization for
Migration, the 20 countries with the
highest number of COVID-19 infections are
home to 9.2 million refugees, almost half
of all refugees worldwide. Internally-
displaced migrants - individuals displaced
within their own country - are similarly
vulnerable. At the end of 2019, there were
50.8 million people internally displaced,
45.7 million of them due to conflict and 5.1
million in the context of disasters. These
internally-displaced persons are
particularly vulnerable to pandemics,
especially those among them over the age
of 60, who number 3.7 million.

Even after the outbreak of COVID-19,

migrants continue to cross the Central
Mediterranean, described by the
International Organization for Migration as
the most dangerous maritime migration
route worldwide. An estimated 4,056
people attempted this crossing in August
2020 (up from 3,477 in the same month in
2019), although Italy's port closures and
suspension of search and rescue
operations, in response to COVID-19, have
made the crossing deadlier than before.
Some 283 individuals are known to have
died on this route between March and
August 2020, and the lack of rescue boats
suggests that more shipwrecks have gone
unnoticed.[3][2]

Impact on human rights of

migrants
The Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), a non-
profit focusing on migrants' human rights,
found that migrants report a rise in abuse
and human rights violations since the start
of the pandemic. Between July and August
2020, the MMC surveyed 3,569
respondents in Africa, Latin America, and
Asia, and found that since the COVID-19
pandemic began, migrants have faced
increased risks of arbitrary arrest and
detention, deportation, theft, bribery and
extortion, domestic violence, sexual
exploitation, and labor exploitation.
Notably high shares of respondents in
East Africa (65%) and Latin America (55%)
perceived a rise in arbitrary arrests and
detention. Although the proportion of
respondents reporting such a rise was
lower in Asia as a whole (33%), the
majority of respondents in Malaysia (82%)
perceived an increased risk of being
rounded up and imprisoned.[4]
Restrictions on travel and
migration
Governments around the globe have
issued migration restrictions, including
absolute bans on incoming travel. The
International Organization for Migration
recorded that as of June 2020, a total of
216 countries established over 45,300
travel restrictions to contain the spread of
COVID-19. Of 763 surveyed airports
around the globe, 69 percent were partially
or fully closed. Over 80 percent of land
border crossings were partially or fully
closed.[2] The imposition of closures and
bans have left a substantial number of
migrants stranded, meaning desiring but
unable to return home. These stranded
migrants include seasonal workers,
international students, temporary visa
holders, and migrants who travelled for
medical treatment. These migrants are
often ineligible for government assistance
due to their migratory status, resulting in
hundreds of families falling into extreme
poverty. People at sea ("seafarers") face
additional mobility issues due to COVID-19
travel restrictions. Large numbers of
maritime personnel, including fishermen
and employees on cruise ships and cargo
vessels, have been stranded at sea for
months.[5]

See also
 Xenophobia and racism related to the
COVID-19 pandemic

References
1. Guadagno, Lorenzo (2020). MRS No. 60 –
Migrants and the COVID-19 pandemic: An
initial analysis (PDF). Migration Research
Series. International Organization for
Migration.
2. Pernitez-Agan, Sweetmavourneen (June 22,
2020). "Bibliometric analysis on Covid-19 in
the context of migration health" (PDF).
 International Organization for Migration.
Retrieved October 9, 2020.
3. "Migration Data Portal" . International
Organization for Migration. Retrieved
October 9, 2020.
4. "Impact of COVID-19 on protection risks for
refugees and migrants" . Mixed Migration
Centre. 2 October 2020. Retrieved
October 13, 2020.
5. "Covid-19 Impact on Stranded Migrants"
(PDF). International Organization for
Migration. September 30, 2020. Retrieved
October 16, 2020.
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