COVID-19 Migration-Related Developments - The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS)

Introduction

The World Health Organization (WHO) received its first report on “cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China” at the end of December 2019. By January 3, 2020, China reported on 44 such cases. By January 8, the “novel coronavirus” had officially crossed international boundaries, with the first case detected in Thailand. By January 30, WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. By that point, the WHO had confirmed 7,818 cases in 18 countries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first US case on January 20 in the state of Washington. By May 15, the United States, a nation with four percent of the world’s population, had experienced 29 percent of the world’s deaths from COVID-19. By May 22, the virus had infected 5.2 million persons worldwide and killed 335,941.

This CMS webpage seeks to provide real-time updates and a record of migration-related developments and policies over the course of the crisis. COVID-19 and its disastrous economic fall-out have decimated migrant, refugee, and other vulnerable populations, and have led to an extraordinary proliferation of restrictions on mobility. The webpage approaches these issues from diverse perspectives.

The US Policy Developments section covers issues, such as the:

Closure of US borders to asylum-seekers, unaccompanied migrant children, and “non-essential” travelers.
Suspension of refugee resettlement and the issuance of visas based on family ties and employment.
The newly implemented “public charge” rule, which serves as a disincentive to immigrants and their families to access public benefits and medical care.
Federal stimulus and relief legislation that excludes and ignores the needs of undocumented immigrants and “mixed-status” families.

The State and Local Developments section – developed in collaboration with the University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy – reports on policy actions by states, counties and cities that have a specific impact on the foreign born and their families. Across the country, jurisdictions with sizable foreign-born populations are taking steps to provide emergency economic relief and access to health care to immigrants excluded from federal benefits.

Global Refugee Developments recounts the diverse contributions of refugees to the pandemic response, the suspension of resettlement, the challenges faced by refugees in camps and urban settings, where social distancing is impossible and health care inadequate; and, the attempt by some to return to dangerous conditions in their home countries.

The Policy Analysis and Research section offers:

Original CMS research on US immigrant essential workers, by state and status.
An extensive analysis (updated weekly) of US detention development during the pandemic, and the spread of COVID within and beyond the US detention system.
Essays on Venezuelan migrants seeking to return home, migrants shelters in Mexico during the pandemic, and the impact of US migration-related COVID-19 policies on communities in Guatemala.
An analysis of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and other legislation.
Short “dispatches” from New York and other affected communities, struggling to fight the pandemic.

CMS’s Webinars cover US essential workers, inclusive local community responses to immigrants, the conditions facing immigrant communities in Louisiana and Mississippi, and immigrant detention in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama during the crisis. The page also includes links to CMS’s weekly digest on international migration issues, Migration Update. Many of the Update’s editions since March 2020 have been devoted exclusively to COVID-19 migration-related developments.

A few key themes emerge from this work. The virus does not honor borders, distinguish between people based on immigration status, or diminish the need for protection of refugees, children, families, or irregular migrants. Neither can efforts to stem the pandemic. Politically driven, nativist policies that seek to benefit one country over another will exacerbate an already calamitous situation. As two infectious disease experts told the New Yorker magazine: “‘A disease anywhere is a disease everywhere’” and “‘There’s no point just protecting your own turf.’” Globalized diseases require a coordinated global response, rooted in solidarity and facts. They also require nations to honor their domestic and international protection obligations. Mobility needs to be “secured” through sensible restrictions, but also through a commitment to the rule of law and to the protection of those who need to migrate. Migration must be managed, but in a way that “respects international human rights and refugee protection standards.”

Similarly, domestic policies that exclude or ignore select groups will exacerbate social inequalities and tensions at a time that demands a unified response. An effective response must embrace the entire community, particularly those most at risk. More than ever, nations and local communities should treat their vulnerable residents – including immigrants and refugees – as full participants in their communities, and not as disposable.

International Developments and Responses amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) data indicates that there are approximately 281 million people living outside of their country of origin and they represent 3.6 percent of the global population. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that by mid-2020, the world’s population of forcibly displaced people and refugees surpassed 80 million. International migrants and the forcibly displaced have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic due to border closures, travel restrictions, unemployment, and xenophobia, racism, and stigmatization. They have been among the world’s most vulnerable persons to the pandemic and its socio-economic consequences.

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