The Impact of Irregular Status on Human Development Outcomes for Migrants

Sabates-Wheeler, Rachel (2009): The Impact of Irregular Status on Human Development Outcomes for Migrants. Published in: Human Development Research Paper (HDRP) Series , Vol. 26, No. 2009

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore how irregular status impacts a range of human development outcomes for labour migrants. The analysis indicates that for poorer labour migrants, irregular (or undocumented) migration provides a positive, private return to income and livelihood improvements for themselves and their families as compared to 1) no movement at all, and at times, 2) regular (or documented) migration. However, irregular status is associated with a range of forms of disadvantage and vulnerabilities that often compromise migrants’ rights, entitlements and the rate of return they achieve from the migration process. Migrants are as rational as other members of the population and, being aware of these vulnerabilities, many still choose to migrate. The larger hypothesis of this paper is that, as long as poverty drives migration, legal status will not be a priority for migrants. Migrants will be willing to endure short to medium term hardship and the undermining of a range of capabilities and rights (such as education, social assets, rights and personal welfare) to provide economic safety nets for their families and future improvements to their (and their families) livelihoods and wellbeing. As long as migrants on average achieve a positive increase in income and assets through the migration experience (which they do) they will sacrifice a whole range of freedoms and rights. It is therefore imperative that policy makers make active steps to protect migrants with regard to basic human rights and facilitate positive outcomes from their migration experiences. In particular, we urge southern governments to advocate for all their migrants abroad, regardless of legal status. If southern country governments accept the mainstream opinion that migration is good for development, and furthermore recognise that a substantial number, if not the majority, of their migrants are irregular, and continue sending remittances and investment, then governments should seek to protect their citizens aboard, facilitate safe remittances, and begin to stand firm in the face of pressure to control national borders.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Irregular status, migration, vulnerability, poverty, protection
• Subjects: Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O15 - Human Resources ; Human Development ; Income Distribution ; Migration

References

Alexeev, M (2008) ‘Interacting through Migration: How Can Russia Benefit and Learn From Its Asian Neighbors?’ PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 1. Accessed at: http://ceres.georgetown.edu/esp/ponarsmemos/page/51605.html Amnesty International, 2006, ‘Living in the Shadows: A Primer on the Human Rights of Migrants’.

Amuedo-Dorantes, C; Bansak, C (2006): ‘Money Transfers among Banked and Unbanked Mexican Immigrants,’ Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 73(2), pp. 374-401.

Anderson, B; Rogaly, B (2005): ‘Forced labour and migration to the UK’, COMPAS

Anderson, B; Ruhs, M; Rogaly, B; Spencer, S (2006): ‘Fair enough? Central and East European migrants in low-wage employment in the UK’. Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Batalova, J & Fix, M (2006): ‘New Estimates of Unauthorized Youth Eligible for Legal Status under the DREAM Act’, MPI. BBC (2000): ‘Morocco condemns anti-immigrant violence’, February 8, 2000 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/635726.stm

Caritas (2006): ‘Migration, a journey into poverty?’ 3rd Report on poverty in Europe. Brussels.

Collyer, M (2006): ‘States of insecurity: Consequences of Saharan transit migration’. Compas working paper no.31. Accessed at: http://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/publications/Working%20papers/WP0631-Collyer.pdf

Caouette, T M; Pack, M E (2002): ‘Pushing Past The Definitions: Migration From Burma To Thailand’. Report for Refugees International and Open Society Institute. Available online at http://burmalibrary.org/docs/Caouette&Pack.htm

Cornelius, W (2006): ‘Impacts of Border Enforcement on Unauthorized Mexican Migration to the United States’. Social Science Research Council online publication. Accessed at: http://borderbattles.ssrc.org/Cornelius/.

Donato, K M.; Durand, J; Massey, D. (1992) Stemming the Tide? Assessing the Deterrent Effects of the Immigration Reform and Control Act.’ Demography 29, 139–57.

Dowd, R., 2008, Trapped in transit: the plight and human rights of stranded migrants, Research Paper No. 156 , UNHCR, Policy Development and Evaluation Service

Earnest, D (2003): ‘Noncitizen Voting Rights: A Survey of an Emerging Democratic Norm’. Paper delivered at the 2003 annual convention of the American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 28-31. Accessed at http://www.odu.edu/~dearnest/pdfs/Earnest_APSA_2003.pdf

Elgersma, S (2007): ‘Temporary Foreign Workers’. Report prepared for Parliamentary Information and Research Service, Canada. Accessed at http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/prb0711-e.pdf

Euskirchen, M., H. Lebuhn and G. Ray (2007). ‘From Borderline to Borderland: The Changing European Border Regime’. In: Monthly Review, November 2007.

Evans et al (2005): ‘Making the City Work: Low Paid Employment in London’. Queen Mary College, University of London. Accessed at: http://www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/globalcities/reports/docs/research_report.pdf

(FIDH 2008 – ‘Surplus People? Undocumented and other vulnerable migrants in South Africa’ Federation International des ligues des droits de l’Homme, report No. 468/2. Accessed at: http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/za486a.pdf )

Guardian (2008): ‘South African mobs hunt down immigrants’, May 19, 2008 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/19/southafrica1 Hadley, C; Galea, S; Nandi, V; Nandi, A; Lopez, G; Strongarone, S; Ompad, D (2008): ‘Hunger and health among undocumented Mexican migrants in a US urban area’. Public Health Nutrition, 11:151-158.

Hamood, S (2006): ‘African transit migration through Libya to Europe: the human cost’. American University in Cairo, 2006. Accessed at: http://www.migreurop.org/IMG/pdf/hamoodlibya. pdf

Hanson, G (2006): ‘Illegal Migration from Mexico to the United States’, Working Paper 143, CCIS, University of California-San Diego

ICMPD (2008) ‘Regularisation Practices in the European Union’. Presentation at Metropolis conference workshop – The Future of Regularisations in Europe. 13th International Metropolis Conference, Bonn, 27-31 October 2008

IRR (2003): ‘If they have your passport, they have your life’. Accessed at: http://www.irr.org.uk/2003/august/ak000004.html

Kaushal, N (2006) ‘Amnesty Programs and the Labor Market Outcomes of Undocumented Workers.’ Journal of Human Resources, 41(3): 631–47

Koetsawang, P (2001): In Search of Sunlight: Burmese migrant workers in Thailand. Bangkok: Orchid Press.

Koser, K. (2008): ‘Why migrant smuggling pays’. International Migration Vol. 46 (2).

Lahlou, M (2005): ‘Les migrations irréguilières entre le Maghreb et l’Union européenne : évolutions récentes’ Rapports de recherche CARIM-RR 2005/03

Law, S; Hutton, M; Chan, D (2003): ‘Brief Report: Clinical, Social, and Service Use Characteristics of Fuzhounese Undocumented Immigrant Patients’ Psychiatr Serv 54:1034-1037

Mansuri, G. (2006): ‘Migration, School Attainment and Child Labour: Evidence from Rural Pakistan’. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 3945, Washington DC.

Massey, D S (1987): ‘Do Undocumented Migrants Earn Lower Wages than Legal Immigrants? New Evidence from Mexico’ International Migration Review, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 236-274

Massey, D. S. (2005) Backfire at the Border: Why Enforcement Without Legalization Cannot Stop Illegal Immigration. Washington, DC: Cato Institute.

Massey, D; Durand, J; Capoferro, C (2005) ‘The New Geography of Mexican Immigration.’ Pp. 1-20 in Rubén Hernández León and Victor Zúniga, eds. New Destinations of Mexican Migration in the United States: Community Formation, Local Responses and Inter-Group Relations. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

McKay, S et al. (2006): ‘Migrant workers in England and Wales: an assessment of migrant worker health and safety risks.’ UK Health and Safety Executive. Accessed at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr502.pdf

Medicins du Monde (2007): ‘It’s necessary to forge respect, not fear’. Medecins du Monde European Observatory on Access to Health Care. Accessed at http://www.medecinsdumonde.org/gb/publications/les_rapports/

Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) (2005) ‘Violence et immigration: Rapport sur l’immigration d’orgine subsaharienne (ISS) en situation irrégulière au Maroc’. MSF : Barcelona

Migration Policy Institute (2007): ‘Adult English Instruction’. Presentation at MPI, Washington DC, 31.7.2007.

Olivier, M. (2008). Report: Regional Overview of Social Protection for Non-Citizens in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Washington DC: The World Bank.

Passel, J. (2006). The Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorised Migrant Population in the US; Estimates Based on the 2005 Current Population Survey. Washington DC: Pew Hispanic Research Center.

PICUM (2007): ‘Report of PICUM International Conference on Access to Health Care for Undocumented Migrants in Europe’. June 28-29, 2007. Accessed online at: http://www.picum.org/HEALTH_CARE/PICUMper cent20Healthper cent20Careper cent20CONFERENCEper cent20REPORTper cent202007per cent20-per cent20ENGLISH1.pdf

Punpuing, S; Caouette, T; Panam, A; Zaw, K M K (2005) ‘Migrant Domestic Workers: From Burma to Thailand’. Available online at: http://iussp2005.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submissionId=52058

Pushpangadan, K (2003): ‘Remittances, consumption and economic growth in Kerala: 1980- 2000’

Raj, A; Silverman, J (2002): ‘Violence Against Immigrant Women: The Roles of Culture, Context, and Legal Immigrant Status on Intimate Partner Violence’. Violence Against Women, Vol. 8 No. 3, 367-398

Reed, M; Westfall, J M; Bublitz, C; Battaglia, C; Fickenscher, A (2005): ‘Birth outcomes in Colorado's undocumented immigrant population’. BMC Public Health, 5:100.

Reuters (2005): ‘Minutemen step up US border patrol; violence feared’. October 1, 2005. Accessed at: http://www.redorbit.com/news/general/257429/minutemen_step_up_us_border_patrol_violence_ feared/

Rossi, A (2008): ‘The Impact of Migration on Children Left Behind in Developing Countries: Existing Evidence and Data.’ paper presented at the Global Forum on Migration and Development, Manila, 27-30 October 2008

Ruhs and Anderson (2006): Semi-Compliance in the Migrant Labour Market, Compas Working Paper, University of Oxford

Sabates-Wheeler, R., J. Avato and J. Koettl (2008). Social Protection for International Migrants (A synthesis report prepared for the UK Department for International Development). Available from authors.

Sabates-Wheeler, R., C. Natali and R, Black (2007). ‘Migration, Legal Status and Poverty: Evidence from Return to Ghana’. Migration DRC Working Paper WP-T19. Brighton: Migration DRC, University of Sussex. Available online at: <http://www.migrationdrc.org/publications/working_papers/WP-T19.pdf>.

Sabates-Wheeler (2008). ‘Migration Outcomes, Legal status and Social Protection: a quantitative study of Malawian returnees from South Africa and the UK’, report prepared for DFID, available from author.

Siegel, M (2008): ‘Immigration and social protection in the Netherlands’. Conference paper presented at ‘Migration and Social Protection: Exploring Issues of Portability and Access’, University of Sussex, November 5-6 2008. Taylor, L (forthcoming): ‘Circular Flows: Ghana Report’. London: IPPR.

Van Liemt, G (2004): ‘Human Trafficking in Europe: An Economic Perspective’. International Labor Standards Forced Labor, Cornell University ILR School. Accessed at: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/forcedlabor/9

UNESA (2009) ‘Trends in total migrant stock: the 2005 revision’. Accessed at: http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/migration/UN_Migrant_Stock_Documentation_2 005.pdf

UNESA (2005): (http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/migration/UN_Migrant_Stock_Documentation_ 2005.pdf)

van Hear, N., R. Brubaker and T. Bessa (2009) "Managing mobility for human development: The growing salience of mixed migration", Human Development Research Paper No. 20. New York: United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report Office.

Wolff, H et al. (2008): ‘Undocumented migrants lack access to pregnancy care and prevention’. BMC Public Health. 2008; 8: 93 accessed at: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2323378

World Bank (2007): ‘World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation’.

Xiang, B (2008): ‘Return migration in Asia’. Presentation at Metropolis Conference on Migration and Development, Bonn, 28-31 October 2008.

YaleGlobal (2006): ‘Europe’s Next Immigration Crisis’, YaleGlobal.com, April 11 2006. Accessed at: http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=7243

World Bank, 2006, Global Economic Prospects 2006, World Bank, Washington DC.