Press
Release
September 4, 2008
Contact: Michelle Mittelstadt
202-266-1910
mmittelstadt@migrationpolicy.org
New MPI Report
Examines Circular Migration Programs and Finds Improvement
on Temporary Worker Programs of the Past
WASHINGTON – Policymakers in migrant-receiving countries
all over the world are exploring the concept of circular migration
as a way to improve upon the discredited temporary worker
programs of the past. As a new policy tool that allows migrants
to move more freely back and forth between their origin and destination
countries, circular migration increases the likelihood that global
mobility gains will be shared by both – and gives
migrants more options to advance their working lives. Despite
the growing interest, a new Migration Policy Institute report
finds that the concept of circular migration is not well understood
and that the experience of circular programs around the world
remains thin.
The report, Learning
by Doing: Experiences of Circular Migration, examines
the track record of seasonal and other circular migration programs
around the world – including
the United States, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom.
“The latest generation of circular migration programs
is broader and more dynamic than one-time-only temporary programs
strictly oriented toward the labor-market needs of receiving
countries. They anticipate that migrants maintain active involvement
in both their home and destination countries, and travel back
and forth between them repeatedly,” said report co-author
Kathleen Newland, director of MPI’s
Program on Migrants, Migration and Development.
The report, by
Newland, Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias and Aaron Terrazas, outlines
steps governments can take to encourage circulation migration – and
decrease the illegal immigration that is sometimes inadvertently
fostered by poorly designed programs.
Among the steps destination-country
governments should consider:
- Guaranteeing repeat access for workers who comply with the
program’s terms
- Making social security and pension benefits portable
- Tailoring family unification policies to fit the duration
and aims of the circular programs
- Providing training for temporary workers to upgrade their
skills
- Designing a circular worker program with enough flexibility
to respond to specific labor market needs.
- Permitting dual citizenship and relaxing the residency requirements
for retaining permanent legal status
“Circular migration policy will remain a matter of trial
and error for some time. And practice is likely to remain far
ahead of policy,” Newland said. “Understanding how
circular migration works when it develops spontaneously – and
tailoring programs to fit those patterns of mobility – are
perhaps the most valuable sources of insight for policymakers
interested in better program design.”
The report is available
online at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/Insight-IGC-Sept08.pdf
###
The Migration Policy Institute is an independent, non-partisan,
non-profit think tank dedicated to analysis of the movement of
people worldwide. Founded in 2001, MPI provides analysis, development
and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at the local,
national and international levels. It aims to meet the rising demand
for pragmatic and thoughtful responses to the challenges and opportunities
that large-scale migration, whether voluntary or forced, presents
to communities and institutions in an increasingly integrated world. |
