The 4th International E-Conference titled “Migration, Governance, and COVID-19: Perspectives, Policies, Opportunities, and Challenges” was jointly organised by the Centre for Research on North America (CISAN), Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) and Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT) from 3-4 November 2022.
The fifth session of the conference was chaired by Professor Camelia Tigau, a Senior Researcher at the CISAN, and regional vice-president of the GRFDT, on November 3rd, 2022. Prof Tigau introduced the session speakers, six scholars from Morocco, Mexico, and The United States of America, who would soon after start a discussion surrounding different topics of migration and its governance in their native languages: Spanish and French.
The lack of communication from the Moroccan government during the COVID-19 pandemic threatened migrants’ Humans Rights.
Ilham Siba, from Mohamed V University (Morocco), presented her master’s thesis “Moroccan Migration Institutional Communication Transparent: The case of status renewal documentation of migrant during the Covid-19 Pandemic”. The speaker highlighted the importance of Morocco as a transit country for African migrants, how the national emergency established by the government during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and especially the lack of communication regarding the migration procedures during the mandatory lockdown, represented an attack on migrants’ Human Rights. Through a documental analysis of Moroccan laws, questionnaires and interviews, the research concluded that migrants experienced difficulties accessing legal status or documentation mainly due to the absence of official and unified information, and the inability or indisposition of governmental staff.
Migrants influence their origin community, on a political and economic level.
Mr Luis Miguel Morales, from Puebla Autonomous University, presented his study titled “Migration experience of San Francisco de Asis Community”, where he described how theoretical transnationalism focus on migrants maintain contact with their families despite the physical distance. Through a direct primary data collection methodology, the speaker analysed the Mexican “3×1” social programme, where all three levels of government (municipal, statal, and federal) use the resources gained from remittances to support migrant communities. In the specific case of the San Francisco de Asis community, there is a broad acceptance among its inhabitants about the positive impact of remittances for sustaining their livelihood.
Changes in policy require not only political will but local institutions to adopt them.
Ms Adriana Sletza Ortega Ramirez, from BUAP Mexico, discussed the migration paradiplomacy and policy adoption. While the international multilateral bodies play a fundamental role in migration governance, through hard international laws or soft international laws, a continued discussion with foreign public or private entities to find durable and sustainable solutions to socio-economical, political, and cultural issues posed by migration is necessary. The centralist and multilevel discussions development of foreign policy excludes the localist, and disjuncture or conflictive site of migration policies. The author sustains how local and international NGOs create the necessary external and internal political pressure for a proper interpretation and implementation of migrants’ human rights. This exerted pressure could aid not only swift government resistance but even the acceptance to achieve changes from local institutions.
Central American migrants protection protocols lack a broader gender category focus.
Francisco Landeros Jaime, from Sonora University, presented the IMUMI “Violence transnationalism suffered on the migration route by women asylum seekers in Mexico” research. A 48% increase in women seeking asylum during the last year suggested the importance to study the issues encountered during their mobility and asylum requests under the context of violence. From the recompilation of personal testimonies and interviews, the speaker identified that 75% of women suffered gender-based violence from the point of origin through the point of entry in Mexico. The study concluded that the experienced violence does not end at the final crossed border but intensifies after it. Physical and psychological violence have a strong correlation, affecting the undergo migrant populations as well. The violence transnationalism is a cycle that worsens and negatively transforms the already present migrant suffered issues, highlighting the necessity of stronger gender-based migration protection protocols, and relocation programmes.
The COVID-19 Pandemic served to exacerbate the hate speech towards irregular migrants.
Janeth Hernandez Flores, an Institutional Studies professor at the Autonomous Metropolitan University in Cuajimalpa, examined the inequalities and hatred suffered by irregular migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic, analysing hate speech manifestations, weak institutions, and the available protection laws mechanism. Starting with an increase of violence towards Asian, and specifically Chinese, migrants, the pandemic exacerbated the already present negative stereotypes of migrants. The speaker goes further to criticise the lack of laws against hate speech across the American continent, as the necessity of an international observatory to gather the necessary information and promote policy changes. The study concluded that between the fragility of protecting institutions and the added vulnerabilities of irregular migrants, the politicization of the pandemic represented a menace to this group, establishing a clear necessity for a regulation that criminalizes specifically hate speech.
Mexican medical tourism suffered from the initial closing of borders due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Maria Isabel Melchor presented her UNAM PHD “COVID-19 Impacts on U.S.A. medical tourism to Mexico” thesis preliminary findings. Her research aims to analyse the economic repercussions suffered by the Mexican medical tourism industry due to the pandemic travel restrictions. While Mexico developed dedicated private medical infrastructure to offer considerably more competitive prices to U.S.A. residents, its revenue was severely affected in 2020, but quickly recovered in 2021. Through a qualitative and field observation, the speaker concluded that the most common medical procedures performed after the reopening of the US-Mexican borders required little to no time post-surgery recovery time (bariatric, dentistry, and plastic surgery). The study also shows that medical tourism tends to be partnered with regular tourism, having a double beneficial impact on the Mexican economy.
The session brought diverse dimensions of migration, from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrants’ rights to the significant influence migrant diasporas play in their home communities. The complete session could be watched on the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm00x2qFAE4
Angelo Gianturco Coletta is an Independent Scholar. He holds an Economy Bachelor and a MA in Humanitarian Action and Peace-building. He is currently based in Caracas, Venezuela. Email: agianturco@me.com