Deaths are rising and it demands accountability. The International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) is the moment where States must answer for this.
In the GCM governments committed to save lives and coordinate international efforts on missing migrants.
The data is in. Will States act?
#IMRF2026
“How lucky is the United States that everytime they look for democracy in other countries they find oil instead”- Spain Deputy Gabriel Rufián
Without genuine partnerships with countries of origin, return policies based solely on controls and deportations risk becoming a costly revolving door - repeating the same ineffective cycle and causing harm to people instead of delivering sustainable outcomes.
From Bangladesh to Italy via Libya: Many migrants interviewed started their journeys through legal migration channels or believed they were doing so. When those pathways become inaccessible or too costly, the same intermediaries can redirect migrants into irregular routes. bit.ly/4cZBb3e
As the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling meets in Brussels 10 Dec, many persistent myths about migrant smuggling will circulate.
If you want to discuss based on evidence on “How smuggling really works” start here 📄👉: https://f.mtr.cool/evqoydftuy
#MigrantSmuggling
Uptick in arrivals in Crete & the Balearics seem to result from EU’s short-term migration strategy: securitising routes & targeting smugglers via deals with third countries—without addressing migration drivers or the links between regular & irregular migration.
“All workers who are beholden to their employers... face serious risks. This behaviour… extends to construction, retail, and services.”
Climate, legal dependency, and low-wage work collide for migrant workers — the engine of Saudi Arabia’s economy.
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Many Latin Americans in transit hit by new US migration policies are heading south. But the cost of the journey north has left people with few resources to return, forcing riskier travel. 3 routes from Panama to Colombia - many avoid the Darien after traumatic northbound journey.
In Latin America, abrupt changes in U.S. migration policy have left migrants in transit stranded, without options for regular entry, exposed to fear. Many are heading south with few options, few resources, and little help. Their journeys are shaped by pressure & uncertainty 1/2
Our societies are so data driven on some issues... and then there is this
THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM
My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.
The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.
Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Help me find the right agency/team who can help us redesign the MMC website 👇👇 - any recommendations on great designs for research / policy orgs?
Academia, are we ready to fight back yet?
An excellent article, must read on migration to Europe and specifically on the Atlantic route, on tracking deaths and disappearances, on humanising what this means, and informing policy
🔍 There's no unified system to track how many people die or disappear trying to reach Europe.
Many are never identified.
Many families never find out.
Peter Grant, Roberto Forin, and @bramfrouws.bsky.social write on the uncounted on the Atlantic route & what it means for migration policy.
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Jasmine Mooney is the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks.
Jasmine felt as if she had been kidnapped — “thrown into some sort of sick psychological experiment meant to strip us of every ounce of strength and dignity.”
ICE lied to her, bound her in chains, seized every conceivable…
The research focuses on key routes into the EU and UK:
The Central Mediterranean Route (CMR)
The Western Mediterranean and Northwest African (Atlantic) routes into Spain
The English Channel crossings into the UK
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✅ Officials cite reduced arrivals as proof that their policies work. But as crossings decline on one route, they emerge or re-surge on others. Arrivals decreased 2023-24 on the Western & Central Med Routes but movement surged along Atlantic, English Channel & Eastern Med.🧵 2/7
Our latest on migration & smuggling to Europe - with info on different 4 main routes- shows how current policies are damaging to people and counterproductive to managing migration. Hardline policies create demand for migration as people suffer in transit countries, even those who wanted to stay.
Our full research paper on how migrants use smugglers in Sahel really questions some common assumptions on the role of smugglers, criminals or protectors?
⚠️ Poorly planned returns lead to failed reintegration. Our research shows returnees without savings or in debt struggle most & may remigrate. Those detained before return have the hardest time reintegrating. Yet EU proposal wants to extend detention.🧵2/5
🔹 1 in 5 women migrated to break free from violence and discrimination—and many faced violence on the road.
For #IWD2025, our article, Voices of Women on the Move, shares insights and stories from 28,000 migrant women we’ve surveyed since 2019.
📢 Read more:
A good and very useful read
We are hiring a digital comms specialist in Nairobi to join my team - more of a technical webby/analytics profile, but interested in digital strategies to give visibility to research on migration and challenge misconceptions. Reach out for questions, info below
When reading out latest data on smuggling in Central Sahel, what struck me is that smugglers seem more like trusted travel agents than the criminal orgs one might imagine. Even some people with legal documents prefer using smuggling services to travel, rather then regular channels. What's going on?
This is our latest data from Darien Gap the treacherous jungle crossing from Colombia to Panama. In 2024 46% women interviewed who made it through, report sexual violence. At the same time there are higher reports of lack of medical assistance once in Panama.
The US funding freeze on aid has significant consequences for humanitarian operations, including for our own org, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) that MMC is a part of. We fear that cuts in critical aid will affect over 2 million people DRC serves. See DRC’s statement below.
youtube.com/shorts/sLn8G...
Our latest quarterly update on mixed migration in Eastern and Southern Africa, Egypt and Yemen. Increased people fleeing Sudan, shipwrecks in Indian ocean and Red sea, and hardening asylum policies in Egypt.
A Berkeley study found hate speech on X rose 50% since Musk took over. Musk said in 2022 that negativity gets less reach on X—our posts on migration have plummeted, so is migration seen as inherently "negative" by the algorithm? 🤔 But if you attack migrants, then it gets boosted? 🤯 🔗 bit.ly/3ExPWLN