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Amigrant crisis occurs when large numbers ofimmigrants—includingrefugees,asylum seekers, or displaced persons—move into a destination country, often overwhelming its systems and communities. These movements are typically triggered byunrest, economic hardship, orpolitical instability in the migrants' countries of origin. The sudden influx of people often strains public services, infrastructure, andsocial cohesion, placing undue pressure on citizens and local governments. These situations can also raise humanitarian concerns, as existing facilities are rarely equipped to handle large numbers effectively. Notable examples include theEuropean migrant crisis, theEnglish Channel migrant crossings, and post-World War II displacements.
Arefugee crisis refers to a movement of "large" groups ofdisplaced people, and may or may not involve a migrant crisis.[1] Compared to refugee crisis (refugee is a refugee), migrant crises also have a separate or distinguish between the "deserving" refugee from the "undeserving" migrant and play into fear of cultural, religious, and ethnic difference in the midst of increasing intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations and lacking in predictability, job security, material or psychological welfare for many in Europe (such in closure of Green Borders).[2]
"Migrant crisis management" involves dealing with issues ("immigration system", "resource management", etc.) before, during, and after they have occurred. According to the Global Crisis Centre ofPricewaterhouseCoopers, migrant crisis management is shaped using the definitions and responsibilities outlined in the UN'sConvention Relating to the Status of Refugees and subsequentProtocol Relating to the Status of Refugees and international solidarity and burden-sharing with collaboration, communication and information dissemination, which are needed for solving migratory issues of the world.[3]
Immigrant receiving states need effective management strategies for achieving a set of tasks for responding to the threat [reasons of crisis] to re-establish a perceived normalcy.[4]
"Transboundary crisis management" (migration is transboundary) involves co-decision, shared procedures and collective instruments in aligned with the steps below:[5]
Management of the crisis shows a succession of four scenarios.[6]
The Washington, D.C.-basedMigration Policy Institute is an institution working in this area. Global Crisis Centre ofPricewaterhouseCoopers focuses on migrant crisis management.
Broken immigration system (Crisis) is what immigration experts and lawyers refer to as failure in the management of "push and pull factors." Push forces for the displaced people are summarized as running from horrors and poverty in the departure country toward a broken immigration system in the receiving states. Pull forces are receiving states having a functioning economy, the safer-faster journey with the help of communication technology (organize and warn) and established smuggler networks which has safer-faster ways to move people. The condition of refugees or asylum seekers in receiving countries, from the perspective of governments, employers, and citizens, is a topic of continual debate (debate on migrant crises), and on the other end, the violation of migrant human rights is an ongoing crisis.[7]
According to Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International,
"It is within world leaders' power to prevent these crises from spiralling further out of control. Governments must halt their assault on our rights and strengthen the defences the world has put in place to protect them. Human rights are a necessity, not an accessory; and the stakes for humankind have never been higher."
— Secretary General ofAmnesty International[7]
Broken resource management for immigrants is part of the broader failure to develop efficient responses to people in need, contributing to the crisis. Asylum offices in the US, theUnited Kingdom, andAustralia manage immigration services.
During the2014 American immigration crisis,immigration courts as well as theU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) asylum system were completely under-resourced and confronting an unmanageable caseload.[8] In June 2019 (five years into the crisis), more than 350 "unaccompanied children" were removed from a holding facility in Texas to bring it into compliance, as it was designed to hold around 120.[9]
Resource management towards immigrants in the US includes "private sector" involvement, as listed in theImmigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The law requires all companies to assist the federal government under 8 U.S.C. § 1324a. Specific immigration areas wherehuman resource managers must ensure compliance by meeting the legal requirements of this immigration reform regulation by incorporating theImmigration and Naturalization Services (INS)Form I-9 into their hiring processes.
Another case for resource management for the migrant crisis is theMexico–United States border wall. President Trump signedExecutive Order 13767, which formally directed the US government to begin constructing the wall. Executive Order 13767 was followed by the 2018 federal government shutdown due to the presidentialveto on any spending bill that did not include "resources" for wall funding. In February 2019, Trump signed aDeclaration of National Emergency, saying the situation is a "crisis," officially declaring a "Migrant Crisis" on theMexico–United States border.
According to aNew York Times article, thousands of people who migrated to the US in 2022 will fail to meet asylum requirements due to limited access to resources and legal assistance.[10]
Migrant crises have financially burdened EU countries.Germany allocated roughly 10 billion Euros for the cost of refugee care and acceptance in 2015.[11] On the other hand,Greece was exempt from paying into EU-wide refugee sharing initiatives between 2013 and 2015. The migrant crisis is believed to have influenced policies in countries seeking accession to the EU, such asSerbia.[12]
Resource management for immigrants in the UK is managed under theNational Asylum Support Service (NASS), which is responsible for regulating entry to, and settlement in the UK.[13] NASS is a section of theUK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) division of theHome Office, which supports "otherwise be destitute." Provision of accommodation is part of the process.
According to migration researcherHein de Haas, the notion of a global refugee crisis is unjustified because it is not supported by long-term data. In reality,refugees make up only a small portion of the world's population and an even smaller share of the total international migrant population. Since the 1950s, the number of refugees worldwide has remained relatively stable between 0.1% and 0.35% of the global population, depending on the scale of conflicts at the time. This means that, although there are fluctuations in refugee numbers due to wars and other crises, these figures do not indicate a long-term or continuous increase.[14]
The vast majority of refugees remain in their region of origin, often in neighboring countries. According toUNHCR data from 2017, around 80% of all refugees were hosted in neighboring countries and 85% indeveloping countries. For example, in 2018,Turkey hosted more than 3.6 millionSyrian refugees, whileLebanon accommodated nearly 1 million—over 15% of its population. By contrast, in the same year, only a few hundred thousand Syrians resided inEU countries such as Germany,France, and the UK.[14]
Fears of widespread "false"asylum claims are likewise not supported by the data. The share of approvedasylum applications in the EU has remained relatively stable since the 1990s. In 2020, 54% of applications (including appeals) received a positive decision.Recognition rates are particularly high for applicants from conflict-affected countries such as Syria andEritrea.[14]
Refugee flows are typically temporary and closely linked to the intensity of conflicts. Major migration waves occurred during theSoviet invasion of Afghanistan, theRwandan genocide, and more recently, the wars in Syria and Ukraine. Once violence subsides, the number of refugees tends to decline.[14]
Although public discourse often portrays a world in crisis, the overall intensity of conflict andviolent repression has declined globally compared to earlier periods such as theFirst andSecond World Wars. While conflicts still occur, they tend to be less deadly, and overall global stability has improved. During the First and Second World Wars, an estimated 9.5 million and 60 million people, respectively, weredisplaced inEurope—figures far exceeding current refugee numbers. The widespread perception of an escalating refugee crisis is therefore partly based on a distorted view of the current global situation.[14]
According to De Haas, the so-called global refugee crisis is largely a myth, amplified bypolitical rhetoric andmedia narratives. While there are undoubtedly challenges—particularly inborder regions—the overall number of refugees is relatively small and stable, with the real burden borne by countries neighboring conflict zones. The perception of an unmanageable refugee crisis in the West, he argues, is a political construct often used to justifystricter border controls and limitations onasylum rights. However, the actual data present a different picture—one in which refugee flows fluctuate in response to conflicts, and the impact on Western countries is much smaller than commonly suggested. Moreover, European countries proved capable of handling significantly larger numbers of refugees in thepost–World War II decades.[14]
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