Migrants’ Contributions

What are “contributions” and why are they important?

Migration has played a big role in making the world more peaceful and prosperous. Migrants have helped control deadly diseases and reduced infant mortality rates, especially through efforts like the 2000-2015 Millennium Development Goals (Mathers et al., 2018). To contribute means to give something — money, time, ideas, labour, material goods — in order to achieve something with other people (Cambridge Dictionary, 2019). In other words, contributions occur as part of broader structural settings and social processes that support and shape societies.

The positive impacts of migration for both host and origin communities have been well documented. However, they are often underreported or unacknowledged in public debates. According to migration policy research, there are three main categories through which migrants contribute to their communities:

• Sociocultural refers to social and cultural factors, such as habits, traditions and beliefs;

• Civic-political relates to solving problems in the community through volunteering, engaging with political processes or government offices;

• Economic describes any activities involving trade, industry or money. Immigration has been shown to stimulate economicgrowth and contributes to the global gross domestic product (GDP).

While many media reports of migrants focus on numbers of arrivals, returns and deportations, it is important to remember the human faces and stories behind these statistics. Migrants play diverse sociocultural, civic-political and economic roles in both their origin and destination countries, as workers, students, entrepreneurs, family members, artists, and much more.

Migrants sociocultural contributions

The sociocultural contributions of migrants are felt by many of us on a daily basis, even though we may not be conscious of it. Everyday activities are likely to have been influenced or enriched (or, in some cases, made possible) by migrants who have brought with them customs and traditions. For example, one of the most significant and highly visible sociocultural contributions of migrants throughout the world has been the sharing of food and culinary traditions, resulting in the tremendous increase in food diversity in modern times.

In recent years, professional and representational sport at the international level have become important in anti-racism and counter-xenophobia campaigns. In many ways, professional sports allow migrants to “transcend” (go beyond) discrimination and other negative issues because of the extraordinary talent they display and the admiration they often invoke among fans.

Similarly, migrants possessing exceptional artistic abilities, such as musicians, have been able to gain popularity and achieve success, providing diverse role models for others in their communities. In popular culture, being different can be an asset, providing an “edge” in highly competitive talent and consumer-driven markets, which is why we see so many migrants from diverse backgrounds in entertainment sectors, like film, series, comedy, music and the arts.

Some examples of the sociocultural contributions of migrants to host communities include increasing food diversity, the creation of new music and sporting achievements. A Honduran migrant opened a restaurant, bringing cuisine from his country of origin to the Mexican culinary scene. A Venezuelan migrant established an orchestra in the Dominican Republic to share his music with the youth of his community. In 2019, Emmanuel Iwe, an 18 year old Nigerian football player signed a contract with Deportivo Saprissa, a Costa Rican football club. These are only a handful of the myriad of stories that make up the many and diverse contributions of migrants.

You can watch and listen to many more migrant stories, including the contributions they make in their new communities in the IOM ”I Am a Migrant” campaign videos.

Migrants’ civic-political contributions

Migrants can be important contributors to civic—political life. In destination countries, for example, migrants can be involved in governance and politics at different levels, such as community/local areas or national levels. They can also undertake volunteer work, and support fellow migrants, especially those who have recently arrived, as they integrate into their new communities.

The extent to which migrants can participate in civic-political activities depends on the policy settings of their host communities. The ethnic diversity of the 116th Congress of the United States, in which a historic 16 percent of members were either first- or second-generation migrants, highlights their propensity to civic-political contributions. Diaspora communities also have the potential to engage in political processes in their countries of origin, including by promoting peacebuilding efforts.

The economic contributions of migrants

In their new host countries, migrants are often involved in a multitude of economic activities. Both low- and high-skilled migrant workersfill labour shortages, helping to increase productivity in certain sectors, like construction, food, clothing, care work and other service sectors. Studies also suggest that migrants are more likely to become entrepreneurs due to their resilience and ‘growth mindset,’ often developed as a result of overcoming the challenges involved in moving to a new country.

According to the World Migration Report 2020, migrants enhance global innovation in four ways:

1. Migrants show a higher concentration in economic sectors that tend to be more innovative;

2. Many migrants are entrepreneurs and secure patents;

3. Migrants make greater contributions to business start-ups compared with citizens;

4. Migrants often foster investment, trade and technology linkages.

Migrants also make important economic contributions to their countries and communities of origin. The most widely recognized is remittances, that is, transfers of money by a migrant to their families and communities in their country of origin or another country, which are often used to meet the basic household needs (such as food and shelter) and alleviate poverty (Mohieldin and Ratha, 2019). Diaspora bonds are another key instrument of support. They allow countries to raise necessary funds among diaspora communities, such as after disasters, whilst avoiding accumulating debt from expensive lenders. Migrants also enhance economic development and productivity in their home countries through foreign direct investments and the creation of new businesses. Research shows that migrants who return to their country of origin are more likely to start businesses than are people who never left their countries (Demurger and Xu, 2011); Naudé, Siegel and Marchand, 2015.

Factors that hinder migrants’ contributions

Several factors prevent migrants from fully contributing to society, affecting their rights and dignity and leading to lost opportunities for host countries (Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, 2024). Migrants often face discrimination and xenophobia in transit and destination countries, limiting job prospects, access to services, and social inclusion. They also often face low wages and late payments, and often earn less than citizens, even though they have similar education levels. Legal and administrative barriers often block migrants\’ access to healthcare, education, justice, and housing, as well as social protections. This can increase dependence on employers and make migrants more vulnerable, limiting their ability to participate in and contribute to society.

Supporting migrants’ contributions

Several factors can support migrants’ contributions to society. These include the protection of the human and labour rights of migrants, irrespective of whether they have documents or not. Anti-discrimination laws and policies, as well as the protection of human rights are also vital for enabling migrants to fully contribute to society, in addition to addressing xenophobia. Implementing international labour standards and fair recruitment practices (including ensuring employers and recruitment agencies don’t charge migrants for giving them a job) are key to protecting the rights of migrant workers.

Well-supported migrants enhance social cohesion and encourage greater participation in and contributions to society. Many countries emphasize the significance of integration programmes to assist migrants’ arrival and settlement in a new country (Chapter 6 World Migration Report 2020). To support integration, many countries provide information in multiple languages, helping with employment, community integration and providing other support services.

Key resources on the topic

• Global Overview (WMR 2024, Ch. 2)

• Regional Developments (WMR 2024, Ch. 3)

• Migrants´ contributions (WMR 2020, Ch. 5)

• Migration, inclusion and social cohesion (WMR 2020, Ch. 6)

• How Immigrants Contribute to Developing Countries’ Economies (OECD, 2018)