The core drivers of displacement are intensifying.
In a year of elections, populist leaders from Europe to the Americas are pushing a narrative that migration is out of control.
The case studies below, from South Africa, New Zealand, Peru, Ireland and Denver, Colorado, show how the modern-day reality is impacting national and municipal governments worldwide, often in surprising locations and in unpredictable ways.Businesses concerned at restricted access to international talent are starting to speak out.
Similarly, much of Australia’s recent economic performance is a function of surging population growth driven by inbound migration after the pandemic, according to James McIntyre of Bloomberg Economics. With arrivals there now peaking, underlying weaknesses will become more apparent, he says. Angel’s experience is emblematic of a familiar reality for Venezuelan migrants: losing a middle-class life to hyperinflation, then being unable to regain that status after fleeing their home country’s economic collapse. It’s a fate that’s all the harder to take in Peru, where Venezuelan migrants tend to be better educated than their local counterparts; for example, they are almost twice as likely to have completed a university degree.
Even five years ago, 73% of Peruvians told think tank IEP that they disagreed with Venezuelan immigration. Another IEP poll in 2022 found that a third of Peruvians said they would be “very bothered” if their child married a Venezuelan. Liliana Angel walks with her daughter through the San Juan de Lurigancho neighbourhood in Lima. Image: Angela Ponce/Bloomberg
“If we as civil society organizations are now on the receiving end, you can imagine the life of an ordinary migrant,” Sinthumule said, pointing out the biometric recognition and cameras his organization has since installed. “I’m a South African and I am receiving such attacks.” But having lost ground in 2021 municipal elections to rivals who want undocumented foreigners deported, the party has ratcheted up anti-migrant rhetoric. It’s done little to discourage vigilante groups such as Operation Dudula, which means “to force out” in Zulu, that’ve attacked migrants and destroyed their property.
“I still find New Zealand welcoming, even more now that I’m working and living in a place with many locals,” she says of her new country and its citizens.Gondré is one of a record 226,000 foreigners who flocked to New Zealand legally in the 12 months through February. After adjusting for departures, the population swelled by 2.8% in 2023 — the biggest jump since World War II.
In an increasingly globalized workforce — which intensified in the wake of Covid-19 as nations looked to fill acute worker shortages — New Zealand is a desirable destination. It was ranked the most attractive nation in the OECD for skilled migrants, according to a 2023 report by the Paris-based organization, which rated the country highly in categories such future prospects, family environment and inclusiveness.
But trying to earn enough to enjoy the scenery and adventure tourism that the South Pacific nation offers has become a struggle. “I can’t save so much money because of the rent,” she says. Ireland’s economic rise and more recent allure as a low-tax European base to companies like Apple Inc. helped turned a nation of emigrants for much of the past 200 years into a 21st century success story and a pull factor for migrants. Yet the reality of more than 1,600 asylum seekers without accommodation shows an acute crisis in Ireland’s immigration system — a situation that’s alienating locals while failing those arriving.
Ireland, which has until now been largely immune to right-wing populism, is witnessing the beginnings of a political shift as a result. An emerging right is co-opting those tensions to further its agenda, according to Niamh McDonald, the Director of the Hope and Courage Collective, which works to counter hate and extremism. “There has been an increase in violent rhetoric and organization of the far right,” which has “pushed” immigration to the front of people’s minds, she said.
DENVER, COLORADO: A city at breaking point — Nadia Lopez Lisbeth Torres and her husband William Garcia never intended to leave their home in Venezuela, but economic desperation forced them to set out on the journey north. They walked for two months across seven countries, passing through the treacherous Darien Gap carrying their two small children on their backs, before arriving at the southern US border in Texas in December.Denver never featured as a destination in the couple’s plans.
Like the mayors of other Democratic cities that are managing an influx of arrivals, Johnston has pleaded with the federal government to step in. But his calls have largely been ignored, he said. The blow was compounded by the failure of a proposed immigration bill that could have provided much-needed aid, a victim of political posturing as the presidential election approaches.
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