Local governments prepare to take a more active role in migration management

San José, Costa Rica, June 26, 2024 

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in coordination with the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM), held the II Regional Meeting on Capacity Building for Local Governments on Migration and Human Mobility in order to provide tools to strengthen the capacities of local governments to address migration in order to improve migration management from a comprehensive approach. 

The activity was developed as part of the response to the historic increase of migrants in transit through Central America and Mexico, where, for example, from January to October 2023 the movement of irregular migrants has increased by 109% in El Darien National Park and 188% in Honduras, compared to the same months in 2022.  

This scenario generates challenges and opportunities of various kinds in countries of origin, transit, destination and return in terms of migration management, but especially has a direct impact at the local level, demonstrating the increasingly important role played by local actors.  

Ana Durán, IOM Deputy Regional Director for the Americas, highlighted the importance of having a comprehensive government approach that empowers local governments and positions them as key actors in the development of migration policies, a necessary condition to improve migration management in our countries. 

The Meeting provided tools for local government representatives to improve their knowledge on the use and collection of migration data, on the recognition of migrants in vulnerable situations to improve their care and protection; and finally, it provided a space for dialogue and exchange between local and central governments to identify obstacles and solutions for the promotion of safe, regular and humane migration.   

This is in addition to a series of regional efforts that IOM has made to strengthen migration management at the local level, such as technical cooperation with at least 28 local governments in Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic to develop reports on Migration Governance Indicators (IGM).

 Addressing these and other migration challenges at the local level has been recognized among the goals of the 2030 Agenda (10.7 and 11), in the Flagship Report for the SDG Summit by IOM and later in the Political Declaration of the 2023 SDG Summit. Similarly, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) in its objectives 19 and 23 makes reference to this link between local migration governance and the Global Compact on Migration. 

This meeting was held within the framework of the IOM Western Hemisphere Program, with funding from the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) of the U.S. Department of State.