An Assessment of South-South Migration

in the CaribbeanChristian Mark Theodore

Kairi Consultants Ltd.

Acknowledgements

This study was commissioned by the IOM/ ACP Observatory on Migration

Scientific Coordination was provided by Dr. Indianna Minto-Coy and Mr. Phil Rourke, both based at the UWI Cave Hill Campus

Gratitude is extended to all of the participants of the study, whose invaluable contributions made this report possible.

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RationaleThree study countries were chosen: Barbados: because it is a major final destination

for migrants from around the Caribbean;

Trinidad and Tobago: because of its ethnic diversity and its significance as both a major sending and receiving country, and:

St. Kitts and Nevis: because of its significance as a destination for Dominican people of Kittitian and Nevisian heritage.

Context

Study Objectives:

1. Assess the impact of South-South migration flows in the Caribbean

2. Identify important gaps in the existing body of data and literature on South-South Migration in the region

Context

Four principal categories of migration were examined:

1. Labour Mobility/ Economic Migration

2. Student Migration

3. Parental Migration

4. Irregular Migration

Context

Some of the more specific aims of the study were to analyze :

1. The impacts of S-S migration on the receiving country

2. The impacts on the sending country

3. The main causes of S-S migration in the region

Methodology

Primarily based on the triangulation of three data-collection exercises:

1. Survey of Policy-makers in three Caribbean Countries

2. Focus Group Sessions in the Same Countries

3. Analysis of Stock Data on the Countries/ The Region.

Methodology

Survey of Policy-Makers: Key ministries and government agencies were

targeted: Ministries of Labour, Social Care, National Security, Foreign Affairs and Central Statistical Offices in TT, B’dos and SKN

Presented with extreme challenges:

Bureaucracy

Inaccessibility

Although, no outright refusal to participate

Methodology

Secondary Data Main sources: UN, World Bank, Civil Society,

Independent Research

Paucity of current data from official sources a major gap noted in all three countries

Central Statistical Offices have no consistent data-collection regime.

Data exists at some Ministries of National Security, but seemingly hermetically sealed.

Findings: From Stock Data

Higher income countries in the Caribbean attract the largest stock of intra-regional migrants, but;

Income in the destination countries alone is not the main factor driving intra-regional movements. High emigration rates of the tertiary educated from the region indicate that other non-income factors may be significant push-factors.

Stock Data

Although intra-regional migration is significant, the Caribbean is an important transit corridor for extra-regional migrants en route to the US and EU.

One in every two immigrants residing in Caribbean countries immigrated from another Caribbean country (WB)

Stock Data

Migration into the region is expected to play an increasingly significant role in the region’s demographic profile in the next 20 years because:

Net Migration is generally negative in the Caribbean (more people are moving out of the region);

Crude birth rates have generally been falling across the region, and;

Migration from extra-regional diasporic communities (e.g. from Syria, India, African countries and China) is expected to continue at moderate to rapid rates.

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Net Migration Rate (per 1000 population)

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Notable Challenges

The CSME has facilitated increased skills migration across the region, but significant challenges were recognized:

At the policy level, there were discrepancies between CARICOM stipulations and policy practiced at the national level

Xenophobia, discrimination and prejudice are still facts of life for some migrants in some countries.

Stock Data

Despite very incomplete data, irregular migrant stocks have been increasing in the Caribbean

The main countries of origin are: West African countries (Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal), South East Asia (India, Sri Lanka) and Latin America (Venezuela, Colombia, DR)

Notable Concerns

Concerns about the involvement of migrants in illicit/ underground economies abound, but the database/ research to support concrete action is weak

More research is needed into the gender dimensions of irregular migration- particularly since irregular migrants from Latin America are overwhelmingly female.

Remittances

Both inflows and outflows of remittances in the region have generally increased between 2003 and 2011.

Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba and Haiti saw the highest remittance inflows between 2003-2011, whereas the most outflows came from St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Bahamas.

Focus Group Meetings:

Guyanese and Haitian immigrants faced the highest levels of discrimination from nationals in the three studied destination countries

The perception of migrants’ origin, education level and income level determined how they were treated in general

Self-representation was acknowledged to be a major determinant of how the receiving societies responded to them- the more self-representation, the better group outcomes were likely to be

Focus Group Findings

Trinidad and Tobago

Barbados St. Kitts and Nevis

Impact on the Receiving Economies

Migration has been a major positive factor in Trinidad and Tobago’s construction sector during its peak years (2005-2008). Immigrants from China, West Africa and other Caribbean islands had a major presence in this sector.

Non-nationals in Barbados contributed at all levels of society (civil service, international agencies, enterprise). There was some resentment for the perceived dominance of Trinidadians in Barbados’ entrepreneurship

St. Kitts and Nevis relies heavily on skilled intra-regional migration- particularly on lawyers and civil service workers from Jamaica and other islands.

Focus Group Findings

Trinidad and Tobago

Barbados St. Kitts and Nevis

Impact on Migrants

Migrants enjoyed free access to health and education, but other forms of discrimination were perceived. Discrimination was highly dependent on the migrant’s origin and African migrants perceived the worst levels of discrimination.

Non-nationals pay user fees for education and healthcare despite nationals accessing the same services for free. Legal stipulations have led to separation of some families, as non-national children are required to leave Barbados upon turning 18.

The costs incurred by migrants are high. Non-nationals pay fees for primary and secondary school, for access to healthcare and annual residency fees between $EC 600-1500. Work permits can cost up to $EC 2550, but bureaucracy and corruption are regularly faced.

Focus Group FindingsTrinidad and Tobago Barbados St. Kitts and Nevis

Impact on Migrants

Discrimination is rare but subtle and is more targeted along the lines of migrant’s origin.

Social alienation of non-nationals and distinctly differential treatment of nationals and non-nationals was widely reported

Cases of school bullying targeting non-national children were reported

Poor information/ inconsistencies at the immigration offices frustrate the process of securing legal documents for migrants.

CARICOM visa lengths in Barbados (3 months) differ from CARICOM-level stipulations (6 months). Bureaucracy can frustrate the movement of CARICOM nationals into Barbados

Migrants perceived unfair treatment as related to the implementation of CSME. Many felt that they were not enjoying its full benefits under Federal Laws.

Focus Group Findings

Trinidad and Tobago

Barbados St. Kitts and Nevis

Impact on Sending Country

Sending countries have benefitted mainly from worker remittances.

Remittances have been a major positive impact to sending countries, but there are significant difficulties in sending remittances from Barbados- cost is a major factor.

Remittances have been a major source of development, but sending them to the home country is fraught with challenges/ high relative costs. Since the post-2008 period, Guyanese have returned home to find better relative economic circumstances, and other non-nationals have moved further north (the the USA)

Policy-Makers’ Survey Findings

Policy-makers identified these as the most pressing issues relating to S-S migration in the region:

The Cost of Transportation

Onerous Immigration Procedures

Lack of Proper Immigration Legislation

Persistent Barriers to Legal Immigration

Tracking Immigration Flows

Policy-Makers’ Survey Findings

Key Data Problems hindering policy: Lack of adequate tracking of migrants after they have entered

the islands makes it difficult to estimate their numbers;

Scarce human resources to conduct regular migrant surveys and engage in other data-collection activities;

The lack of a standardized system of data collection that yields reliable results which can be used for analysis;

The absence of centralized data-collection units that can gather intelligence from other agencies;

Migration is currently not a high-priority area targeted for dedication of further resources.

Recommendations

Sensitize officials to the importance of regular, reliable and timely enumeration of migration data

Harmonization of migration data and its mainstreaming in socio-economic research.

Caribbean countries need to gather, track and analyze data on their foreign-born residents in order to craft and manage sound policies.

Migration needs to be given more emphasis as a major component in gathering data and formulating national and regional population policies.

Recommendations

The NGO Community might be particularly helpful in advocacy among the Governments, in ensuring that the commitments made on mobility under the CSME, are adhered to, across the board

Collective action on the part of Governments may offer the possibility of reducing costs of transfers by way of remittances from relatives abroad. An approach by the Governments to an organization like Western Union, may secure benefits in the forms of cost reduction.

Recommendations

Ensure that CSME implementation units are fully active and equipped in all participating countries, including proper data entry and collection methods

Address the absence of legally binding supranational agreements between CARICOM and other non-CARICOM members of the region, for example through CARIFORUM in the case of the Dominican Republic

Recommendations Sensitize the leadership of key agencies, such as the Ministries

of National Security, to the importance of migration issues, the nexus between migration and development and a reorientation of the leadership towards the importance of research for better policy-making

Ensure comprehensive reform to immigration policy based on priority economic sectors and labor needs, provide complement of support services in housing, health and social services needed by entering labour

Develop well-articulated Immigration policy that identifies which skillsets the individual country is seeking to attract and stricter implementation of stipulations under the Immigration Act

Strengthen national border patrols to curtail the infiltration of irregular migrants and ensure greater collaboration with the regional international security apparatus to interdict human trafficking

Develop a specific refugee policy that honors the commitment to international conventions to protect their human rights

Thank You!