Why global leaders must rethink migration as a path to opportunity

Global leaders must establish legal pathways for migration and reframe the narrative, moving away from depictions of perpetual crises to positioning cross-border movement as a strategic solution to economic and social challenges, according to a Devex panel on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly. During the event titled From crisis to opportunity: Shaping pathways beyond humanitarian aid, Amy Pope, director general of the International Organization for Migration, highlighted the escalating displacement crisis, citing 10 million people uprooted in Sudan and 7.5 million in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with climate change further worsening the situation. “We have people who are moving all the time because of conflict, but increasingly we have people who are moving as a result of poverty and as a result of the impacts of climate change,” Pope said, calling for immediate global action to prevent further displacement. “And that's the place where I think we really need to focus.” The discussion deepened when America Ferrera, award-winning actress and IOM goodwill ambassador, called for a new perspective on migration. “We're so far from the humanity of this conversation, the conversation has been co-opted as a political tool to sow hate and fear and for people in power to stay in power,” she said, urging communicators and storytellers to reclaim the narrative and portray migrants as key drivers of community growth and opportunity. “People move. We move for work, for life, for love, for adventure, for all kinds of things,” said Ferrera, whose parents left Honduras before she was born. “My involvement is about compelling people to tell a new story and to capture the global imagination in a new way, and to take the conversation back from those who are using it as a weapon.” Nasra Ismail, executive director of Alight’s U.S. enterprise, who was displaced from Somalia as a child, emphasized the significant contributions refugees make, both as philanthropists and leaders. “I come at this work reframing the narrative of refugees as donors. They've been donors, they are philanthropists,” she said, recounting how her family sent the majority of their earnings back to Somalia, while building a new life in the U.S. “The most incredible, remarkable experience for me was when I went back to the place … where I experienced displacement, and I saw my family and the people who I hadn't seen before, and I showed up and they said: ‘You were our donor.’” She highlighted the different approach to legal pathways taken for the Ukrainian American community. Jobs were tied to sponsorship, funding was increased, and the response was marked by a greater sense of understanding. “We've attached a different kind of empathy, so I want us all to unlock the same, if not more, empathy, and more equitable and safe legal pathways for everyone else,” Ismail said. Sasha Chanoff, founder of RefugePoint, stressed the importance of legal migration pathways to prevent migrants from falling victim to human trafficking. He pointed out that criminal networks make $7 billion annually from exploiting displaced populations. “When people are forced to flee, they put their lives in the hands of traffickers. When we create more legal migration pathways, that is, ways for refugees and others to get to the U.S., through resettlement, through labor mobility, through sponsorship, we are creating safety and we're creating opportunity for people once they arrive. So that's really critical,” said Chanoff. Economic arguments were also front and center. Pope referenced a Boston Consulting Group report linking migration to achieving Paris climate goals, stressing that better migration policies are essential to fill labor gaps and support climate action. “Unless we have better migration policies, we will not achieve the Paris green climate goals, because there simply are not enough people to do the work where the jobs exist,” she said, citing the report. “So it's not only in our economic self-interest to have better migration pathways. It's in the interest of the planet. It's in the interest of our youth, it's in the interest of our societies.” The panel concluded with a consensus that migration should be seen not as a humanitarian burden but as a driver of opportunity. “No one flees home unless home is the mouth of a shark,” said Ferrera, summing up the issue. “And so I think about the opportunities we have and the solutions we can create if we expand the thinking to include dealing with the root causes of migration.”