An Assessment of South-South Migration in the Caribbean

1. An Assessment of South-South Migration in the Caribbean Christian Mark Theodore Kairi Consultants Ltd.

2. Acknowledgements This study was commissioned by the IOM/ ACP Observatory on Migration Scientific Coordination was provided by Dr. IndiannaMinto-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.

3. Rationale Three 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.

4. Context Study Objectives: • Assess the impact of South-South migration flows in the Caribbean • Identify important gaps in the existing body of data and literature on South-South Migration in the region

5. Context • Four principal categories of migration were examined: • Labour Mobility/ Economic Migration • Student Migration • Parental Migration • Irregular Migration

6. Context Some of the more specific aims of the study were to analyze : • The impacts of S-S migration on the receiving country • The impacts on the sending country • The main causes of S-S migration in the region

7. Methodology • Primarily based on the triangulation of three data-collection exercises: • Survey of Policy-makers in three Caribbean Countries • Focus Group Sessions in the Same Countries • Analysis of Stock Data on the Countries/ The Region.

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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.

13. 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)

14. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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)

22. 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.

24. 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.

27. 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

28. Focus Group Findings

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31. Focus Group Findings

32. 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

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. 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.

36. 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

37. 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

38. Thank You!