Regulating international migration in an era of increasing interconnectedness

By its very nature international migration is a transnational phenomenon that operates beyond the regulation of any one State. And yet, paradoxically, almost all governance of international migration globally rests with individual sovereign States. Historically, it could be argued that this situation presented few difficulties for modern nation-States given the considerable power that rested with them political, economic, social and cultural and an often highly circumscribed ability of people to migrate independently. There has been, however, a significant increase in international movement spurred by greater access to physical and virtual interconnectedness through accessible transportation links and rapid growth in telecommunications technology. Immigration and border management policies and practices have evolved rapidly. However, migrants themselves, along with other non-State actors, are less confined by geography than perhaps ever before. This chapter discusses the implications of transportation and telecommunications advances on the regulation of international migration in an era of increasing interconnectedness.