III. How fit is the available data on irregular migration for policymaking? Exploring policymaker and researcher experiences of engaging irregular migration data in the policy world

Jun 16, 2025 | 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Auditorium B2, Niagara: B0E07

Description

Evidence-based policymaking is often considered a laudable goal – but applied to the field of irregular migration, some principal challenges arise. Irregular migration is notoriously hard to measure as it occurs outside of regulatory norms and may often go undetected, while robust data and estimates are often non-existent, outdated or incomplete. Nevertheless, data are cited in policymaking in this area, where ‘illegal border crossings’ are used as a substitute, or outdated maximum estimates are used as a ‘low bar’ by future standards. New policies are put forward that aim to fill the gap in information, for example on ‘overstayers’ or ‘secondary movements’.  This workshop aims to bring together academic and practitioner perspectives, to stimulate discussion on current knowledge of irregular migration stocks and flows, avenues for further development, and lessons from communicating this knowledge to the general public. Interventions signpost where policymakers should treat data with care, the limitations of the data they may use, and innovative new methods or means to estimate and better understand the irregular migrant population.  Moderator: Veronika Bilger, Head of Research, ICMPD Speakers: - Maegan Hendow, Senior Researcher, ICMPD - Dr. Amparo González-Ferrer, Deputy Director General for Management and Integration Pathways, Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, Spain - Laura Peitz, Researcher, German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees - Julia Descamps, Researcher, Université Paris 8, CRESPPA-CSU - Denis Kierans, Senior Researcher, COMPAS, University of Oxford - Albert Kraler, Assistant Professor in Migration Studies, University for Continuing Education Krems