Migration and economic success stories often go together.

The millions of migrants who flooded through New York’s Ellis Island in the early 20th century helped turn the city and America into an economic powerhouse.

Migration across the British Empire was central to its success at the heart of the Industrial Revolution.

And many of the world’s most high-profile entrepreneurs have hailed from migrant backgrounds: Steve Jobs’ father was a migrant from Syria; Tesla founder Elon Musk was born and raised in South Africa, before moving to North America to study in Canada and the United States.

However, while economic migration still accounts for the majority of movement across the globe, a swathe of non-economic pressures have pushed migration to the centre of media coverage and current political debate.

…MORE