Migration and Security: Implications for Minority Migrant Groups

Abstract

International migration is a highly contested topic and has become a critical part of the global security agenda due to the growing fear of terrorism notably after 9/11. There is a lack of relevant baselines and a gap in scholarly work that shows the direct connection between migration and security. This paper aims to identify the circumstances under which migration can be considered as a security issue. For this, we conducted an extensive literature review and interviews with policy-makers and staffs from migration regime as well as migrant professionals in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines between May 2018 and March 2019. The concepts of migration and security act as the theoretical standpoint of this paper. The findings show that the formation of an illusory correlation between migration and security has resulted in an extreme act of biasness towards migrant minority groups.