The different stages of the migration process bring specific risk factors that can generate psychosocial vulnerabilities that, when combined with other elements of risk such as pre-existing psychological, emotional and social vulnerabilities, can affect the well-being of migrants, their families and the communities of origin, transit or destination.

The number of extraregional migrants in the Americas, both those who use regular means of entry and those who use irregular forms of migration, has been increasing in recent years.

This report seeks to complement the findings of the 2016 IOM report “Migrant flows with an irregular migration status from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean in Mesoamerica” updating its data and expanding the information available on the experiences and needs of extraregional migrants who travel through the region irregularly.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s Regional Office for Central America, North America and the Caribbean presents this brief in order to highlight several key changes and trends in mobility and migration that have occurred during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief focuses on official statistics from January to August 2020, using data from 2019 as a reference. Most of the information is derived from official records published and maintained by governments in the region.

This document is available in Spanish.