From incarcerating children to prosecuting people who offer humanitarian assistance to migrants in dire situations, the criminalization of migration takes many forms, says Michel Levoy from the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants.

“A really big issue in the criminalization of migrants is narratives,” she adds. “How is the policy discourse contributing to a very negative stereotyping of migrants? We always hear the word ‘illegal migrant’, whereas we should be saying ‘irregular migrant’ or ‘undocumented person’.”

Civil society organizations have been working towards alternatives to detention and decriminalization for years, often in partnership with local governments. At the Global Forum on Migration and Development, they are hoping to engage new partners.