ABSTRACT
Ideally, national migration policy should reflect a country’s economic, political, social, demographic, and humanitarian priorities. Unfortunately, it is often challenging to develop optimal migration policy because immigration tends to be a highly controversial and often a divisive subject; moreover, countries’ priorities can and do change over time. Migration policies in the countries of destination and origin determine which official channels for migration are available to prospective migrants. Market forces, such as the demand for immigrant labor and high wage differentials in comparison to the countries of origin, often “pull” migrants into the country of destination irrespective of its labor migration policy. In the absence of formal regulated migration channels, migrants resort to their irregular counterparts, which often involve the services of human smugglers. In light of the in-depth analysis of the case of Kyrgyzstan-United States labor migration, this chapter will examine labor migration policies in both countries, and identify the formal actors involved in the process of migration.
