As G7 leaders gather in Évian, migration remains at the centre of political discussions across the G7 and beyond. Often, the focus is on the question of control – how to stop people from moving or how to manage borders more tightly. But this framing overlooks a larger reality: migration today is deeply tied to global economic and development trends, and it cannot be managed effectively in isolation from them.
For too long, migration and development have been treated as separate domains. In practice, they are part of the same continuum. When development falters – when jobs are scarce, climate shocks destroy livelihoods or conflict erodes stability – people move. And when migration is well managed, it can fuel development: migrants fill labour shortages, send remittances home and build skills that benefit both origin and destination countries.
Today’s migration patterns make this connection impossible to ignore. The vast majority of people on the move now are not fleeing persecution in a narrow legal sense; they are seeking safety, stability and opportunity. Yet the global system we rely on – largely designed in the aftermath of the Second World War – was not built for this reality. It offers too few legal pathways for those seeking work, while placing enormous strain on asylum systems that were never intended to carry this burden alone.
A system under strain
The result is predictable. Irregular migration rises. Public confidence erodes. And criminal networks – smugglers and traffickers – step in, exploiting both migrants and the weaknesses of the system.
It is important to be clear: every country has the sovereign right to determine its own border policies. Managing borders is not only legitimate – it is essential to maintaining public trust. But migration is, by its nature, a global phenomenon. No country, no matter how powerful, can manage it alone.
When countries focus solely on enforcement, they may reduce migration flows in the short term. But these efforts do not address the underlying drivers of migration or the economic realities that sustain it. In many advanced economies, labour shortages are constraining growth, with tens of millions of roles projected to go unfilled in the coming decades. If legal pathways do not help fill that demand, irregular routes will expand, further empowering the criminal smuggling networks.
The alternative is not open borders. It is smarter, more coordinated governance.
This begins with recognising migration as a development tool. Strategic investments in countries of origin – particularly in education, skills training and job creation – can give people real choices about whether to stay or move. At the same time, expanding safe and legal pathways for migration, especially in sectors facing labour shortages, can reduce pressure on irregular routes while supporting economic growth.
There are promising signs of progress. Increasingly, governments are aligning migration policies with development strategies, investing in workforce partnerships and targeted training programmes. This is a welcome shift. But it remains uneven, and it must be scaled.
From enforcement to support
The G7 can accelerate this transition.
First, G7 members should deepen investment in development initiatives that address the drivers of migration – particularly in fragile and climate-vulnerable regions. Supporting communities before displacement occurs is far more cost-effective than responding after the fact.
Second, they should expand and modernise legal migration pathways, aligning them more closely with labour market needs. Well-designed temporary and circular migration programmes, with strong protections for workers, can deliver benefits for all parties while reducing reliance on irregular channels. When migrants can return home with new skills, experience and savings, they become drivers of growth in their own communities – helping to reduce the pressures that lead to migration in the first place.
Third, G7 leaders should intensify coordinated efforts to combat the $10 billion-per-year smuggling and trafficking business. These criminal enterprises profit from human desperation and expose migrants to exploitation, abuse and death. Disrupting them requires not only law enforcement cooperation but also a reduction in demand for their services by expanding safe alternatives.
Finally, the G7 should reaffirm the importance of multilateral cooperation, including by working with institutions such as the International Organization for Migration. No single country can manage migration alone – but together, countries can build systems that are orderly, humane and effective.
Migration will remain a defining issue of our time. The question is not whether people will move, but how.
With the right policies, migration can ease labour shortages, strengthen economies and support development in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions. Without them, we will continue to see disorder, exploitation and political division.
The choice before G7 leaders is clear: invest in a system that works – or continue to manage the consequences of one that does not.
