Remittances are among the most tangible links between migration and development. In 2009, officially recorded flows totaled over US$414 billion worldwide, with more than three-quarters (US$316 billion) sent to developing countries. In 22 countries, remittances were equal to more than 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009; in 11 countries they were equal to more than 20 percent of GDP.

The global recession reversed a strong upward trend in remittances sent by migrants to their countries of origin. The 2009 officially recorded remittances were 6.7 percent lower than those in 2008, when the all-time high of $443.4 billion was reached. The World Bank projects that with improved economic prospects, remittances to developing countries will increase by 6.2 percent in 2010 and 7.1 percent in 2011.

Illegal immigration's overall impact on the U.S. economy is negligible, despite clear benefits for employers and unauthorized immigrants and slightly depressed wages for low-skilled native workers, according to a report by a University of California, San Diego economist released by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI).

The report, The Economics and Policy of Illegal Immigration in the United States, authored by UC-San Diego Professor of Economics Gordon Hanson, examines the effect of illegal immigration on the economy. The paper was commissioned to inform the work of MPI's Labor Markets Initiative, which is conducting a comprehensive, policy-focused review of the role of legal and illegal immigration in the labor market.

The global financial crisis that followed the collapse of the investment house Lehman Brothers in September 2008 can be viewed as having a deeper and more global effect on the movement of people around the world than any other economic downturn in the post World War II era of migration. In this report commissioned by the BBC World Service, the Migration Policy Institute seeks to explore the myriad impacts of this crisis on migration flows, remittances, and on migrants themselves as they adjust to the sweeping economic changes set in motion by the deepest global financial downturn since the Great Depression.

Effective employment verification must be the linchpin of comprehensive immigration reform legislation if new policies are to succeed in preventing future illegal immigration. While E-Verify, the government's voluntary electronic verification program, has been greatly improved, it most crucially still cannot detect identity fraud and requires further enhancement. This report examines the strengths and weaknesses of the current system and outlines recommendations to get to a stronger next-generation E-Verify, including by testing alternatives such as secure documents, PIN pre-verification, and biometric scanning.