By Alexa Bejinariu

This article aims to enhance our understanding of social assistance providers as important sites of potential human trafficking identification, prevention, and disruption, particularly in countries newly experiencing the phenomenon of mass incoming migration. We do so by examining the experiences of Romanian NGOs and other voluntary actors in Romania providing assistance to migrants traveling from Ukraine during the early months of the Russian invasion. Drawing upon data from semistructured qualitative interviews and site visits with over 20 distinct civil society initiatives in summer 2022, we identify five themes that enhance our understanding of system capacities to address human trafficking in countries unaccustomed to migration, and discuss the implications for criminal justice. The article has implications for countries encountering migration due to regional conflicts, but also for migration related to natural disasters, climate change, and other causes.

By Katerina Glyniadaki, Nora Ratzmann, Julia Stier

International organizations and foreign-funded NGOs run campaigns in Senegal to raise awareness of the perils of irregular migration. To increase their effectiveness, these organizations often enlist local migrant returnees to share their personal migration experiences and transmit an anti-irregular migration message to their compatriots. This article examines whether policymakers' assumptions regarding the representativeness of migrant returnees operating as (anti-)migration messengers in terms of shared identities corresponds to reality at the street level. It draws from theories of street-level bureaucracy and representative bureaucracy and is based on 31 qualitative interviews with migrant returnees and experts. The study shows that migrant returnees engaged in migration information campaigns are not as representative of the local population as envisaged by policymakers, potentially impacting policy outcomes. They stand out from their compatriots in terms of skillsets and social status – partly because of the selection mechanism employed by organizations and partly because of the training and capacity-building efforts directed at migrant returnees.

International Migration. 2025;63:e13382.