This open access book discusses the socio-political context of the COVID-19 crisis and
questions the management of the pandemic emergency with special reference to how this affected
the governance of migration and asylum. The book offers critical insights on the impact of the
pandemic on migrant workers in different world regions including North America Europe and
Asia. The book addresses several categories of migrants including medical staff farm labourers
construction workers care and domestic workers and international students. It looks at border
closures for non-citizens disruption for temporary migrants as well as at special arrangements
made for essential (migrant) workers such as doctors or nurses as well as farmworkers
'shipped' to destination with special flights to make sure emergency wards are staffed and
harvests are picked up and the food processing chain continues to function. The book
illustrates how the pandemic forces us to rethink notions like membership citizenship
belonging but also solidarity human rights community essential services or 'essential'
workers alongside an intersectional perspective including ethnicity gender and race.
