Operation ‘Bring Them Home’: learning from the large-scale repatriation of overseas Filipino workers in times of crisis

Abstract

ABSTRACT In crisis events such as wars, natural disasters and epidemics, migrant workers are among the hardest hit and most vulnerable to displacement, unemployment and the loss of income. The coronavirus pandemic has drawn attention to the role of sending states in protecting labour migrants during disruptions, particularly by returning them to countries of origin. This article highlights the understudied aspect of repatriation, which needs to be unpacked as a process involving actors, policies and practices that shape a sending state's capacity for migrant protection. Through data and document analysis, the article examines the Philippines' experience of repatriating Filipino migrant workers from host countries during crises, focusing on three points. First, institutional and legislative policies configure repatriation in the Philippines' migration system as a process of facilitated return and assistance. Second, past crisis events show how the government's large-scale repatriation efforts adapted to specific situations, but also faced challenges with operational and resource capacities. Third, repatriation in the COVID-19 crisis suggests that a critical post-arrival phase of assistance remains underdeveloped. The discussion reveals the uneven approach of the sending state, which has built a comprehensive system of labour export, but a less coordinated repatriation system and an less fortified reintegration policy.