Mexico City, already one of the largest cities in the world, could see as many as five million climate migrants added to its population by 2050. Recognizing this coming reality, the city’s government is preparing for its future today, taking bold actions to support migrant residents who have already arrived in the city as well as those who are bound to enter its communities in the coming months, years, and decades.

Through early planning and local investments, Mexico City is demonstrating how in-migration can create positive outcomes in urban areas, including more vibrant communities and economies.

With approximately 50 percent of Mexico City residents working in the informal economy, the local government estimated that half a million informal jobs were lost due to pandemic infection prevention measures, disproportionately impacting migrant residents who were already struggling to make ends meet in their new city.

Mexico City has joined the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees, which showcases local and regional governments’ pragmatic, principled and people-centered approaches to migration and forced displacement governance and offers a concrete pathway for the localization of the Migration and Refugee Compacts and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

The Call to Local Action is organized by the Mayors Mechanism, co-steered by United Cities and Local Governments, the Mayors Migration Council, and the UN Migration Agency, and executed in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency. Learn more about the actions captured by this initiative as well as how to join our cohort of recognized leaders here.