Page - 507 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

507Worked to the Bone: COVID-19, the Agrifood Labour Force , and the Need for More… undocumented migrants may not seek medical help if they develop symptoms due to fears of deportation. In this respect, Portugal has demonstrated international leadership by setting up facilities for agri- cultural workers who need to be quarantined and granting temporary residence to immigrants and asylum seekers.16 Despite the challenges migrant workers face, they continue to seek employment abroad to support family members in low- to mid- dle-income countries. It is troubling that one of the reasons Romania relaxed its lockdown measures for seasonal workers was due to the government’s admission that there was no other income-support pro- gram available for them.17 In 2019, estimates placed global remittances from the global migrant workforce at US$550 billion.18 This year, how- ever, lockdowns and border closures to non-residents mean that many temporary foreign workers have either been forced to return home or have been prevented from travelling to work. In some cases, industries that normally employ migrant workers, such as hospitality, food ser- vices, and construction, have shut down, thereby reducing demand. In the case of harvesting crops, the demand for labour is high, but travel restrictions and quarantine requirements create hurdles for getting workers to the field. The World Bank is projecting that global remit- tances will fall 20% in 2020.19 In the United States, remittances will fall by US$6 billion, particularly impacting receiving households from Mexico and Central America.20 In Nigeria, remittances, which make up 6% of the country’s GDP, decreased by half in February.21 Remittances are also expected to fall by 13% in the Philippines due to the crisis.22 16. European Commission, “COVID-19’s Impact on Migrant Communities” (30 April 2020), online: European  Union  Website  on  Integration  <ec.europa.eu/ migrant-integration/news/covid-19s-impact-on-migrant-communities>. 17. Rogozanu & Gabor, supra note 12. 18. The World Bank, Press Release, 2020/175/SPJ, “World Bank Predicts Sharpest Decline of Remittances in Recent History” (22 April 2020), online: The  World  Bank <https:// www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/04/22/world-bank-predicts- sharpest-decline-of-remittances-in-recent-history>. 19. Ibid. 20. Manuel Orozco, “Migrants and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Remittances” (18 March 2020), online: Inter-American  Dialogue <https://www. thedialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Migration-remittances-and-the- impact-of-the-pandemic-3.pdf>. 21. “Covid Stops Many Migrants Sending Money Home”, The Economist (16 April 2020), online: <https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/04/16/covid- stops-many-migrants-sending-money-home>. 22. Phillip Inman, “World Bank Warns of Collapse in Money Sent Home by Migrant Workers”, The  Guardian  (22 April 2020), online: <https://www.