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Although migration has long been a historical phenomenon in Ecuador, the country has increased its flow of migrants significantly since 1999. Ecuador is currently a source country for migration, as well as a receptor, transit, and return country. In the last decade, there has been a slowdown in departures from Ecuador to some destination countries, mainly European, and an increase in the return of Ecuadorian migrants to Ecuador. The mass migration that has occurred in the last decade has solicited multiple state responses. For instance, it became necessary to recognize and make the migration status of the country visible to the public and to adapt state institutions to deal with migration. The country’s migration policy has undergone several changes over the past decade. The state’s policy has focused its actions with the Ecuadorian population on migration as it relates to returnees and to relatives of migrants in the place of origin. Refuge or asylum, meanwhile, has been a major field of work for both national and international aid agencies. However, there are many factors that have reduced the policies’ impacts on the migrant population, their families, and returnees.
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