In 2015, over a million people streamed into Europe, prompting an existential crisis in capitals as national governments tried to figure out what to do with this massive wave of refugees.

Five years on, migrants are still risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean or marching through central America in hope of a better life.

But as countries drag their feet on policy or erect walls to keep migrants out, cities are increasingly stepping in to offer solutions on migration issues or take matters into their own hands.

Defying the government

In 2019, over 123,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe, traveling over land or across the Mediterranean from places like Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

This was a far cry from the 1.03 million who poured in during 2015. But tens of thousands still languish in sordid and overcrowded camps in Greece, and rescue ships, often operated by charities, have been forced from port to port as countries refused them entry.

This inspired German cities last year to take action: a dozen of them petitioned the government in Berlin to let them take in refugees rescued from the Mediterranean "as quickly as possible," on top of previously agreed quotas.

The so-called "Safe Harbour Cities" alliance has since grown to include over 120 cities, including Berlin, Munich, Duesseldorf, Bonn, Kiel and Potsdam.

They are not the only ones to have intervened on migration issues. The mayor of Palermo, Italy, Leoluca Orlando, defied former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini last year by granting residence permits to asylum seekers.

A mayor in southwestern France went up against the government in Paris by putting up a shelter for African migrants crossing the border illegally from Spain.

On the other side of the Atlantic, U.S. "sanctuary" cities have offered protection to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants already in the country, even as the Trump administration tries to send them back to their countries of origin.

Closer to the ground

About 80 percent of the world's internally displaced persons and two-thirds of all refugees end up in cities, according to the Mayors' Migration Council (MMC).

This has put mayors on the front lines of integration efforts. And they are now joining hands and taking to greater fora to make their voices heard and share their experiences.

"Migration is already the new normal for cities, and mayors can help address this and help national governments," according to Vittoria Zanuso, executive director of the MMC, which was launched last year to help mayors get a seat at the international table when it comes to migration policy.

Cities helped draft the UN's groundbreaking Global Compact for Migration (GCM) and the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) that were passed in 2018, and they were instrumental in ensuring that non-discriminatory access to health and education were kept in the provisions, according to Zanuso.

At last month's Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in Quito, Ecuador, mayoral sessions were included for the first time in what is usually a state-led process, with more than 80 mayors and officials from 56 cities and regions taking part.

"Mayors are close to the ground, they have the capacity to build coalitions with local citizens, businesses, academia etc... and these coalitions are very important to create support for policies," Zanuso told CGTN.

While national governments focus on security and asylum procedures, cities can bring new insights and creative solutions to the table: at the end of the day, they are the ones taking in newcomers, providing housing, language lessons, training and other services.

'We have room'

"We are ready, we can and we want to take in (more refugees) so please, set up the legal framework for that to happen," Eckart Wuerzner, mayor of Heidelberg, one of the Safe Harbour Cities in southwestern Germany, urged the federal government during a rally last summer.

With a population of 160,000, the university town is currently home to 450 refugees, housed in different locations. But its welcome center can register and process asylum requests for up to 600 newcomers daily, according to city spokeswoman Christina Euler.

With its appeal to Berlin, Heidelberg wanted to show that "at the local level too, we can take on responsibility" when it comes to immigration, Euler told CGTN, adding the city was keen to facilitate integration and assist organisations that help refugees.

Heidelberg and its "Safe Harbour Cities" partners have the backing of their local communities.

But beyond offering to take in more refugees, they want to have more say at the national level and be more involved in the decision-making process. Under Germany's current system, there is no direct coordination between federal and local authorities: instead they must go through regional governments.

Cross-border cooperation

This is where international groups like MMC hope to make a difference: at the GFMD in Quito, governments and international organizations were eager to hear from cities about how best to approach immigration and integration. This included countries that haven't often been associated with migration issues.

Representatives from Egypt quizzed colleagues from the German city of Mannheim about upskilling programs, said Zanuso. It was refreshing to see national delegates ask local governments "how do you do this?" she noted.

Nigeria's government also expressed interest in working more with cities.

It is time to recognize "the key role of cities as first responders to migration and as a source of extensive knowledge," noted Antonio Vitorino, director-general of the UN's International Organization for Migration.

For now, German cities are still awaiting the green light from Berlin to welcome more refugees. In the U.S., cities like Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and Newark are at loggerheads with the federal government over its efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants.

Immigration policy will continue to be a state's prerogative, Zanuso admitted. But as the climate crisis displaces more people – an estimated 200 million people by 2050 – migration will impact more and more countries and regions around the world.

And involving and consulting cities will be key to finding and implementing solutions.