Nigerian-born Tolu Olubunmi ((o-loo-BOO-mee)) is a Dreamer.
That is, an undocumented migrant who arrived in the United States as a child.
After completing her chemical-engineering degree, she says, she discovered she had no legal status to work in her profession.
She worked with then-US president Barack Obama to establish the DACA, ((DAK-uh)) or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, program, which has allowed hundreds of thousands of young people to remain and work in the country.
((OLUBUNMI))
(("That frustration has been channelled into this powerful movement that has gone beyond the community of those directly affected."))
It is initiatives like that that have been shared at the International Metropolis Conference Sydney, which brought together a thousand people from more than 30 countries to highlight the latest research, challenges and successes in migration.
It comes at a time when the challenges include the issue being increasingly exploited for political gain.
As people trek through Mexico, hoping to reach the United States, US president Donald Trump is stepping up his anti-immigrant talk ahead of mid-term elections in that country.
Gloria Careaga, a social psychologist at the Social Psychology National Autonomous University of Mexico, has told the conference it is another case of migrants being used to bolster a political campaign.
((CAREAGA))
(("Yes, this is a political situation. But the problem is they are playing games with the lives of the people."))
Analysts at the conference say deterrence and detention have become key pillars of immigration policies around the world.
But they argue the approach does not work.
Paris Aristotle, chief executive of the Survivors of Torture Australia, says refugees are always going to flee war and hardship so fresh thinking about the issue is needed.
((ARISTOTLE))
(("No matter what form of deterrence we put in place, people will, by necessity and as a result of the urgent circumstances, still seek to find ways to protect themselves and their families. And, therefore, it behoves the international community to think differently about how they manage people fleeing those sorts of circumstances."))
[Full story is available on audio news.]
