With staff and programs in over 40 countries, ICMC advocates for sustainable solutions[buzzword] and rights-based policies directly and through a worldwide network of 132 member organizations.

The following year, Pope Pius XII formally established ICMC through a papal letter, Exsul Familia,[2] which brought worldwide attention towards the needs of migrants and invoked the support of the Catholics to welcome and assist foreign nationals fleeing their home countries.

ICMC soon gained comprehensive expertise in assisting the migrants and increased its network of member organizations and local partners, thus becoming a worldwide movement.

ICMC continued to assist European refugees relocate in new countries, while also starting new programs in South and Southeast Asia, the Near East, Africa and Latin America.

In 1979, while thousands of "boat people" fleeing Vietnam were perishing at sea, ICMC played a key role in the UNHCR Orderly Departure Program (ODP),[3] while also providing legal and safe means of emigration for those Vietnamese migrants (mainly through resettlement in the United States).

In 1997, ICMC initiated three micro-credit institutions (in Serbia-Montenegro and Kosovo) providing business loans, training and counselling to the uprooted people wishing to start a new life after the conflict.

[6] The partnership includes the collaboration with public administrations, employment services, academic institutes, and private hospitals in Eastern Europe, and aims to expand to other European countries.