This article discusses: current trends in international migration, highlighting why global governance of international migration is needed; explores reasons why this form of global governance has lagged behind others; and reviews the steps that have been taken since the early twentieth century to foster greater international cooperation. In recent years, states appear more willing than before to discuss issues of mutual concern although actual decision-making on these issues remains elusive. The article concludes that although an international migration regime is unlikely to be in place any time soon, the prospects for progress in this area are better today than any time in the past century.