Abstract
The relevance of the study is due to the destabilizing influence of modern migration processes on regional development, primarily the Russian borderlands with depopulation of the population. This is manifested in the growth of spatial heterogeneity, the deepening of territorial imbalances, the expansion of sparsely populated spaces that threaten the unity of the country in economic, political and social aspects. The purpose of the article is to assess the migration situation in a border region with a decreasing population on the example of the Saratov region, to identify the main trends and potential threats. The border situation is one of the potential factors stimulating migration. However, migration outflow is observed in the Saratov region. In the interregional migration turnover, the region acts as a donor, losing in competition to other regions for human capital. The human losses of the region due to interregional migration were partially compensated by the influx of international migrants accompanied by an increasing crime rate in the migration field and among migrants. The analysis made it possible to reveal a tendency to increase the negative impact of migration processes on the development of the Saratov region expressed in reducing human capital, increasing burden on labor resources, expanding of sparsely populated border areas, and growing illegal migration. This requires taking a set of measures to retain and attract human capital in the border municipalities of the region, optimizing migration flows and migration regime.