The article discusses international migration trends and their impact on the formation of migration regulatory framework in the Russian Federation, as well as the analysis of factors influencing these trends worldwide. The authors point out to different aspects of the illegal migration phenomenon as the universal problem that has a marked tendency to increase including its impact on the national security of hosting states. The article examines problems of legal regulation of forced migration in contemporary situation of increasing political instability, as well as migration replacement as one of the ways to dealing with the demographic crisis observed in a number of developed countries. The globalization of the world migration flows are taken into consideration as a significant modern phenomenon, while special attention is drawn to the need for legal regulation of the integration of migrants into the hosting community. The article also explores into the changes in the structure of contemporary migration flows trends, examines their transformation in accordance with the socio-economic and political necessities of nations. The policy of attracting highly qualified specialists from abroad is replacing the guidelines for unskilled work force and the Russian Federation is actively engaged in the struggle for highly qualified personnel on the international labor market. The authors raise the acute problem of the increasing impact of migration processes on the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the world in the context of the COVID-19 spread. Hence, they emphasize the essential designing of a local model of the migration legal framework taking into account the protection of the national security of the Russian Federation from such threats. The authors consider the duality of the international migration policy, as well as the dual nature of the migration policy of the Russian Federation based on the principle of selective migration. In conclusion, the authors indicate the importance of studying the global benchmarks of migration processes for predicting the development of the migration situation in the Russian Federation and the passing of national migration legislation that adequately respond to the challenges and threats of the contemporary world.