This article examines the issue of defining the competence of local governments in implementing state migration policy. An analysis of legislative norms, as well as the content of a number of conceptual, programmatic acts, and methodological recommendations, reveals the lack of a clear and unambiguous approach to the delimitation of powers between state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local governments. This, in the author's opinion, creates the basis for the development of a wide variety of practices for delimiting these powers by the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and, at the same time, increases the risks of differentiating the legal status of local governments as entities implementing state migration policy. The criteria by which constituent entities of the Russian Federation can objectively resolve the issue of redistributing the powers of local governments in the sphere of migration include indicators of migration growth in the constituent entity as a whole, as well as the number of offenses committed by migrants. When implementing the mechanism for redistributing these powers, it is proposed that the relevant laws of the constituent entity establish a period of at least 5 years for their implementation to ensure the possibility of achieving high-quality indicators for their implementation and financial planning.