Migration

This week’s news roundup is truly a mixed basket of stories, including a look at the new US citizenship test, a new set of statistics on immigration, which raise a few questions for the Home Secretary in the UK and a story on how a new musical phenomenon is visualizing just how much Italian society has changed over time.

• Janet Hinshaw-Thomas, the founder and director of Prime - Ecumenical Commitment to Refugees, a two-decade-old refugee resettlement organization in Pennsylvania has been arrested in Canada for aiding Haitian migrants in seeking asylum in the country. This is the first time the 2002 law on prosecuting “criminal smugglers” has been applied to someone working for an immigrant aid organization, the New York Times reports. Hinshaw-Thomas’ organization has been accompanying migrants who have exhausted their legal options in the US to the Canadia border over the past few months, always giving Canadian authorities advanced notice. Her lawyer is disputing the charges.
• The United States has been giving citizenship tests to those seeking a blue passport for years and these have become the golden standard for many European countries who are currently developing their own versions of these exams. Now, the US test has been updated: knowing who the Speaker of the House is and correctly identifying Susan B. Anthony’s role in the women’s civil rights movement will help assess whether an immigrant has understood basic concepts of modern American democracy. American or not, would you be able to answer these questions?
• We have highlighted the difficulties the dire economic situation in Zimbabwe is causing neighboring countries in previous posts. This article from the International Herald Tribune describes the situation for Zimbabwean migrants - some permanent, some merely daily labor migrants - in neighboring Zambia. Around a 1,000 Zimbabweans cross into Zambia daily just to purchase basic provisions no longer available in Zimbabwe.
• Michael Kimmelmann reports from Rome on Italy’s changing face, visible in one of the first truly multicultural, successful orchestras. A documentary the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio went around the international film festival circuit and boosted the group’s popularity at home. They now play sold-out shows up and down the country and politicians hungry for votes have begun to take notice.
  
• Members of the European Parliament are backing EU Commissioner Franco Frattini’s plans for an EU Blue Card.
• Looks like the UK government needs some better statisticians: earlier in the week, the Office of National Statistics published new projected migration figures, revising previous estimates with an increase of 30%. Naturally, anti-immigrant groups and opposition politicians jumped all over the Labor government for their apparent failure to live up to their “complacent assumptions” of migrants coming into the country. Instead of 145,000 migrants annually, the new figure now stands at 190,000. Home Secretary Jaqui Smith reiterated her commitment to bringing in highly-skilled migrants on a points-based system and cracking down on criminal immigrants and illegals with her proclaimed “zero tolerance” approach, while immigration minister Liam Byrne pointed to the fact that these new numbers could be attributed to the EU decision to relax rules on labor migration from the Union’s newest members to other member states.
• The UNHCR has created an excellent web resource on the Iraqi refugee situation, including an update of recent relief work in the region. In addition, the UNHCR is closely monitoring how Iraqi refugees are being treated in exile.

After the painful debate in the US about immigration this past year, none of the future Presidential candidates came out as a hero for the Hispanic voter in the intense conflict between individual Democrats and Republicans as well as within the parties themselves on how to change the US Immigration fiasco for the better. While not a hot issue beforehand, the Bush Presidency opened the issue to allow a debate beyond Iraq and allow Mr. Bush to end his second term with some positive changes to internal policies in the United States near the beginning of 2007.

While seen by many as self-serving, Bush did try to create positive change to US Immigration policy recently, which was in 2001 his main focus before 9/11. In the end, the support for giving more access and legalizing illegal workers in the United States started where it ended, absolutely nowhere. The only beneficiaries were American media outlets who were given something else to report on besides climate change and the occasional car chase in Springfield, Anywhere, USA. Since the end of the Bill this past summer, the only mention of immigration was on Lou Dobbs and the occasional report on the lack of progress of the fence to be built between the US, Mexico and even Canada.

With the increased furor of the US Presidential elections, a large pile of candidates has announced their intention to run. With such a large number of candidates comes large debate that is hard to follow in any neighborhood or community in the US. One debate this past week was done on a Spanish language channel in the US where the Democratic candidates gave their opinion on issues ranging from immigration to immigration as Jon Stewart cleverly pointed out. The interviewer also questioned issues concerning Cuba and how to address Chavez of Venezuela and his negative PR campaign of the US. While most of the responses were directed by each candidate slightly to the left or slightly to the right of their colleagues, the main focus was on how Republicans often-created negative impressions of immigration to quell any proper debate on the issue, while Democrats were seeking a concrete solution to the immigration issue. This image might have been quashed however, when Sen. Bill Richardson, who is of Hispanic descent, was prohibited from speaking in Spanish as not to give unfair advantage to him in the translated debates. In the end I believe that with the vast number of candidates and everyone waiting for the end of Bush, many do not give much attention to any debates at this point so far away from the voting date. The only assurance is that there will be a new President, but no one could predict who it could be at this point…so place your bets!

For all the outrage it caused, particularly among German commentators, you would assume that EU Commission Vice-President, Franco Frattini, had proposed throwing open the doors and letting in half of the African sub-continent. Naturally, as has continually been the case since the idea of a common European immigration policy first emerged as a top policy priority at the Tampere Summit in 1999, the Commission’s proposal is a much more reasoned, well-rounded approach to addressing some of Europe’s most pressing problems: the effects of demographic change and a shortage of highly-skilled workers and specialists.

But let’s backtrack for a second: Taking over from the German EU Presidency, Portugal mapped out a number of priority areas in the Justice and Home Affairs arena. Thus, since July at the very latest, interior ministers in the EU have known that major Commission proposals would be put on the table at the High-Level Conference on Legal Migration on September 13th and 14th. More than that - officials from all Member States have been working with the Commission toward a feasible solution to the problem of admission and residence status of highly-qualified migrants and the rights of so-called third country nationals (TCNs) living and working legally in the European Union.

Taking the podium (the full speech is worth reading) at the conference on Thursday, Frattini did as was expected of him and more. First - he called a spade a spade: “We have to look at immigration as an enrichment and as an inescapable phenomenon of today’s world, not as a threat.” He also linked immigration to mobility, one of the four freedoms of the EU for the first time and for both of these points he is to be commended, because the truth is that in not embracing a modern system of labor migration, the EU is setting itself for major losses in this great game we call globalization. Frattini puts it in more political terms: “Migrants re a crucial part of the EU’s competitiveness strategy, but it will not be possible to realize their full potential unless they are given opportunities to integrate into the host society and economy.” But let’s look at other key themes in his speech:

• Frattini highlighted the need to consolidate existing legislation and working toward interlinked approaches and concepts toward strengthening the implementation of current policies on legal migration, illegal immigration, integration and cooperation with third countries
• He underlined that given the complexity and interwoven character of these issues, European citizens would see an added-value of a common EU approach (crucial, of course, to the act of ’selling’ the EU).
• The Commissioner highlighted immigration as one approach to tackling the looming demographic crisis in Europe, but underlined that it was ‘not on it’s own the solution.’ Family-friendly policies had to be another part of this equation.
• He introduced the functions and remit of the new (and controversial) Centre for Migration Management in Bamako, Mali, but stressed that Member States would remain “solely responsible for the actual number of labor migrants admitted onto their territories.”
• Aside from announcing a number of future legislative proposals on basic socio-economic rights for TCNs and seasonal workers, he provided a look-ahead at his ‘Blue Card’ proposal, which is intended to allow Member States the flexibility to recruit highly-skilled migrants as their own labor market requires it [emphasis added]!!

On to the ‘Blue Card,’ the final proposal for which will come on October 23rd and could encompass the following:

• A fast-track procedure for the admission of highly qualified third-country workers based on common criteria: work contract, professional qualifications and a salary level clearly above existing minimum wages at national level.
• This should also apply to third-country nationals already legally resident in a Member State and fulfilling the criteria (students, etc);
• A specific scheme for “young professionals” should be built in;
• Workers admitted under these schemes would be issued with a special residence permit allowing them to work, called the ” Blue EU Labour Card”: this would entitle them to a series of rights;
• Access to the labour market in the first Member State of destination should be limited to an initial period of two years, renewable thereafter;
• Holders of an “Blue EU Labour Card” could move to a second Member State for work under certain conditions and after two or three years of legal residence in the first Member State.
• In order not to penalise potentially mobile highly skilled migrants, they should be allowed to add up periods of residence in different Member States so that they can obtain long-term EC residence status faster.

Again, looking at these proposals and the emphasis on flexibility, one cannot understand the public outcry these points drew in a number of Member States, particularly in Germany, where for weeks now, the lack of highly-skilled workers has been a key issue of debate. For all the far-sightedness of these suggestions, the fact that Frattini had to come out in a number of articles over the weekend not to correct anything he had said, but to re-emphasize points already made in his speech (on flexibility; on Member State responsibilities and sovereignty in admitting migrants; on how immigration is not the only solution to demographic change, etc.) simply highlights the key pitfall of European policy making.

The German government has been working on similar plans for years, one only has to think back to the failed ‘Green Card’ for IT specialists introduced by the Schröder government in 2000. The pressure to solve the looming labor shortage for highly-skilled workers in the manufacturing industry is high and new ideas aren’t exactly abundant. Instead of embracing the matter-of-fact tone set by Frattini toward explaining these proposals to their electorate and selling them as an advantage for Europe in general and Germany in particular, both the interior minister and the minister for economic affairs have been quick to criticize the ideas publicly, lest they be seen as giving away a slice of their sovereignty to Brussels.

As long as this type of defensive policy making, in which each Member State government needs to be seen as the ‘victor’ against the Brussels’ machinery, continues, we will not see any true, comprehensive, practical progress on these crucial issues for Europe in the 21st century. 
 

Immigration was the hot-button topic across Europe for much of this week (see our separate article on the Blue Card proposal). Following EU Commissioner Franco Frattini’s announcement to introduce a Europe-wide measure to facilitate the immigration of highly-skilled workers to combat existing labor shortages, Member State governments fell all over themselves to criticize the measure, if only to appease a presumed electoral backlash. But there was more news across Europe and the world:

• Earlier in the week, the French parliament debated the President’s new immigration legislation, which includes a proposal to demand DNA samples from visa applicants looking to move to France to prove genetic family ties to those already living in the country. The amendment would require consular offices in the native countries to administer such tests. Human rights organizations were quick to point to the costs of these tests, which the proposal suggests should be voluntary. Tests would serve to weed out economically and perhaps genetically less desireable migrants, they say.
• Brice Hortefeux, France’s immigration minister is also stepping up the pressure elsewhere. In trying to make good on the promises in the Sarkozy electoral campaign (see my commentary on the French election and immigration), he met with local administrators during the week to address why they were failing to meet the ambitious deportation goals set by the President. Sarkozy wants to see 25,000 illegal immigrants deported from France this year. Needless to say, human rights and migrant organizations are heavily critical of the emphasis on achieving the ‘right’ numbers.
• Ahead of EU Commission’s ground-breaking announcement on legal migration, the members of the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee sat down to formulate their recommendations toward addressing the situation of illegal immigrants.  One key issue was that jail time for illegals be limited to a more humane period of time. Parliamentarians suggested that illegal immigrants be held no longer than 18-months ahead of deportation across all EU Member States.  The lawmakers decided illegal immigrants can be held in custody for three months from the moment they are apprehended by police, after which an extension of up to 15 months needs to be justified — for example, when background checks on the immigrant take longer or if the person has no valid papers and documents must be obtained from third countries. In addition, parliamentarians want to see a greater degree of protection for illegal immigrants with residence permits that have fallen seriously ill and want to curtail the deportation of unaccompanied migrant children.
• Randal Archibold of the New York Times is reporting that while overall numbers of migrants crossing the border to the US from Mexico in Arizona is down - in part due to reinforced policing measures - the number of migrants dying in transit toward the promise of a new life is heading toward a new record.  Migrants are unaccustomed and unprepared to weather the climate changes in the Arizona desert and as they are forced to charter new ground to evade border patrols, there is little word-of-mouth on how to prepare for harsh conditions.
• Nine months after the fact, Union representatives at the Swift & Company meatpacking plants (we featured the story here) are suing federal immigration agents over the way workers were treated during a raid, which led to the deportation of over 600 workers.
• The Associated Press is reporting that Saul Arellano, son of prominent immigration activist Elvira Arellano (we covered the story here) has rejoined his mother in Mexico. Earlier in the week, 150 people staged a protest in Congress against his deportation to Mexico, given his US citizenship status.
• This week’s big migration-related story is obviously the EU Blue Card proposal to bring in thousands of skilled-migrant workers to combat looming labor shortages. Other countries, such as Malaysia, are also learning that simply expelling migrants for the sake of popular politics, has a profound impact on the economy. The IHT is reporting that the country’s campaign to expel 600,000 illegal migrant workers is starting to backfire, as demand for workers is growing with increasing government investsments ($57 billion) in agriculture, construction and manufacturing to sustain economic growth through 2010. Some plantation owners and construction companies are already reporting labor shortages and things are expected to get worse.
• Speaking of Asian governments, Japan Focus has published an overview of how municipalities in the country are dealing with migrant needs and how that, in turn, influences their two-pronged integration policy, which closely and purposely mirrors the European approach (*side note: who would have thought that the patche Europea immigration and integration policy is a model worth exporting!). The full report can be read here. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the results of the survey show that there is a great variance of how social integration questions are addressed, with some communities choosing not to differentiate between local and migrant population in terms of services offered, and others focused particularly on the needs of migrant women.

In Canada in the large and economically significant Province of Ontario there is an election coming next month to decide who will run Canada’s largest economy, yet the focus is not on recessions and profits, but on who has the right to demand funding for religious schooling in the Province of Ontario.

Since the formation of Canada’s two largest populations in 1867, mostly French speaking Catholics and the British English speaking Protestant populations, there has been a compromise allowing funding for the Catholic school system along with the public system to accommodate the reality of society at the time. The issue is that since 1867 Canada has become one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse populations in the world and in 2007 the country is no longer rooted in the same ethnic heritage as it once was. Despite a 1989 UN report condemning the funding of only one religious group in Ontario, the funding of the Catholic school system and no other system has not seriously been addressed. Despite the current Primier of Ontario being married to a teacher from the Catholic school system and his children attending the same school system, there has not been significant criticism of the current system in the government nor in society as a whole until the official opposition brought the issue to the forum in the current election. The reality is that with severe funding issues in Toronto and other structural issues it will be difficult to change the status quo in education and funding. Despite that, most do agree it is not a just system, but no one dared to change anything about the situation. It went so far that Primier Mcguinty of Ontario is publicising funding for other groups as “Segregation”, but despite all the advantages he personally takes from one religious group having rights above any others, he has labelled a term which honourable people such a Dr. Martin Luther King coined to describe a true tragedy in history and used it to maintain true  segregation in the Province.

“Exaggeration is truth that has lost its temper” - Gibran Khalil Gibran

Difficulties in the Americas does not only stop with public schooling. In California there is a debate about the rights of homosexuals in the private religious schooling systems and if children who do an act against the tenants of the religious group who run the school have a right to attend the school despite their actions being contrary to the basic rules of the religion. While it is really not clear how the situation will turn out, it will most likely depend on the funding status of the school as well as the rights individuals have in a congregation as opposed to rights of an individual.

The real issue at hand in both the above scenarios is what to do with groups which have been in the US and Canada for a short period of time in comparison to other groups and their rights to education for their children. In the case of Ontario, despite some religious affiliations being able to submit to religious tribunals in the Province, when Muslim groups sought to open tribunals based upon Shari’a Law it was denied by public authorities. Many see the denial of religious funding as an issue of denial of funding to Muslim schools as opposed to funding simply non-Catholics. While Jewish, Hindu, and Evangel groups are the vast majority seeking funding for schooling in Ontario, there is some discussion of the issue as being more anti-Muslim as opposed to pro-diversity, even though there are relatively small numbers of Muslims in Ontario compared to other groups in Canada and similar countries in Europe. While the debate is not clearly defined yet in the election campaign due Oct 10th in Ontario, a reflection of the issue is taking place currently in New York State.

Opening this week is the Khalil Gibran International Academy, which is rooted in the study of Arabic culture and literature. Despite concerns about the Academy being a school to teach radical Islam to young children by paranoid people in the community via public funding, the reality is that Arabic culture is as diverse as anywhere else in the world and is not solely rooted in Radicalism or even Islam itself. Gibran, a resident of New York an immigrant from Lebanon of Christian origin in the early 20th Century is one of the most well known poets in Middle Eastern literature and is studied by most of the groups residing in the Middle East and abroad. Paranoia about education serves in all these instances above as a disservice to those who seek to study the tradition of one culture yet must gain permission from others who do not wish to acknowledge equality in education. Often the criticism comes from groups beyond those who currently do not possess the rights and power to educate their children in any fashion they see fit with full public support. Education is power when the rights to disagree still allows to have the maturity to fund schools and education in a community, even if you do not agree with it or as seen above, understand it. Anyone who read Gibran before would note this debate his words:

“I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit” - Gibran Khalil Gibran

This week’s news roundup features a closer look at Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s agenda on immigration, as well as a number of personal stories on asylum and Mexican-American relations:

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has decided it is time to talk tough on immigration to outflank the Tories, as they try to garner that political topic for themselves. Over recent weeks, David Cameron, the Conservative leader has made a number of relatively vague statements on how immigration is a burden to local councils and a problem that needs to be acted upon. Now Mr. Brown wants to be seen to be doing just that: The Prime Minister has announced new immigration rules for thousands of foreigners seeking work in the country. The scheme would extend the language testing requirement already in operation for highly-skilled (i.e. university qualified, doctors, lawyers, etc.) migrants to the second tier, the skilled migrant category. Skilled workers from outside the EU will have to prove their English language skills or risk being sent home. According to analysts, this new measure could shut out around 35,000 skilled workers a year - and this, in turn, is worrying to British employers. Reuters quotes David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce: “In recent years migrant workers to the UK have ensured the continued growth of the economy, possessing a work ethic and skill level that many young British people just do not have. Of course language skills are important but I would be concerned if this meant that those who want to work and help our economy grow are kept out of the country and take their skills and talent elsewhere.” The Times paints the policy initiative in a far more nationalist perspective, as this announcement arrives in tandem with an incentive package for UK employers to hire British workers, with an emphasis on youth and long-term unemployed.

• In conservative politics elsewhere, Republican presidential candidate Rudy Guiliani has come out to say that illegal immigration is not a crime, kicking off a further dust-ruffling discussion with rival Mitt Romney, who accused Mr. Guiliani of not taking the issue seriously enough. In making his case, the former New York mayor is defending the City’s so-called sanctuary policy, which stopped city workers from reporting suspected illegal immigrants. The policy is intended to make illegal immigrants feel that they can report crimes, send their children to school or seek medical treatment without fear of being reported. It did require police to turn in illegal immigrants suspected of committing crimes. While NYC’s approach is an enlightened one and one that demonstrates true public policy making, Mr. Guiliani’s overall solution to the immigration problem is not: “My solution is: Close the border to illegal immigration.” Now that’s an innovative and helpful public policy proposal.
• We recently reported on how heads of local Iraqi provinces were denying settlement to internally displaced refugees. The latest report by the International Organization for Migration shows just how dire the situation has become: “In Basrah as in other governorates, the report finds that displaced women cannot access limited health facilities because of chronic insecurity and in Kirkuk, traditional customs continue to restrict the movement of displaced women. In Anbar, although governorate authorities have not officially imposed restrictions, the intensity of intertribal conflict requires IDPs to have tribal ties to an area in order to stay there safely.”
• Another prominent case of an illegal immigrant mother has been resolved. The story of Zhenxing Jiang made international headlines in 2002, when news broke that she had miscarried twins after allegedly being mistreated by US immigration official trying to deport her. The case has been under review for a number of years, but now Ms. Jiang has been granted political asylum and is thus allowed to remain in the US with her husband and American passport-carrying children. In her original asylum claim, Ms. Jiang had noted that under the Chinese one-child policy, she could have faced forced abortion or even sterilization, had she returned to the country with two American children.
• The San Francisco Chronicle features a profile of Lionel Sosa, the Mexican-American entrepreneur and political advisor on Latino Affairs who has now thrown his weight into finding practical ways of bridging the divide between Mexico and the United States with his new think tank MATT.org - Mexican & Americans Thinking Together.
• When three Muslim-fundamentalist terrorists were arrested in Germany earlier in the week, following the discovery of a plot to blow up a number of establishments frequented by Americans in September, Germans were shocked at the news that two of the suspects were countrymen who had converted to Islam and become radicalized through the mosque they visited in Ulm, but mostly through the terrorist training camps they attended in Pakistan. Hardly any public attention was lavished on the third suspect - a Muslim of Turkish origin. While all of Germany pondered the possible threat of the “new converts,” the New York Times examines what impact the involvement of a second-generation Turk in this plot might have on the image of the Turkish community in Germany.

Anyone who has passed into Britain from Europe were surprised to see one if not several border checks entering the UK from the Eurostar and numerous Ferries passing through Britain and the Continent. Much of the fuss came from the realization that many of the UK’s migrants came from other developed countries in Europe, most notably the border crossings between the UK and France. While many of the Ferries were shut down and border security heightened on open ports, concerns still exist that waves of illegal migrants are making the crossing to Britain via France’s Ferries, lorries and trains.

Near the town of Cherbourg in Western France there is a human rights debate among French officials about refugee camps in the area which were seen as a major jumping point for refugees heading to the UK. While many see the camps as requiring more attention and facilities being required to keep it to the standard of basic human rights, others see them as the main cause for migrants coming to the UK and wish them to be moved or closed. In reality, with much conflict in areas of the world such as Iraq and Afghanistan and economic migrants from Iran and Syria and other places also making their journey to the coast of France, the issue is most likely to become greater as tension rise abroad. It is claimed that people are arrested daily in their attempts to make it to the UK from the French costal towns.

Much of the issue in towns like Calais and Cherbourg however is that number of smugglers who help migrants make it to the UK with much ease according to UK officials. While the French government vowed to stop making more camps and crack down on smugglers, it seems that demand is ever-growing with troubles in Iraq and Afghanistan the policy may not meet the needs of governments, nor refugees.

Many in Africa and Eastern countries know Athens and Greece as the unofficial gateway to Europe. Many of the migrants coming from the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe often make their way to Greece to gain funds and documentation to start a life in Europe through making their living in the crowded and multicultural streets of Athena. While living in Greece is a great opportunity for many, Greeks themselves bear the burden of processing, living with and administering much of the immigration coming to Western Europe through their ancient and proud state and culture.

On occasion the tensions of so many migrants can put a great burden on the government and institutions of society. As mentioned in the last few postings by my wonderful colleague Cathryn Cluver, countries such as Syria and Jordan are doing their best to accept and integrate more than 2 million refugees from Iraq, but their social infrastructure, economy and residents can only absorb a certain number of people until it becomes unbearable. Like Jordan’s refusal to accept more refugees in large numbers, and Syria issuing a Visa program for future migrants from Iraq, any country which has a disproportionate number of migrants coming in a short period of time will have problems digesting and equipping new citizens and residents into mainstream society in a proper manner.

While the Iraqi refugees are more likely now to flood into to Greece, issues in Greece may make life for migrants even more difficult. It is suspected that the cause of the massive fires in Greece this summer was started by an Iraqi migrant. As well, the death of a legal Nigerian migrant this past week in Athens made many Nigerians in Greece protest their ill treatment living in the ancient city.

With Athens being the gateway from the east to the west, the structure and society of Greece will likely accommodate and occasionally slightly implode based upon migration issues creating tension in Greece and neighboring nations…one constant however is that Greece will remain as the meeting point for many cultures in the years to come as it has been in its golden age.

This week’s news roundup is short, but not on account of the fact that we have little to say, or that there is little to report - it’s primarily due to tricky technology - but on to the news:

The growing number of Iraqi refugees might soon have even fewer places to flee to, as Syria announced it would start introducing mandatory visas from September 10. Neighboring Jordan has essentially already closed down its borders to Iraqi migrants, though no similar visa scheme has been introduced. European countries have also all but replaced their borders with a wall, when it comes to Iraqis fleeing the hardship of ongoing civil war and military occupation. This newest Syrian initiative could also affect visa regulations for the United States, as the New York Times goes on to say: “The beginning of a visa program in Syria could present serious obstacles for the American program to resettle refugees in the United States because Iraqis are required to be interviewed by American immigration authorities outside Iraq. The United States is considering Iraqi candidates for refugee status from countries in the region, but the overwhelming majority are in Syria and Jordan.” More on this story can also be found in the Sept. 4 edition of the Financial Times.

• Ahead of the EU-Neighborhood Summit in Brussels, Foreign Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner has called for the creation of “mobility partnerships” to facilitate legal access to EU territories for migrant workers from countries that are a part of the official European Neighborhood Policy. She shared her thoughts at a speech at Bucerius Law School in Hamburg.
• The Center for Immigration Studies, a self-proclaimed “pro-immigrant, low-immigration think-tank which seeks fewer immigrants but a warmer welcome for those admitted” has published a new study, according to which the current level of net immigration (1.25 million a year) will add 105 million to the nation’s population by 2060. While immigration makes the population larger, it has a small effect on the aging of society. In an article in the International Herald Tribune, Mark L. Haas is an assistant professor of political science at Duquesne University, looks at the effects a changing demographic landscape could have on future US policies and suggests that “To protect its international security, the United States needs to maintain its enviable demographic position. Specifically, it should reduce Social Security and Medicare payments to wealthier citizens, raise the retirement age to reflect increases in life expectancies, maintain largely open immigration policies, and, above all, restrain the rising costs of its healthcare system. A defining political question of the 21st century is whether American leaders have sufficient political will and wisdom to implement these and related policies. Failure to do so will significantly jeopardize future levels of America’s global influence and safety.”
• The UNHCR has developed a range of teaching materials to help educators address the issues of refugees and migration with students.
• And finally, two pamphlets/books worth reading: The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) has published two recent, topical publications on the issue of migration. First, Sergio Carrera and Elspeth Guild outline the main contents of the EU proposal to sanction employers of irregular migrants by looking at the obligations and sanctions applicable to the employer, the procedures foreseen for the presentation of complaints as well as the set of guarantees provided to the third country national worker. The authors analyze its added value and compatibility with some general principles of European Union law. In a Policy Brief, Carrera and Florian Geyer examine the compromise reached on the future of the EU Treaty from Justice and Home Affairs perspective. With the formal scrapping of the ‘pillar structure’, this policy field will be among those most fundamentally changed by the new framework. By presenting these changes and highlighting the great number of exceptions and derogations, the authors assess the potentially serious implications of the Reform Treaty for the common EU Area of Freedom, Security and Justice and offer some suggestions to help avoid the inherent hazards.