Migration

France assumes the rotating Presidency of the European Union on July 1 of this year. Immigration policy is set to be one of the main issues to which President Nicolas Sarkozy, long-time defender of a hard-line stance, wants to find a tenable solution across 27 member states. Borrowing from the successful negotiation tool-kit established by Angela Merkel on environmental policy, Mr. Sarkozy has sent his controversial immigration minister, Brice Hortefeux, on a whistle-stop tour of the European capitals in an effort to forge compromise before key issues come to the table at the October 15 European Council meeting. Hortefeux’s intinerary has already seen him hit 18 capitals by mid-April and he hopes to bring his insights back to Paris ahead of July 1, in an effort to design an immigration compromise that could actually see it through negotiations, in which the unanimity of the Council is still required on a number of issues, thus making actual progress especially elusive. More on Mr. Hortefeux’s travels can be found here and we here at the blog will keep a watchful eye out for what might be in the works.

This week’s look at migration headlines from around the world features a critical look at France’s new quota regulations, a dilemma for policy-makers in Ireland, close scrutiny of migrant treatment by the justice system in the US and new challenges ahead for Germany’s integration policy.

• Reporting from Dublin, Jason DeParle of the New York Times examines the situation for Irish-born children of illegal migrants. Similarly to US cases we chronicled on the pages of this blog in 2007, Ireland is now debating how to deal with families in which the child is a legal resident and citizen, while the parents face deportation under changing legal frameworks.
• The Economist highlights how immigrants to the US are spreading throughout the country, rather than congregate in certain areas that once drew migrants like flies. Referencing a new book by Princeton’s Doug Massey, the Lexington column goes on to explain that much of this dispersal can be attributed to demographic shifts, the tightening of California borders and the restructuring of the US economy. For those interested, the Migration Policy Institute has compiled various indices of migrant’s global spread to urban center  as well as a search function to locate where certain groups are settling in the continental US.
• Analysts in France are watching immigration minister Brice Hortefeux’s recent moves with worry: in early February, he introduced proposals for quota regulations for would-be migrants, to be based first on skill level in line with France’s economic needs. Hortefeux left the door open on extending quotas to ensure a “geographical mix”, which critics point out could further exacerbate what is already being perceived as a racist immigration policy. In the meantime, Hortefeux has had to defend his policies against the accusation of racism with respect to expulsion practices. Following electoral promises, the country has set itself the (arbitrary) goal of deporting 25,000 illegals by the end of the year. Here, sources report, authorities are being highly selective: while Filipino cleaning ladies get to stay, African visa-overstayers must leave. More than a few eyebrows have been raised…
• We recently featured a longer piece about the inability for younger migrants to find a place for themselves in Germany society due to the structural inefficacies in the country’s education system. A recent article in the International Herald Tribune underlines that the German economy might soon be facing another problem: immigrant pensioners. The so-called guestworkers that came to the country in the 50s and 60s to help rebuild the economy never went back, as originally expected, instead, they are looking to claim their pensions here and find appropriate living spaces that cater to their specific needs, be it bilingual care-givers, or halal cuisine to coform to religious standards. Smart entrepreneurs will jump on the opportunity of creating a service industry tailored to these requirements, but, as the author points out, society as a whole is largely unprepared to address the issue. In France, the question of identity has been addressed more vocally by the pensioner community: What, if anything, do they  owe to their home country? Shifting attitudes are the sign of an integrated second and third generation, as discussed in this article from the fall of 2006.
• The UN has criticized the US for continuous racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, the Associated Press reports. Human rights experts attested that since 9/11 “immigrants and refugee communities in the United States have been subjected … to a range of systematic human rights violations directed by the federal government, local county and state governments, law enforcement agents, employers and private actors.”
• The International Organization for Migration has published a new report on the effects of climate change on migratory patterns.  Thousands lost their home after the Tsunami in 2005 and the erosion of natural resources in many countries will displace people gradually over time. This study looks at future scenerios, action plans and possible remedies.

The weekly news roundup features critical views of the UK points system for highly-skilled migrants, a look at how Wester Union is dominating the remittances market across the world and a preview of France’s new immigration legislation released on November 22nd.
It is becoming ever more attractive to become a US citizen - at least that’s what the latest surge in citizenship applications seems to suggest. In fact, it’s less that naturalization has become more popular over the past months, it is more a combination of a fee increase earlier in the year, fear of new immigration legislation and confusion over green card applications that is causing the bureaucratic backlog that might take up to a year to clear, the New York Times reports.

• Agence France Presse has a stunning article about the tiny village Elinkine in Senegal that is profiting from the droves of illegal immigrants passing through the town to seek a passageway to Europe. In a mafia-type set up, local families profit from “facilitating” migrants’ journeys, i.e. housing them ahead of their departures, and - the article alledges - police pockets are equally fleeced for the same purpose.
• What has five times as many locations worldwide as McDonald’s, Starbucks, Burger King and Wal-Mart combined? Why, Western Union, of course. Powered by immigrant remittances around the globe, the once bankrupt telegraph and communications company now turns a USD 1 billion profit annually. Last year migrants sent home USD 300 billion,nearly three times the world’s foreign aid budgets combined, according to this New York Times article on Western Union.
• In an opinion piece for the Financial Times, Michael Skapinker notes that the new points system to evaluate highly-skilled migrants in the UK has its faults. Geared toward the university educated, well-earning individual, Skapinker fears the new system would keep out precisely those entrepreneurs needed in Great Britain today: the brilliant minds too impatient to sit it out in a classroom, i.e. the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs of this world.
• Also in last week’s FT, Gideon Rachmann ponders the realities of immigration today. He concludes that while economics can be spun both in favor of and against increased immigration flows, governments are likely to pursue restrictive policies. But, he notes that the populist arguments and general anti-immigration stance is losing force in the Western world, partially because: “Voters are more attached to the principles of an open society than the raw polling data on immigration suggest. It is certainly possible to crack down on legal and illegal immigration. But the necessary measures would often involve sacrificing freedom and convenience. You could have much tougher controls at borders - and even longer waiting-times at immigration control. (Forget just hopping on the Eurostar to Paris.) You could introduce identity cards in countries, such as the US and the Netherlands, that have long resisted them. You could bind employers in even more red tape. You could restrict people’s right to marry. You could arrange mass deportations of illegal immigrants and shut your eyes to the resulting injustices. Some combination of all of those measures probably would dramatically reduce immigration. But in the process you would risk creating countries that are not only less welcoming to immigrants. They would probably be much less palatable for native-born citizens as well.”
• France’s new, 65 article strong immigration and asylum legislation was revealed at the end of last week. While I have yet to read the full text, Le Monde offers an initial glimpse here, though again, introducing genetic testing for immigrant minors wishing to accede French territory as highlighted by the paper and detailed in article 13 is hardly new, given the debate on DNA testing an immigration a few months ago. We will cover these legal changes in a separate blog. Meanwhile, however, Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank and one of the prominent Frenchmen on the international stage has implicitly criticised the restrictive new immigration law, pointing to France’s longstanding history as a country of immigration.

It’s official: the French Senate has voted in favor of a controversial new law that would introduce genetic testing for would-be migrants that want to be reunited with their families in France. The test would be applied only in cases where authorities were unsure of an existing blood relation. The government had introduced the proposal pointing to twelve other EU countries in which this practice is already being applied. We reported the story in an earlier post, including the public outcry the proposal has caused among migrant support groups, such as SOS Racisme, who had launched a petition against article 5 of an entire package of legal measures to curtail immigration to France. The French parliament had already voted in favor of the proposal, though the Senate has watered down immigration minister, Brice Hortefeux’s original plans. Once the Senate has debated all elements of this new immigration law, it goes back to the conciliation committee, though the government is expected to accept the changes the Senate has made to the article 5 provisions.

Let’s take a look at the amendments to the new law:

• Contrary to what was originally proposed, DNA samples will only be collected from those that consent to the procedure.
• Children’s DNA will only be compared to that of their mother to avoid uncovering the paternity of children born out of wedlock, for instance.
• The government, instead of the individual, as was originally proposed, will have to assume the costs of genetic testing

Aside from immigrant rights groups, the African Union has also been vocal in opposing testing. Senagalese President Abdoulaye Wade has criticised the measure calling it a “serious mistake” and “disrespectful to human freedom.”

Immigrants looking to join their families in France will have to prove their French language skills before entry, while resident families will have to prove they earn at least 1300 Euros, i.e. at least minimum wage to support the new arrivals.

Immigration was a key issue in the French Presidential election and these legal changes are to be just the beginning of a crackdown on illegal immigration in the country.

<> More on this story can be found here:

BBC: France approves migrant DNA tests 

France 24: Senate approves DNA testing for immigrants 

That DNA testing can be a controversial way of deciding immigrant status is the topic of this 2006 article in the Washington Post:

DNA Testing a Mixed Bag for Immigrants 

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.

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.

Much happened in migration related matters across the globe this week. Following the conservative victory in the parliamentary elections, the French president moved ahead on realizing his new restrictive immigration policies, while at the same time creating the most inclusive government in the country’s history. Elsewhere, US conservatives are stepping up the pressure to move ahead on the immigration bill, while the UK joins the chorus of European countries introducing measures to attract the most talented migrants to the country to fill existing skills gaps. This week’s news roundup also features two new pieces of analysis from the MPI and ECRE. Happy clicking:

• This week’s edition of the Economist features an article about Malta’s changing attitude towards migration and the start of Operation Nautilus II, designed to control the waters between Africa and European islands.
• We recently reported that France’s new government is moving swiftly to implement changes to existing institutional structures governing immigration affairs and changing legal requirements for family members looking to join migrants in the country. Well, not without a fair amount of opposition, as is the French tradition. Plans for a national ministry of immigration and national identity caused controversy during the Presidential campaign and drew protest from various groups. Now, the IHT reports a new petition has been published in the left-leaning newspaper Liberation. These types of protests will have little impact on M. Sarkozy’s plans, but are a part of the French democratic tradition.
• While he seems to be cracking down in his policies, M. Le President’s most recent cabinet reshuffle (following the parliamentary elections) produced the most inclusive government France has ever seen. In what is largely interpreted as a move to reconcile withe the minority groups he isolated throughout his campaign and his tenure as interior minister, Sarkozy has named three women (WOMEN!) of Northern African origin to his cabinet. Two new junior ministers now join the already appointed justice minister, Rachida Dati, around the president’s cabinet table.
• In the run-up to the presentation of Germany’s national plan for migrant integration on July 12, a number of federal states are publishing and promoting their individual approaches. On June 21st I attended a panel discussion hosted by the Koerber Foundation, which featured one of Berlin’s leading integration policy makers, Guenter Piening. He presented parts of the new program, which is available in full here (in German). The plan includes a number of functional changes that will facilitate access to basic social services, including full and equal access to education and the full integration of migrants into the work force - changes, which are long overdue. Monitoring and measuring the success of integration policies is another new element introduced in this updated plan. I will review Berlin’s approach in the context of Germany’s new  toward integrating migrants in a separate post. To understand the evolution of Berlin’s integration concept, Piening’s 2005  policy action plan (in English) is an interesting read.
• The Senate immigration bill is still one of the hottest topics on the Hill. On Thursday, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff went on the record to oppose an amendment, which could make a new program to stop businesses from hiring illegal workers less burdensome. In a letter to Senators he said that taking such a decision “would be a serious step backwards in our enforcement effort.” This statement came as news broke that Federal agents had arrested 81 suspected illegal immigrants during a raid at a manufacturing plant in the Pocono mountains in Pennsylvania. The company said an agency that provided temporary workers was , the IHT reports. Mr. Chertoff, meanwhile, might have other recent worries: the ACLU is suing the Department of Homeland Security in the name of two migrants who say they were drugged by department officials to ease their deportation. Just days earlier and hoping to influence the Congressional debate on the immigration bill, the White House released a study citing the positive effects of immgrant labor on the nation’s economy. The New York Times has a full report.
• The first Muslim prayer site was opened on Friday in Athens, Greece since the end of the Ottoman Empire, the New York Times reports.
• We recently reported that German industrial organizations were pressuring the German government to ease up their requirements on admitting labor migrants into the economy. Britain seems to be interested in doing the same. Where only a mere three years ago, critics complained that the generous welfare system was attracting too many unwanted migrants, the Guardian is now reporting that immigration minister Liam Byrne is planning to launch an “an international marketing campaign designed to attract businesses and people with the right skills” - the global war for talent is on.
• On the reports and analysis front: the always prolific Migration Policy Insitute issued a new report coinciding with World Refugee Day entitled “Bridging Divides: The Role of Ethnic Community-Based
  Organizations in Refugee Integration” (pdf).   As the German EU Council Presidency comes to a close and the Portuguese government prepares to take over, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles has prepared a memorandum on EU asylum and refugee policy over the next six months.

The predicted landslide didn’t quite happen, but Nicolas Sarkozy is a happy man nonetheless. Despite his party’s losses in the second round of the parliamentary elections in France, Sarkozy has enough backing to push through his presidential agenda and quickly at that. The International Herald Tribune provided an update on just how quickly Monsieur Le President is moving ahead on his election promises with respect to immigration. Last week, when the campaign was still in full swing, Brice Hortefeux, the newly appointed minister for all things immigration watched the ink dry on a new legislative bill. The new law requires family members of resident migrants from outside the EU to learn French and gain an understanding for French values ahead of joining their own in France. The German government is floating a similar regulation with its recent decision on residence rights for migrants.

The bill will be one of the first up for debate in the newly elected parliament’s summer session. We will keep a close watch on these developments as they progress in the coming weeks.

This week’s news roundup covers EU initiatives to create a Common European Asylum System as well as France’s possible new focus on immigration policy as well as highlighting opinion tools for Americans on their attitudes towards immigration after the failure of the Immigration Bill to be passed through the US Senate. Also stories on Aid workers killed in Lebanon and links towards the refugee tragedy in the Mediterranean are highlighted:

• French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said last Friday in his tour of Africa that France will not tolerate waves of African migrants coming to France. Since the election of France’s new President Nicolas Sarkozy, many migrants have been worried about the possible changes to France’s immigration policy. While Kouchner did show a tough stance on France’s new approach to immigration, he did clarify that France’s immigrants should be treated fairly and that much of the concern came from the high risk illegal immigrants. He may have been influenced by events last week where 110 bodies where discovered in the Mediterranean Sea between Malta and Libya, thought to be illegal immigrants who became victim to their “uncertain vessels” and a fortuneless journey.
• On June 6th 2007 the European Comission published a Green Paper to create the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) as well as an evaluation of the Dublin System and a Directive on long-term residence for the beneficiaries of International Protection. It is hoped that the focus on irregular migrations, which has dominated European Immigration Policy in the past, will be refocused towards the rights and obligations of all EU Member states on the rights of Asylum seekers in the EU. After the tragedy mentioned above, a mechanism to ensure the rights of Asylum seekers needs to be established equally in all EU states.
• With the failed progression on the Immigration Reform Bill, MSNBC has created a website to gain American’s opinions on the immigration issue and the reform bill from American citizens. While the Bill has been set aside indefinitely, the issue of immigration in the US still holds strong among many people. See the links here for opinions.
• In a June 11th article for the Guardian Newspaper, two Red Cross workers were killed and one seriously wounded today in Lebanon. The shell that hit their vehicle came from Fatah Islam militants held up inside the Northern edge of the Nahr al-Bared camp. For more information see the Lebanon post below.

This week’s news roundup takes a first look at France’s new ministry of immigration and national identity, Switzerland’s refusals to accept more Iraqi refugees and newest EU plans to curtail the number of illegal migrants employed throughout Europe:

• Nicolas Sarkozy is a man of his words. On May 18 he appointed Brice Hortefeux to lead the newly created ministry of immigration and national identity. In response, eight historians working on a national project on French immigration history resigned in protest. Among the eight is Patrick Weil, who developed the immigration policy program for the Jospin government back in 1997. Liberation has a full article on the demissions, while Le Monde quotes one of them as saying “to associate immigration and national identity is to portray immigration as a problem for France and the French in terms of their self-understanding.” The new ministry, headed up by a 30-year personal friend of M. Sarkozy, will eventually pull together all administrative functions related to immigration (i.e. visa and expulsion matters, asylum, integration and the elusive national identity) under one roof. For now, however, these areas will remain with their current ministries, while a full-fledged plan for their integration is developed, i.e. the foreign ministry will remain in charge of visa attribution.
• While Senators put the finishing touches on a compromise solution toward new a new US immigration policy, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of migrants, Jorge Bustamante, was kept out of immigrant detention centers in Texas. A scheduled visit to the T. Don Hutto facility in Taylor, Texas was called off at short notice, leaving Dr. Bustamante “frustrated,” though that must be a diplomatic understatement. The Dallas Morning Herald reports the following:
  “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement canceled Mr. Bustamante’s visit to Hutto because of pending litigation regarding the facility, according to a State Department spokesman. ICE officials have invited Mr. Bustamante to visit another family detention facility near York, Pa. The Hutto detention center – a former prison – houses about 400 noncriminal immigrants awaiting deportation or other outcomes to their immigration cases. “I am particularly concerned with the treatment of children and children’s human rights,” said Mr. Bustamante, who is from Mexico. The Hutto center has come under fire from civil liberties and immigration advocates, who contend families detained there are subjected to psychologically abusive guards, inadequate medical care and inhumane conditions.”

• The ACLU has a full site, including podcasts, dedicated to Dr. Bustamente’s trip and his insights. We will continue to follow this story in the coming days.
• The New York Times examines the situation of Haitian migrants leaving their country, frustrated with the lack of change. On their way to the promised land of the United States many get stranded on the Turks and Caicos islands, and have become an administrative burden for the local government. A tragic incident on May 4, when a Haitian refugee boat capsized off the Turks and Caicos leaving 90 dead and survivors blaming the aggressive tactics by local authorities for many of the deaths.
  
• Business Week reports on EU immigration Commissioner Franco Frattini’s new plans to penalize employers who take on illegal immigrants.
  
• We recently reported on the plight of Iraqi migrants. Switzerland is the latest country to refuse the UNHCR’s request to accept a contingent of the 20,000 migrants the organization has identified as particularly in danger of falling prey to excessive violence and torture. The majority of these would-be migrants are women and children. According to an article in the Neue Zuericher Zeitung, Switzerland is refusing to accept additional Iraqi migrants pointing to the fact that 5,000 refugees already reside in the country. Instead, government officials want to step up humanitarian aid to internally displaced Iraqis.