Migration

Across Germany thousands of young immigrants are facing one of the most difficult decisions of their young lives. Beyond the typical teenage musings on their place in their own social sphere among family and friends, almost 4,000 of the country’s teens turning 18 this year will have to make a choice on their nationality.

In 1999, the Social-Democrat/Green coalition government signed into law a compromise on dual citizenship. It was no more than that - a compromise, but it in part reversed a principle of German citizenship law, which was traditionally based on jus sanguinis, blood right. Until then German citizenship was only open to those who could prove German roots through genetic linkage. As a result newly arrived Soviet migrants with German ancestors but without language skills were granted German nationality quasi automatically, while third generation Turks, for example, who were born and raised in the country and often spoke only German or a local dialect were excluded from the right to vote and exercise German citizenship rights. Hoping to further the integration of these long-resident migrants, lawmakers decided to change existing provisions to allow a limited dual citizenship for certain cases. Thousands of young Turks born in Germany thus gained the right to carry both passports.

Over the next few years, 300,000 young dual nationals will have to give up one of their passports. As German newsmagazine, Der Spiegel, reports many are conflicted. “Until now, I haven’t had to decide more than what T-shirt looks cooler or whether to take the bus or the bike to visit my friends. But this is big,” says 17-year-old Cem Sezek. “For many teenagers the decision between the Turkish and German passport is like deciding between your mother and your wife,” explains Sevim Dagdelen, herself a turkish-born member of the German the federal parliament. “Instead of forcing them into this decision and creating stumbling blocks, we should be focusing on how to improve their career options,” argues Green Party member, Volker Beck.

Some, like 18-year-old Tuerkiz Tamalta, have vowed to take their case to the highest German court. And a number of legal experts could see the Constitutional Court deciding in her favor: Ruediger Wolfrum, Director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Human Rights Law argues that a constitutional right is at stake. The right to the freedom of free development of ones personality is in question when teenagers are forced to make this type of decision he argues. Astrid Wallrabenstein, a Constitutional Court expert believes that dual nationals are subjected to unequal treatment: “Germans don’t have to reaffirm their citizenship when they turn 18,” she says.

Dual citizenship provisions exist across the globe - some combinations are allowed, others aren’t. This is even the case in Germany - I am living proof. As the daughter of an American and a German, born in Germany, but on American soil (I was born in an American military hospital), I carry both a blue and a burgundy passport. I am slightly circumscribed in my citizenship rights, but this hardly has any bearing on my daily life. The two passports have been my ticket to a mobile life - one, I would argue that has benefitted both my countries of origin. Through both my education and my professional life, I have contributed to both societies: I file taxes on both sides of the Atlantic, I vote in the country of my residence, I take an active interest in the politics of both. The opportunity to be educated in both systems, to live and work in the US and across Europe has allowed me to be a better journalist, has allowed me to become an effective communicator across cultures. Most importantly it has increased, not decreased my allegiance to both countries and made me the kind of mobile citizen the global economy is constantly calling for.

So, why should I get to have both and young Turks shouldn’t? The fact that I have mixed parentage? In many cases we attended the same schools, speak German just as fluently and feel allegiances to both sides. Once Turkey becomes a European Member State mobility for those that chose a Turkish passport will once again be possible. But until then, their opportunities will be limited. There is an inequality at work here that will continue to separate, not integrate people.

This week’s news roundup features the Bush administration’s last ditch attempts at addressing the immigration issue in absence of fundamental policy reform. We also look ahead to the immigration issues at stake in the Spanish elections on March 9. Germany breathed a sigh of relief, when the deadly blaze that killed nine Turks, including two children, was discovered to have originated from a construction problem in the basement rather than a xenophobic arson attack, as originally assumed.

• Despite the failure to push comprehensive immigration reform through the Senate late last year, the Bush government is stepping up its efforts to stem illegal immigration through the introduction of a “virtual fence”, enhanced border patrols and by making the use of E-Verify - the electronic system to check the status of employed immigrants - mandatory for employers.
• New demographic data by the Pew Research Center points to the fact that the United States will become ever more dependant on immigrants to float welfare programs, similar to the predictions made for Europe’s demographic development: “What such an outcome could portend, other analysts have said, is a nation riven politically between older, whiter, voting retirees who are increasingly supported by a younger, darker, working population that, as immigrants, may be disproportionately ineligible to vote.”
• Spain takes to the polls next Sunday. As a relative newcomer to the circle of immigrant receiving countries, the last two governments have struggled to define functional policies that allow the country to benefit from the influx of people, while maintaining balanced social and welfare systems. Most recently, the Socialist government has issued an amnesty for illegals living and working in the country. The conservative Partido Popular has now put up its own plans for immigration policy under its candidate Mariano Rajoy. He would like to see immigrants sign an ““integration contract”. This would oblige them to learn Spanish, to work hard to integrate—and to return home if they are unemployed for too long or commit a crime.” We will follow the immigration debate in Spain as election day draws nearer.
• The artery is clogged - that would be one way of describing the state of affairs at the Canadian-US border, which, according to the Economist, is having detrimental economic effects. Since September 11th the additional border control measures have meant that patients who need emergency medical care across the border are dying en route, red tape is tying up trade and hampering the exchange of services, as proven by the example of the volunteer firefighters held up at the border for so long, the building they were planning on saving had burnt to a crisp.
• Arson has been ruled out as the cause of the deadly housefire that killed nine Turks in Germany’s town of Ludwigshafen. Reminded of the fires that ripped through asylum seeker homes throughout the country in the early nineties the fire was not only seen as a human tragedy but had reopened existing debates over xenophobia and integration policies. In a bold political move, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had flown to Germany to both express his condolences to the victim’s families but to deliver two key speeches, which were contradictory in nature. While he called upon his countrymen and women to integrate into German society in one statement, he demanded they resist assimilation into the dominant society in a speech to thousands of Turkish citizens in one of Cologne’s largest arenas. More on the story can be read here.

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 big story in Europe this week was Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Germany and the controversial speech he gave to 20,000 of his expat voters regarding integration or assimilation into their host nation. A separate commentary on that question will follow shortly on this blog. In the meantime, Australia is stepping up its efforts to attract highly-qualified migrants, while the red tape currently tying up existing green card applications could be turning away the migrants the United States wants to bring in. More from migration related stories from around the world below:

• The Editorial in the New York Times’ weekend edition highlights modest improvements in clearing up the backlog of green card applications, that has built up over recent years. The authors rightly imply, that a way a bureaucracy treats its would-be citizens is indicative of the whether they are truly wanted or not. While that is undoubtedly true, the red tape applicants face in the US with respect to background checks by the FBI is nothing compared to the caveats future European citizens face.
• The NYT has also published an in-depth interview with Philippe Legrain, the author of Immigrants: Your country needs them, which is an extremely worthwhile read, especially alongside the views of George Borjas, whom we have quoted repeatedly in this blog for this economic arguments against low-skilled or illegal labor migration. The interview provides a good synopsis of Legrain’s book, though I would recommend you read it in full.
• The International Herald Tribune rebukes Republican presidential candidates’ views that “attrition” could be the ultimate weapon to drive out undocumented migrants.
• While other immigration countries are debating how to curtail the movement of people, Australia has announced it will increase the number of entry permits for migrants, given the high demand for their labor.
• The IHT covers a clash of immigration titans, as Marine Le Pen, the heir-apparent of the right-wing Front National in France takes on Muslim intelletual Tariq Ramadan. While their viewpoints are less than surprising, the fact that they agreed to face off in such a manner is worth reporting. Katrin Bennhold has the full story.

Apologies for an extended absence, but this blog author has been applying to grad school (yet again) to pursue a degree in comparative migration policies. As such, I have been thinking about related issues for a number of weeks and thought I would share some of my recent writing. Please find one of my essays below:

More than 82 million people live in Germany – 19% of these have a migrant background (Migrationshintegrund). These figures imply that nearly every fifth banker, teacher, baker, engineer and manager is of immigrant descent. Even a superficial look at the German social landscape reveals that this is not the case. Structural discrimination in-built in the German education system prevents this from happening.

The German government has recently invested an undisclosed amount in an advertising campaign to raise the profile of migrants and their contribution to the German economy. In the speech launching the new initiative, the High Secretary for Integration pointed to US statistics proving that diversified companies far outperformed their peers on the stock market. She also underlined that an EU study had shown that SMEs were losing up to 11% of their export-oriented business, because they failed to bridge linguistic and cultural gaps. Thus, her argument went, migrants in Germany needed to be seen as an asset, their bicultural knowledge and understanding giving the country as a whole the tools it needed to succeed in a globalized world.

But for the 188,000 unemployed migrants between the ages of 18 and 35 in Germany (by far the largest group), the picture is quite different. Recent studies have shown, that many of the unemployed, young migrants fail job interviews because of their German language skills. Nor do most of these youths speak their native languages fluently, and often have only a rudimentary knowledge of their mother tongue’s grammar and spelling. Three quarters of the young Turkish immigrant population in Germany were educated in the lowest tiers of the three-tiered German school system, and were not offered additional linguistic coaching as children, a pan-European comparison has recently highlighted. In addition, the OECD’s PISA tests revealed that second generation migrant students in Germany had the poorest comparative reading and language skills of all countries surveyed. Almost three times as many migrant children are school dropouts, and 40% receive the lowest possible secondary degree, graduating after nine years of formal education. Only 10% go on to earn a high school degree, while more than a quarter of the Germans do. The country’s industry associations have been calling on the government to remedy this situation, as these structural inefficiencies translate into a second generation of “economic deadweight” in the German labor market.

Germany is failing to “make use of the biculturalism of its migrant population” as the minister argued, because the majority of the younger generation does not have the full command of both their native and the German language and is hampered by structural problems in the education system. This, in turn hampers mobility, which is one of the four freedoms of the European Union and a clear advantage of globalization.

A look across the border proves the advantages Germany could reap from introducing enhanced language education: A study examining the Danish situation proved that contrary to public belief, bilingual education helps students integrate quicker into their host country and learn Danish faster. Sweden has proven that the combination of special instruction in the host language coupled with 3-hour language classes in immigrants’ native language from pre-school onward enhances academic performance and later facilitates education and training.

Instead of investing in superficial advertising campaigns and creating business competitions on diversity management that offer cash prizes - as is the case in the government’s most recent campaign - it should re-invest these funds into strategic partnerships with businesses, based on already existing formulas toward enhancing early-childhood education in Germany (i.e. the so-called Wissensfabrik). These could finance specialized teacher training for German-as-a-second-language and the introduction of bilingual language training (Turkish and Italian first) into the pre- and primary school curricula.

Businesses have a vested interest in investing in such an initiative: The looming demographic crisis in Germany dictates that the country cannot afford to turn out graduates with insufficient skills. DaimlerBenz, Deutsche Bank and others have issued public statements on the value-added that diversity and bilingualism brings to their companies, from the factory floor to the management level. The advantages of multi-lingual employees and the importance that diversity has in attracting and retaining employees have been proven in a number of EU and OECD studies. These type of initiatives will undoubtedly take time, but they require a first step, a declaration of ownership and commitment to remedying the problem by designating funds, creating local, innovative partnerships toward developing best practice and extending these models across the entire country over time.

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. 
 

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.

So much news this week and much of it not good: In Iraq, local authorities grappling with the large number of internally displaced people, as sectarian violence exacerbates. Still no light at the end of the tunnel for Zimbabwe, which has seen a mass exodus of its citizens to South Africa. Meanwhile, authorities there are trying to come to grips with how to categorize these migrants - as refugees? As economic migrants? Where to house them? What to do? Politicians and authorities in Germany have spent the week looking for answers on another pressing question: How to address overt racial violence in Eastern Germany? The attacks on eight Indian migrants in the tiny Saxon town of Muegeln is cause for more than just concern. Thank goodness, there’s positive news from Denmark, where a new integration scheme seems to be pedalling things in the right direction.

• The International Herald Tribune features a new series of articles on those internally displaced as a result of continued fighting in Iraq. We have covered the tenuous situation these migrants face in numerous stories on this blog, including the unwillingness of many European countries to accept additional Iraqi migrants or offer them protection in the first place. Now, it seems, certain Iraqi provinces are doing the same: “governmental and relief offices (report) that some provinces have refused to register any more displaced citizens or will accept only those whose families are originally from the area.” Read the IHT’s coverage here, here and here.
• In an somewhat related story, the United States has been forced to pay $250,000 in compensation to a recognized Iraqi refugee for wrongful detention back in 2003.
• In last week’s news roundup, we featured one of the many stories about Elvira Arellano, who quickly became a figurehead of the immigrant rights movement in the United States, when she staged a protest against her deportation while seeking refuge in a church. She has since been deported to Mexico, where she was subsequently arrested. Her young son - an American citizen - remains in the United States. Hundreds of supporters took to the street in LA to rally for her cause and those of thousands of other migrants like her.
• Following up on another of last week’s stories, the UN refugee chief has said that setting up refugee camps for Zimbabweans fleeing their country to South Africa was not the answer. In an Associated Press article, Antonio Guterres said that “only those who had never lived in camps would advocate such a solution.” He also said that action had to be taken, despite the fact that the majority of these migrants were economic, rather than political refugees. The South African government has been under increasing international pressure to react to this exacerbating situation.
• European governments are arguing their strategies toward reducing African migration to the continent are working: an article in this weekend’s New York Times reports that the number of migrants landing on European shores has been cut by a third. EU leaders link this decline in part to the launch of FRONTEX and to a number of legal changes that facilitate access to Mediterranean countries. These claims, of course, must be set against a recent news from the UNHCR, according to which at least 10,000 people have died trying to reach Europe’s “safe haven”. UNHCR representative Paolo Artini delivered his assessment to a hearing at the European Parliament in early July, where he criticized Member States’ inability to agree on burden sharing mechansims. Additional information can be found here (in German) and here.
• As we recently reported, a number of trade unions in Germany have been putting pressure on the government to ease up on labor mobility restrictions to allow qualified personnel to fill currently existing gaps in the labor economy. Following the European Union’s 2004 enlargement wave, the German government (along with a number of others) had insisted on a ban on workers from Eastern Europe moving to Germany, in part because of the high unemployment rate. The government has reconsidered this earlier decision, perhaps in part due to rising public pressure, but largely, because of economic necessity, as Judy Dempey reports in the New York Times.
• Those of you lucky enough to subscribe to the Financial Times will be privvy to a full article on European immigration flows, published early last week. The article refers to recent Goldman Sachs research on population mobility to Europe’s “core”, i.e. the old Member States. Seemingly flying in the face of those that the adverse effects of demographic change cannot be weakened by immigration, the article notes that migration to the EU15 had added “an estimated 8.7m people to their populations. Between 2001 and 2005, relative to the population, these 15 countries experienced net migration of 0.5 per cent per year on average – more than the US and far higher than the rate over the previous 40 years. But net migration into the larger EU25, which includes newer central and eastern European members, was slightly higher over the period at 8.8m. This suggests the underlying impetus came from workers entering the market from outside Europe, rather than from new EU members.”
• Australia has introduced a new citizenship test, which includes specific questions to test “mateship”. What’s that, you ask? It is a heavily criticized concept encompassing “tolerance, compassion, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and secular government, equality of men and women and peacefulness”. The test goes on to say that “Australia has a strong tradition of mateship in which people help and receive help from others voluntarily, especially in times of adversity.” According to the BBC, the idea of “mateship” caused a stir in 1999, when voters rejected an attempt by Prime Minister John Howard to have the concept written into the preamble to the constitution. It was criticised as too sexist, or inappropriate for a formal document.
• Integrating into a new society can be as easy as riding a bike, at least in Denmark. Riding a bike is a quintessential to being Danish as speaking the language and so the country’s Red Cross has taken to teaching immigrants how to cycle, the SPIEGEL reports (in English). “Students come to learn to ride a bike not only for convenience, but also to help them get jobs. For example, the Danish Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs has a program in place that encourages and subsidizes immigrants and refugees who would like to become social health workers, and work in places such as elderly homes. One recent change in the government’s program is a requirement that the job applicant has a certificate saying that he or she can ride a bike.”
• And much to my disliking, I have to end this week’s newsroundup by featuring a number of links on the racist hate crimes in Eastern Germany, which have not only shocked the country, but the world. Last Sunday, in what can only be described as a manhunt, eight Indian immigrants were driven through the streets of the tiny East German town of Muegeln, verbally harassed and beaten to a pulp by a suspected group of neo-Nazis. Police intervened and a number of suspects arrested. Politicians and authorities have spent much of the week looking for answers as to the identity of the perpetrators of this heinous crime, as well as to the question why nobody intervened. The English edition of Der Spiegel has full coverage of the story here and a roundup of reader reactions to the crime here. Commentary from the national and international press can be found here.

This week’s news features commentary on the future of illegal immigration in the United States, a roundup of the integration summit in Germany and a call to change the international refugee convention to include the victims of famine and drought.

• Der Spiegel has full coverage of the German integration summit (in English), which hardly went as originally planned, plagued by boycotts from Turkish organizations. The overall integration concept was criticized by migrant groups for not being inclusive enough. Given the almost 40 years during which Germany denied being an immigration country, despite the largest number of foreigners living on its soil in Europe, this policy action plan attempts to be a tour de force. Nevertheless, much like the immigration legislation that was introduced during the last administration, one cannot but feel that all this comes a little too late. Coverage on the issue from the IHT can be found here.
• The European Council on Refugees and Exiles has published its report on the situation for refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced
  persons (IDPs) in Belarus, Moldova, Russian Federation and Ukraine in 2006.
• Over in the UK, the Institute for Public Policy Research is calling for an amnesty on illegal immigrants so that these migrants could become active tax payers. The think tank argues that deportation of Britain’s estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants would not only be a huge burden on tax payers, but is practically impossible - to say nothing of the fact that it would take over 30 years at the current rate. The BBC has the story here.
• Australia’s newspaper The Age features a commentary by Dr. Mirko Bagaric, former member of the Refugee Review Tribunal, who argues that the international refugee convention should be amended to include those suffering from famine and abject poverty: “Australia should take a leading role in broadening the scope of people it will allow to migrate for reasons of need. We need to broaden the definition of a refugee so that our compassion extends to those who are suffering the greatest degree of deprivation.”
• One of New York City’s most prominent immigration activists, Victor Toro, might face deportation, the New York Times reports, after his status was unveiled in a routine check by border patrol agents on regional transport.
• Another article in the same paper chronicles how immigrant activists are increasingly turning to second generation migrants as allies in their political efforts: “Many young people raised in this country know their way around a system that sometimes baffles their parents. Those who are citizens can speak out for those who have yet to get their papers.”
• Though not strictly from this week, The Economist, features an article on the drive to naturalize legally resident immigrants ahead of the US Presidential elections next fall.
• The same magazine comments on the failure of the Senate immigration Bill and offers a glimpse into the future: “Likely consequence will be an outbreak of ad hoc law-making in cities and states. Liberal and Hispanic enclaves may follow the example of National City, on the outskirts of San Diego, and declare themselves to be “sanctuary cities” where police officers are told not to quiz people about their immigration status. Others—probably a greater number—will tell the cops to do precisely that, or enact other laws against illegal immigrants and the people who house and employ them.”

For the second time, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has invited migrant, refugee and minority group representatives to an integration summit. The meeting is making headlines across Europe and particularly in Turkey as the country’s main Turkish organizations will be boycotting tomorrow’s talk shop. Interestingly, their protest is less aimed at the government’s integration plans, which have plenty of deficiencies as they stand. Instead, they are using the occassion to express their unhappiness about a clause in the recently amended foreigner law, which makes it more difficult for immigrants to bring their spouses to the country. Turkish organizations argue that the law is discriminatory: Germans that want to bring their immigrant wife to the country face fewer obstacles, than immigrants in the same situation. The IHT and Der Spiegel have articles on the issue and we will cover the results tomorrow and throughout the weekend.