Portal:Measuring and controlling migration

This week's featured IPM wiki article

Non-Governmental Organizations

Non Governmental Organizations(NGOs) are private voluntary organizations whose members are indivuduals or associations that come together to achieve a common purpuse. Some organizations are formed to advocate a particular cause such as Human rights, peace, and environmental protection, while others are established to provide services such as disaster relief, humanitarian and Development aid in war torn societies, or development assistance. Most of the NGOs has a small core paid staff and a larger group of volunteers. NGOs tend to rely on funders and donors to keep the organization alive and to pay for indivudual projects.

NGOs are very active worldwide at all levels from human society to governance, from local to national and international politics. National groups are also called interest or pressure groups, and many of these NGOs are now linked in other countries throw transnational networks or federations. International NGOs draw their members from one region or several regions. Some of these NGOs are organized around one issue area, while other are organized around broad issues such as Peace environment or the human rights. Some provide services such as development assistance or Humanitarian aid while other do both like Oxfam. NGOs can also take the place of states, either its performing services that a corrupt government is not doing, or stepping in for a failed state.NGOs have taken on roles in helping a Migrant, Migrant worker and refugee. NGOs provide also education, health, agriculture and Microcredit these were all originally government functions.

Varieties of NGOs

The estimates of numbers of NGOs vary enormously. The Yearbook of International Organizations counts more than 6.500 NGOs worldwide that have an International dimension either in terms of membership or commitment to conduct activities in other states. Exclusively, national NGOs number in the millions. There are international NGOs (INGOs) that are transnational federations that are now linked with national groups. Examples: CARE,Red Crescent Societies,oxfam,International Federation of Red Cross and Human rights watch. The growth of NGOs and NGOs networks in 1990s has been a major factor in the increasing involvement in Governance at all levels from local to global. NGOs come in such variety of forms, with such a variety of emphases that there is a new group of acronyms that explain subtle differences.

• AGO anti governmental organizations
  
• TRANGO transnational NGOs
• GRINGO government regulated and initiated NGOs
• GONGO goverment organized NGOs
• BINGO buisness and industrie NGOs
• DONGO donor organized NGOs
• DODONGO donor dominated NGOs
• ODANGO ODA-financed NGOs
• FLAMINGO flashy minded ngos(representing rich countries)
• PO people organizations
• ONGO oprational NGOs
• ANGO advocacy NGOs
• TSMO transnational social movements
• GSM global social movements

In the news

European Union

EU: Migration policy: from control to governance

12 July 2006 -In the United States and Europe alike,immigration policy isn't working – and the failure is most evident at the crossing-points of the rich and poor worlds, from the Mexican border to the Canary Islands, says Saskia Sassen.

The European Union has actually accumulated a series of innovations that move it towards governing, rather than controlling, immigration inside the EU. This move towards governing is gaining strength even as national governments in the EU continue to speak the language of control. At the same time, strengthening control is what the European Union is gearing up to do when it comes to immigration from outside its borders. Migration in europe

EU:New migration after EU relaxes border control

06 Jan 2008- Thousands of asylum seekers are on the move across Europe as a result of the relaxation of internal border control. A new system intended to make it easier for European Union citizens to move between member countries has led to a dramatic rise in illegal immigrants.Internal Border Controls.

Italy

January 11 2010: Thousands of illegal and legal immigrants in the Italian city of Rosarno have been attacked by inhabitants of the town. After a gunshooting in the the streets, thousands of illegals are escaping the town in surrounding, scared of further violence. timesonline.co.uk

Israel

For Africans Seeking Asylum in Israel, Dangers Abound

11 December 2009-Beyene is one of almost 17,000 people currently seeking asylum in Israel. Over the past two years, as routes to Europe through Libya and Morocco have closed off or become more difficult to traverse, thousands of migrants have headed to Israel. But the route, which usually takes them from the Horn of Africa through Egypt's Sinai region and then across the border, has its own dangers. In Europe, coast-guard patrols might try to turn back boats full of refugees and asylum seekers, or detain people only to send them home later. The luckiest ones may end up being accepted for asylum and then dispatchedTime

France

France's New Law: Control Immigration Flows, Court the Highly Skilled

November 2006 - France's new immigration and integration law, adopted on July 25, 2006, aims to overhaul France's immigration system by giving the government new powers to encourage migration of high-skilled labour migration, fight illegal migration more effectively, and restrict family immigration. Although the new law does not take effect until early 2007, one of its pillars is already making itself felt. The number of people deported for not having the required documents reached nearly 13,000 by the end of July 2006, more than halfway to the Interior Ministry's 2006 goal of 25,000, inciting protests from tens of thousands of French citizens. France:'s New Law

Germany

Germany:Police cooperation in internal enforcement of immigration control

The UK and Germany have general police forces that have the right and duty to, amongst others, enforce immigration regulations. Whilst the German police is already fully integrated in this task, in the UK and US institutional integration and formal institutional cooperation (US) are promoted although only partially and regionally established. In Germany, all residents have to be listed in the local registers and must possess and at all time carry identity cards, thus identity checks are straight forward. the police have efficient computerised means to identify irregular migrants at their disposal: the general residents registrar, the register of Illegal alien; a database on persons who have received expulsion orders and on irregular entrants and asylum seekers; and a system to check people who entered Germany with a legal visa. Thus, Germany has the most and the UK the least developed systems though in the US and the UK, new trends toward more local police involvement could be found. Germany Police cooperation

Sweden

Sweden: Swedish town restricts ’immigrant weddings’

16 November 2009.- A local politician from Landskrona in southern Sweden has decreed that only one ’immigrant wedding’ can be held at the town’s local community centre every month.

Sometimes ways of controlling migration can be quite drastic at a regional level, tolerance can be a problem when different cultures coexist without a common standard. Swedish. town restricts

Ireland

Ireland: struggles with immigration issue

4 April, 2004- Asylum and immigration are once again under the spotlight in Ireland. Dublin and other Irish cities are becoming more cosmopolitan. This week, 60 failed asylum applicants were deported from Dublin and flown to Romania and Moldova. The men, women and children were sent home after a series of raids across the country. About 300 failed asylum seekers have been deported so far this year, which is twice as many as in the first three months of last year. BBC News

United Kingdom

UK: Migrant Restrictions; Ireland

October 2009.- The British unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in the second quarter of 2009, meaning that 2.4 million workers were jobless, including over 900,000. Hiring migrants instead of [[Native Population|natives] in Britain has emerged to be a big problem in the level of unemployment in 2009. British employers continue to hire migrants because they say they cannot find qualified British workers, especially to fill jobs in hotels and restaurants and to provide health care services. UK.Migrant Restrictions

Africa

Morocco:The Euro-African migration conference: Africa sells out to Europe

13 July 2006-The Rabat gathering’s "plan of action" to control migration flows from south to north is based on a faulty diagnosis and will not succeed even in its own terms, says Gregor Noll.

In Rabat, Morocco, fifty-eight European and African states met on 10-11 July 2006 for a unique conference – the Euro-African Ministerial Conference on Migration and Development. Its conclusions, especially the "Rabat plan of action" that trades African cooperation in helping to restrictc migration in return for European development aid and assistance, have been widely welcomed. The Euro-African migration conference

Asia

Hongkong:Smart cards head for Hong Kong

15 April, 2006- Hong Kong is preparing to introduce one of the world's most advanced identity cards in an attempt to curb illegal immigration. An embedded computer chip on the card will hold personal details such as name and date of birth, as well as a digital copy of both thumbprints.But the plan has raised concerns about personal privacy and the potential threat from hackers. BBC News

America

United States

U.S.: to reform migrant detention

7 October 2009- The US government has announced plans to use sites like converted hotels and nursing homes to house some immigrants awaiting processing or deportation.This is part of an overhaul of the system of detaining immigrants, amid reports of abuses and poor care. BBC News

Mexico

Mexico: Migrants, Remittances, 3x1

October 2009.- Almost 12 million Mexican-born residents live in the US, including some seven million who are unauthorized. Mexico has 110 million residents in 2009, suggesting that 10 percent of the 122 million people born in Mexico have moved to the US'

Controlling the migration of Mexican people in the U.S.A has been a problem for decades, this article presents statistical information of how many Mexicans have migrated to US by now and explains the objective of the 3x1 plan to improve the infrastructure of migrant-sending areas of Mexico. Mexico, Migration news

Venezuela

Venezuela: Colombian Migrants Massacred in Venezuela

26 October 2009.- The latest body of a Colombian migrant – now the eleventh – was recently found along the border region of Venezuela. The victim had been playing pick-up soccer when kidnapped two weeks ago. Venezuela News

Australia

Australia :Immigration Control in Australia

28 Sep-2009- Australia’s immigration controls are in total chaos as people smugglers rush to take advantage of Labour’s open back door to Australia. Two more boats arrived yesterday bringing a total of 37 boats since Labor weakened Immigration policy. Over 1760 unauthorised arrivals have now been taken to Christmas Island since August 2008.Liberal Party of Australia

Historical perspective

Britain

1807 – Slave trade is abolished by Britain, leading to the British Parliament's abolishment of slavery altogether thirty years later. Emancipation of slaves created extreme need for new sources of manual labour in the British Caribbeans.

1821 - Indian migrants from other islands and from the South American continent, as well as the descendants of former African slaves, sought work in large plantations where they would be forced to live in constant debt, and thus never being able to leave. These were called indentured labourers.

1880's 1920's - A steady flow of native Indian migrants continued to pour into British colonies in the Caribbeans.

1917 - Growing public and political dissent from Indians persuaded the British government to discontinue this practice.

1920-1925 - South Asian Indians were granted the right to immigrate into Britain as they were considered British subjects under commonwealth law. Passport stop lists were introduced to prevent political anti-British Indian activists from entering the country.

1962 - The Commonwealth Immigrants Bill received the Royal Assent on April 18th, becoming law three months later on July 1st. The initial effect was a drastic decrease in the number of people trying or willing to migrate to Britain. This was the empire's first ever attempt since its creation to curb immigration to the United Kingdom.

1960's – The Commonwealth Immigrants Bill was perceived and enacted in various manners. Former British colonies in the Caribbeans resulted to migration to closer lands, and those who did go to England were most likely sponsored by an earlier settler in exchange for compensation or a family member. With regards to he entry of South Asians, it was controlled at source by the Indian and Pakistani governments.

1970's – Political pressure forces the British government to change Immigration Legislation thrice in less than a decade with the intention to make immigration for non-white people more difficult.

1972 – Legislation by this time rules that “a British passport holder born overseas could only settle in Britain if they, firstly, had a work permit and, secondly, could prove that a parent or grandparent had been born in the UK”[1].

1976 - The British government establishes the Commission for Racial Equality, a statutory administrative body charged with tackling racial discrimination, mostly as the result of tensions between different racial groups.

1980s - Britain's immigration policy divides in two distinct doctrines. On one side, the British parliament passes laws to discourage immigration and instates stricter controls on entry. Regarding the already existing immigrant population, the state adopts a policy of protection for the rights of ethnic minorities. It has been suggested by sociology critics that the two attitudes gave conflicting signals regarding the place of the immigrant communities - and their British-born children - in the British society.

1990-2000 - The growth of asylum seeker applications contributed to a new growth of immigration to the UK. Between 1998 and 2000, some 45,000 people arrived from Africa, 22,700 from the Indian sub-continent, 25,000 from Asia and almost 12,000 from the Americas. Some 125,000 people were allowed to settle in the UK in 2000[2].

2008-Present - The United Kingdom adopts the current immigration policy on a point-based system to ensure that migrants from outside Europe have the skills that the United Kingdom needs[3]. Britain is also planning on introducing a new 'earned citizenship' system "where migrants who want to settle here will need to earn the right to do so, by speaking English, paying taxes and obeying the law"[4].

United States of America

1790 - The Naturalization Act of 1790Stipulated that "any alien, being a free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States". Despite its restriction to “white people”, the act was considered radical as it allowed Europeans to immigrate in the United States with great ease. This attitude towards immigrants also allowed the United States to become the first country to allow nationality to Catholics, almost 50 years before Britain, and to Jewish immigrants, before France following the French Revolution.

1875 - The U.S. Supreme Court passes regulations that transfer the responsibility of measuring and controlling immigration to the Federal Government. This came at a point of U.S. History during which efforts were made to the allow centralisation of the U.S. Federal system following the American Civil War. The regulation required the creation of institutions dedicated to the control and measuring of migrants for the first time in U.S. History. During this year, the U.S. also passed the Page Act[5], its first legislations restricting the categories of foreign migrants allowed entry in the United States and the ways they could access American soil[6].

1882 - The Chinese Exclusion Act is the first major attempt by the United States Federal government to attenuate the flow of migrants to the country following the Supreme Court's decision of 1875.

1952 Act - Established the modern day US immigration system. It created a quota system which imposes limits on a per-country basis. It also established the preference system that gave priority to family members and people with special skills.

1968 Act - Eliminated US immigration discrimination based on race, place of birth, sex and residence. It also officially abolished restrictions on Oriental US immigration.

1976 Act - Eliminated preferential treatment for residents of the Western Hemisphere.

1980 Act - Established a general policy governing the admission of refugees.

1986 Act - Focused on curtailing illegal US immigration. It legalized hundred of thousands of illegal immigrants. The 1986 Immigration Act is commonly know as the 1986 Immigration Amnesty. It also introduced the employer sanctions program which fines employers for hiring illegal workers. It also passed tough laws to prevent marriage fraud.

1990 Act - Established an annual limit for certain categories of immigrants. It was aimed at helping U.S. businesses attract skilled foreign workers; thus, it expanded the business class categories to favor people who can make educational, professional or financial contributions. It created the Immigrant Investor Program.

USA Patriot Act 2001 - As of March 1, 2003, the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) becomes part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The department’s new U.S. Citizenship and US immigration Services (USCIS) function is to handle US immigration services and benefits, including citizenship, applications for permanent residence, non-immigrant applications, asylum, and refugee services. US immigration enforcement functions are now under the Department's Border and Transportation Security Directorate, known as the Bureau of US immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Policy practices compared

Introduction

The movement of peoples across national borders has accelerated because of a robust demand for immigrant labour in advanced industrial economies, wide and growing economic and demographic disparities between developed and developing countries, and the steadily expanding web of trans-national social and economic progress linking sending and receiving countries (Hannerz 1996 and Vertovec 2003).In response, governments have implemented a variety of measures to reduce” unwanted” immigration and refugee flows and contain anti-immigrant public backlashes. Some receiving counties have also begun to move more proactively to accelerate immigrants’ social integration and political incorporation.

We are going to compare immigration control policies and their outcomes in these following countries (EU, UK, USA, China, and Australia)

Australia

Australia：Raising Ambivalence toward Immigration

Australia originated as British colonies and pursued racist immigration policies in the past, designed to keep countries white and European, but they eventually system and a multicultural policy toward immigrant integration. Australia regards immigration as a means of economic development. The government has fashioned a carefully managed immigration program modelled on the Canadian system, one that admits skilled immigrants based on a qualification points test and generates a low proportion of family-based and humanitarian immigrants. Australia also has a large temporary foreign worker program for highly skilled immigrants. The points system has been relatively effective in attracting the desired type of skilled, economically successful immigrants.

European Union

European Migration policy

EU policy on legal migration is based on two key factors: a desire to allow those living and working legally in European states to participate fully in the economic competitiveness and social cohesion of the EU; and the argument that the EU as a whole benefits from the migration of skilled workers to address the skill gaps of the countries(Moraes 2003)

Britain

Britain: From" Zero-Immigration" to "Controlled Immigration“Country’’’

Britain has more restrictive immigration policies than most Euro-American countries; the gap between policy and outcomes is no less prominent. The British government’s recent turn toward more liberal admission of skilled immigrants-driven by a severe shortage of professional service workers have been accompanied by efforts to convince the public of the economic benefits of immigration. It suggests that the government may have greater success in managing public opinion on immigration, since skilled immigrants are generally less controversial.

‘‘‘The United States

The United States：the Continuing Immigration Debate

The United States has by far the largest gap between the staged goal of controlling immigration and illegal immigrants. Recent efforts to reduce the influx of unauthorized migrants entering via Mexico through concentrated border enforcement operations and other control measures have not reduced the stock of such immigrants in the United States; instead, they have produced a more stable, settled population. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, 10 percent of low-wage workers in the United States were unauthorized immigrants; in agriculture, they were between 50 and 60 percent (Martin 2003; P188)

China

China is Changing International Migration Trends

Unskilled contract labor migration and irregular migration are growing phenomena in China. But the biggest international migration issue for China, at the official level, is the loss of highly skilled people and the implementation of policies to attract them back. There is an emerging trend of the return of skilled and business migrants and government policies that encourage the return of” overseas talents” have shown some results, particularly in research and higher education areas.,

Did you know...?

• More than 4 million people have become citizens since Australian citizenship was introduced in 1949. 95 % of the population are Australian citizens Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

• Almost 140,000 immigrants settled in the UK last year. BBC

• In the UK, Somalilands make up the largest group of refugees in the country at the number of 31,665 United Nations

• An estimated 12.6 million legal immigrants lived in the United States on January 1, 2008. One-half obtained citizenship status in 2000 or later; one-quarter became citizens during 2005-2007 DHS

• 5.6% of France is inhabited by foreign migrants Nation Master

• Between 1945 and 1949, nearly 12 million German refugees and expellees flocked to the territory of today's Germany. Migration Info

• Nearly 32,000 people immigrated to the Netherlands during the first quarter of 2008, almost 6,000 more than in the same period last year. More than half of these new migrants were born in other EU member states. Work Permit

Further reading

• OECD development aid Statistics
• American Civil Liberties Union: Immigrant's Rights
• IMF
• Marshall plan
• OECD UN Human Development Report
• EU
• American Economic Review
• Latin America