Top 10 Migration Issues of 2005
Top 10 Migration Issues of 2005
Welcome to the Migration Information Source's first annual list of the year's Top 10 Migration Issues around the world. The Top 10 for 2005 ranges over the whole world of migration issues, from proposed U.S. immigration reform to European integration challenges to massive displacement by natural disasters in Asia and the Americas. The Top 10 is based on news events, noteworthy developments, and increasingly important trends.
Only recently have European politicians and public opinion leaders talked about the need to focus on the integration of immigrants and their children.
Since 9/11, the United States has helped push its border inspection and security agenda and a focus on biometric solutions onto the agendas of other countries.
This year, members of Congress have sponsored numerous reform proposals that have pushed the debate forward and generated significant media coverage.
The legacy of guest-worker programs has kept most Western countries from considering new schemes even when faced with low-skill labor shortages. But those attitudes began to shift in 2005.
Only the UK, Ireland, and Sweden have allowed accession-state nationals to work without permits since May 1, 2004 — and hundreds of thousands from Eastern Europe have arrived.
In 2005, research into the size of remittances and their role as a development tool reached a new peak.
With some countries narrowing their legal immigration channels, raising the bar for asylum, and increasing security measures at airports and land borders, migrants took unprecedented – and deadly – risks that captured headlines in 2005.
The intensifying competition for professionals such as doctors, nurses, and IT workers, as well as foreign university students, was on the minds of media pundits and policymakers this year.
This year the asylum story was about a decrease in first-time applications - a 22 percent drop between 2003 and 2004 - in contrast to the rising numbers seen in the 1990s.
For many people, 2005 will be remembered for its sheer number of catastrophes and the millions of people the disasters displaced in Asia and the Americas.
