Top 10 Migration Issues of 2007
Top 10 Migration Issues of 2007
In 2007, although polls show that American voters' main concerns were the war in Iraq, health care, and the economy, immigration surfaced repeatedly as a key issue. The Migration Information Source's Top 10 Migration Issues of 2007 examines this trend, addresses the lack of attention to climate-induced migration, and provides speculation that France could become the immigration trendsetter in Europe in 2008.
With a new Democrat-controlled Congress in place—and the presidential elections in 2008 on the horizon—many expected 2007 to be the year for bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform legislation.
Daily news reports frequently show the latest violence in Iraq, but it was not until 2007 that the stories of displaced Iraqis — and their fast-growing numbers — became more desperate and more widely known.
While the countries that make a point of competing for the world's best and brightest tweaked their entry systems in 2007, the European Commission took a bold leap in late October: it formally proposed a European Union "Blue Card" scheme for admitting highly qualified non-EU workers who already have a work contract in a Member State and professional qualifications.
Prove you can fit in here. That is the challenge many countries placed in stark terms this year by implementing citizenship tests or increasing language requirements. In the case of Australia, the government decided to do both.
Countries continue to adopt technological means of supporting border and immigration officials' decisions about what travelers pose risks or are barred by law, making biometrics the norm and not the exception.
All the nuanced meanings of "belonging" describe integration trends in industrialized countries in 2007, including the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Cities and states taking immigration matters into their hands—a trend that began in 2006 in response to federal-level failure—only gained momentum in 2007.
How do migrant sending and receiving countries both get more of what they want—without the receiving countries committing to a new stream of permanent migration? The European Union thinks it may have found an answer in the concept of "mobility partnerships."
The language of migration and development—remittances, diaspora, brain drain, circular migration—has become standard among researchers and NGOs interested in development issues. In 2007, that language formally became part of the migration policy agenda, particularly in Europe.
Sensitive to having too many outsiders, prosperous Asian countries generally have relied on temporary worker programs — with few rights for migrants — to fill gaps in their labor markets. With its historically diverse population, Singapore is the main exception as it sees migrants as a demographic necessity and courts highly skilled migrants.
