Greece

The U.S. and Australian governments have long grappled with unwanted entries by unauthorized migrants and would-be asylum seekers. Both nations undertook efforts in 2012 to reform immigration detention policies and procedures that have generated significant scrutiny and criticism.

The electoral fortunes of far-right parties, a number of which campaigned using anti-immigrant messages, varied during 2012, with notable albeit small advances for Greece’s extremist Golden Dawn party. For the most part, however, extreme-right politicians continue to struggle to build sizeable support; and in Europe, the anti-immigration discourse has been overshadowed by anti-Brussels rhetoric and anger over high unemployment and austerity measures.

When there's a will, there's a way — migrants seeking illegal entry have proven the old proverb true countless times as they and their smugglers have adapted to enforcement strategies. The latest development in the cat-and-mouse game comes not from the United States, but from Europe.

With fewer natives working in agriculture in Southern Europe, migrants from the Balkans, Africa, and Asia are filling the gaps. Charalambos Kasimis of the Agricultural University of Athens reports.