Top 10 Migration Issues of 2015
Stephen Ryan/International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
The mass movement of refugees and internally displaced persons in 2015 was felt in many places around the world, and particularly in Europe where policymakers scrambled to find a coherent and humane response to the hundreds of thousands of people arriving on their shores seeking to build better lives.
The year 2015 was punctuated by a series of migration crises, from the unrelenting flows of asylum seekers and migrants to Europe’s shores and displacement from new and ongoing conflicts in places such as Yemen and Ukraine, to the Nepal earthquake. In this edition of the Migration Information Source’s annual Top 10 Migration Issues of the year, MPI experts analyze these and other major migration trends and policy developments occurring around the world in 2015.
Migration Crisis Tests European Consensus and Governance
In 2015, unprecedented Mediterranean arrivals and faltering EU solidarity turned migration into a test of Europe’s borders, institutions, and…
Displacement Reaches Record High as Wars Continue and New Conflicts Emerge
Record global displacement neared 60 million as outflows from Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, and elsewhere burdened developing host countries.
White House Uses Many Levers of Power to Effect Change as Obama and Congress Remain Deadlocked on Immigration
The Obama administration’s 2015 executive actions reshaped U.S. immigration enforcement and legal pathways even as courts and Congress pushed back.
Big Business of Smuggling Enables Mass Movement of People for Enormous Profits
Smuggling networks have profited from shifting, often deadly routes to Europe and Asia.
Governments Increasingly Restrict Citizenship
Governments narrowed who can gain or keep citizenship, from Dominican-born Haitians to terrorism suspects, often with limited evidence of security…
Refugee Crisis Deepens Political Polarization in the West
Refugee arrivals have sharpened partisan divides in Europe and the United States, as leaders harness migration fears in increasingly polarizing…
Climate Change and Natural Disasters Displace Millions, Affect Migration Flows
Nepal’s earthquake, slow-burning droughts, and other events quietly redrew migration patterns and challenged existing protection frameworks.
A Shared Challenge: Europe and the United States Confront Significant Flows of Unaccompanied Child Migrants
Surging arrivals of unaccompanied children are testing European and U.S. systems in parallel ways.
Border Skirmishes Resonate in National Domestic Politics
From South America to Europe to Asia, governments have turned border disputes into instruments of domestic politics, with costly human fallout.
Shine Wears Off Investor Visa Programs as Questions about Economic Benefits and Fraud Lead to Reforms
Allegations of fraud and thin economic gains pushed changes to investor visa programs, reshaping who buys residency and where.
