Patterns of migration from Central Asia are changing amid deteriorating conditions in Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and a 2024 terrorist attack in Moscow blamed on Tajik nationals. Some labor migrants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are looking to new destinations in Europe and beyond, bringing its own set of challenges.
UK immigration policy has often followed public mood on the issue. While attitudes have remained generally steady, the issue’s salience—how important people feel it to be—has risen and fallen, often in response to major news coverage or periods of highly visible migration. This article describes how UK labor migration policies have followed public attitude since 2010.
Significant shares of Syrians and Turks who have sought asylum in the European Union are of Kurdish background. How will migration be affected by the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and Turkey’s 2025 ceasefire with PKK militants? This article examines the history and context of migration dynamics involving the Kurds, and prospects for change.
The Ukrainian immigrant population in the United States grew significantly in the immediate aftermath of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Compared to the overall immigrant population, Ukrainians are more likely to be U.S. citizens and have higher levels of education. This article provides wide-ranging statistics on the size, U.S. settlement, and socioeconomic characteristics of this group.
Albania's diaspora has been an asset for the government's ambitions to join the European Union, grow its economy, and increase its international standing. As the government has sought to build closer ties with Albanians living abroad and others with ancestral ties to the homeland, it has seen the diaspora as a tool for public diplomacy, the advancement of cultural traditions, and more.
In recent years, vigilante groups opposed to immigration have formed to conduct patrols, stage parades, and even commit violence against asylum seekers and other migrants in Europe, North America, and other regions. Vigilantes often claim that the government has been soft on irregular migration and use performative, symbolically heavy imagery to sway public opinion. This article traces the trends in vigilante movements targeting migrants.
One of Europe’s poorest countries, Moldova has hosted more displaced Ukrainians per capita than any other nation. More than one-quarter of the nearly 7 million Ukrainians who fled since Russia’s 2022 invasion have passed through Moldova. This article provides an overview of the little country shouldering a disproportionate burden even as it is pulled between Russia and the European Union.
Many countries have sought to encourage immigrants’ participation in sports as a pathway to integration. These efforts have followed broader social policy shifts and evolved as policymakers have reconsidered the process of integration. This article examines how sports programming has been used to aid newcomers' settlement in their communities.
Denmark has gradually moved to a restrictive approach toward humanitarian protection, in a shift that has made it something of a leader for other countries—and an anomaly as it has done so under a center-left government. As this country profile explains, Danish policymakers have pioneered policies that limit protection, including making it temporary.
While millions of Ukrainians have sought refuge across Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, not every displaced person has been welcomed equally. Displacement has come with additional barriers for many of the estimated 100,000 Roma people who fled the country, continuing a pattern of exclusion and marginalization experienced by Roma in Europe across generations, as this article details.
When organizations, governments, and journalists need a visual image depicting irregular and humanitarian migration, they usually choose from one of two options: Portraying migrants as threats or as victims. This article analyzes the two visual narratives, their implications, and alternative options.
Norway has transformed from a historically homogeneous society to one where one-fifth of residents are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Economic opportunities, a strong welfare state, and humanitarian commitments have been instrumental for immigration, which has been both a driver of growth and a source of debate. This article provides an overview of the history and key trends in Norway.
Immigrants with university-level degrees are over-represented across many high-income countries, yet a significant number face "brain waste" in that they are working in jobs well below their skill levels or are unemployed. This article details the changing policy environment to improve credential recognition, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ukrainian diaspora has played a critical but often overlooked role in supporting the homeland since Russia invaded in 2022. Key networks were built years earlier, following the annexation of Crimea, and sprang into action when the full-scale invasion began. This article charts the evolution of the diaspora and its mobilization over time.
Immigration has shaped modern Switzerland, at times in ways different than expected. Its foreign-born population share is larger than that of many other European countries or the United States. Yet the Swiss public has repeatedly expressed anxiety about newcomers, and periods of increased immigration have often coincided with efforts at restriction. This article provides an overview of Switzerland's migration trends, policies, and tensions.
Turkey is engaged in wide-ranging efforts to halt irregular migration and break up migrant smuggling networks. In recent years, the government has installed a three-meter-high wall along much of its borders with Syria and Iran, arrested thousands of smugglers, and engaged in agreements and cooperation with the European Union. This article explains the motivations behind the enforcement and how the strategy is evolving.
Many migrant farmworkers in Italy work under exploitative conditions that some critics describe as modern-day slavery. Often, asylum seekers and other migrants originally hoping to transit Italy for other points end up stuck in the country. While Italian migration policy has generally become more restrictive, policymakers also have sought to provide some legal certainty, especially for agricultural workers.
Tens of millions of people globally claim Irish heritage, due to the country’s long history of emigration to places such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. In recent years, many more people have been moving to Ireland than leaving, providing benefits to the country but also posing challenges. This article provides an overview of Ireland's migration trends and policies, past and present.
The international humanitarian protection system built amid the ashes of World War II has come under increasing strain, as record numbers of people flee internationally and travel farther distances. New barriers to protection in destination countries have captured public attention, but governments are also experimenting with ways to offer sanctuary, which could signal a remaking of the global system, as this article explains.
In recent decades, countries worldwide have expanded voting rights to their diasporas as well as certain resident noncitizens. Voting access in general has grown over time, as barriers based on sex, literacy, and other characteristics have fallen, and migrants' increasingly expansive rights to vote are part of that trend worldwide. This article provides a global overview of the dynamics.
