Publications of the Transatlantic Task Force on Immigration and Integration

Integrating Islam: A New Chapter in “Church-State” Relations
By Jonathan Laurence, Boston College
October 2007
With at least 15 million Muslims now residing in Europe, Islam is Europe’s second largest religion. A new report provides a roadmap for how European governments can best engage Muslim communities on issues related to religious practice and integration. The primary challenges for European governments are to safeguard religious freedoms and to ensure a voice for Muslim populations, while combating extremism and adapting European societies to diverse religious communities. Drawing on examples from throughout the European Union, the report provides a framework for establishing dialogues that can play a critical role in integrating newcomers of various faiths, many of whom still have foreign nationality.

Early Education for Immigrant Children
By Paul Leseman, Utrecht University
September 2007
This report examines factors that create educational disadvantages among children of immigrants, including socioeconomic and psychological risks and lack of cognitive stimulation at home. Paul Leseman finds that while early education can improve the educational and socioeconomic position of low-income and minority communities, the program’s design is fundamental to its success. He recommends that policymakers focus on providing center-based care, with programs grounded in teaching children the host language and with strong outreach to minorities that includes additional help for parents. 

Pathways to Success for the Children of Immigrants
By Maurice Crul, University of Amsterdam
September 2007
This report examines how the children of Turkish immigrants, the largest immigrant group in Europe, are faring across the continent. Maurice Crul finds disparities across countries in the age at which children start school, the number who drop out of secondary school, and the number of youth who are unemployed. He notes that because immigrant students tend to start school at a linguistic and cultural disadvantage, compelling them to choose either an academic or vocational education “track” too early may relegate them to a less enriching education. The report's policy recommendations include establishing strong apprenticeship programs and allowing vocational students to switch back to academic schools if they show the potential to succeed.

Language Policies and Practices for Helping Immigrants and Second-Generation Students Succeed
By Gayle Christensen, Urban Institute, and Petra Stanat, Free University of Berlin
September 2007
This report shows that countries where immigrant and second-generation students succeed tend to have long-standing language support programs, for both primary and secondary students, with clearly defined goals and standards. The report highlights Sweden; Victoria, Australia; and British Columbia, Canada, as places with smaller achievement gaps between native-born and immigrant students. These programs’ common strategies include centrally developed curricula, high program standards, time-intensive programs, support in both primary and secondary school, second-language teachers who have received specialized training, and cooperation between language and other teachers.

European Immigration and the Labor Market
By Walter Nonneman, University of Antwerp
July 2007
The main argument of this report is that structural employment in the EU has little to do with immigration. Rather, it is related to factors including excessive regulation, EU worker immobility promoted by the welfare system and other policy measures, and agreements between employers’ organizations and labor unions that set wages. Dr. Nonneman finds that immigrants and non-EU citizens add needed flexibility to the European labor market and promote economic growth. He recommends that rather than relying on a closed-door approach to immigration, policymakers should undertake labor market and social security reforms.

The Age of Mobility: How to Get More Out of Migration in the 21st Century
By Demetrios G. Papademetriou
March 2007
This is the first paper for the Transatlantic Task Force on Immigration and Integration. Prepared for the launch of the Task Force on March 23 in Berlin, "The Age of Mobility” lays out the future of migration in developed countries, the new context in which it takes place, and the opportunities and challenges that migration poses for Western societies.
 

Op-Eds

The Children That Europe Forgot
By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Werner Weidenfeld,
Co-Chairs, Transatlantic Task Force on Immigration and Integration
September 20, 2007
Op-Ed in the European Voice
 

Press Releases

New Policy Solutions for Closing Educational Gaps for Immigrant Children 
September 20, 2007
Three new studies present policymakers with ideas for how best to close achievement gaps between native-born students and immigrant students or the children of immigrants across European countries. Written by internationally renowned education policy experts, the reports recommend that lawmakers focus on policies that bring children of immigrants into the education system by the age of three, immerse them in the language of their host countries, provide language support through both primary and secondary school within a clear framework, and afford more flexibility to move between academic and vocational education.

Prominent Global Leaders to Tackle Immigration and Integration Challenges in the E.U. and U.S.
March 27, 2007
The Migration Policy Institute and Bertelsmann Stiftung are marking the 50th anniversary of the European Union with the launch of a transatlantic task force of prominent leaders to promote new thinking on immigration and integration.