Europe
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Recent Activity
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.
In 2012, significant challenges to existing EU policy, from Schengen to the Common European Asylum System, have constituted the chief concerns for migration management for both EU Member States and the European Commission. Beyond EU borders, there will be additional pressure for the European Union to offer a more concerted humanitarian response to the Syrian refugee crisis affecting Europe's neighbor Turkey in 2013.
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.
Arrivals of unaccompanied minors to the United States surged during 2012, straining the child custody system. While the flows of unaccompanied child migrants to Europe remained stable, the European Union continues to grapple with policies regarding the treatment of this uniquely vulnerable population.
Belgium is often overlooked as a country of immigration because of its size and its less known history of immigration. Yet over the last three decades Belgium has become a permanent country of settlement for many different types of migrants. Our updated Belgium profile delves into modern migration flows and policies in Belgium which are inching away from a piecemeal approach towards a well-needed, long-term strategy.
Across the Atlantic, large-scale migration has brought about unprecedented levels of diversity, transforming communities in fundamental ways — with a resulting immigration backlash and criticism of "multiculturalism." This volume delivers recommendations on what policymakers must do to build and reinforce inclusiveness given the realities on each side of the Atlantic.
How the anti-immigrant political movement and rancorous debates surrounding immigration will impact countries’ ability to build strong economies and vibrant, diverse societies is yet to be determined. This discussion focuses on the factors and players that contribute to this environment, an analysis on the current situation in both Europe and the United States, and a discussion on its implications for community cohesion and national identity in European countries and the United States.
This report focuses on the development of children of Black immigrants in the United States, comparing against the outcomes for their peers in native-born and other immigrant families. It also compares these U.S. children to those in the United Kingdom, where there is a large Black immigrant population but a notably different policy context of reception.