Top 10 Migration Issues Of 2007
Originally published on the Migration Information Source (www.migrationinformation.org), a project of the Migration Policy Institute.
Issue
#1: Political Paralysis: The Failure of US Immigration
Reform
 With a new
Democrat-controlled Congress in place — and the presidential
elections in 2008 on the horizon — many expected 2007 to be the year
for bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform
legislation.
Issue
#2: Iraqi Refugees: Diminished Options and Little US Support
 Daily news reports
frequently show the latest violence in Iraq, but it was not until
2007 that the stories of displaced Iraqis became more desperate and
more widely known.
Issue
#3: Wanted More Than Ever: The Highly Skilled
 While the countries
that make a point of competing for the world's best and brightest
tweaked their entry systems in 2007, the European Commission took a
bold leap in late October: It formally proposed a European Union
"Blue Card" scheme.
Issue
#4: Testing Immigrants — Literally
 Prove you can fit in
here. That is the challenge many countries placed in stark terms
this year by implementing citizenship tests or increasing language
requirements.
Issue
#5: Managing Global Travel with Technology and
Cooperation
 Countries continue to
adopt technological means of supporting border and immigration
officials' decisions about what travelers pose risks or are barred
by law, making biometrics the norm and not the exception.
Issue
#6: Integration Means Belonging
 All the nuanced
meanings of "belonging" describe integration trends in
industrialized countries in 2007, including the United States,
Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Issue
#7: US Cities Face Legal Challenges, and All 50 States Try Their
Hand at Making Immigration-related Laws
 Cities and states
taking immigration matters into their hands — a trend that began in
2006 in response to federal-level failure — only gained momentum in
2007.
Issue
#8: Mobility Partnerships, the Latest Policy Fashion
 How do migrant sending
and receiving countries both get more of what they want without the
receiving countries committing to a new stream of permanent
migration? The European Union thinks it may have found an answer in
the concept of "mobility partnerships."
Issue
#9: Migration and Development Issues: No Longer a Novelty in Policy
Discussions
 The language of
migration and development has become standard among researchers and
NGOs interested in development issues. In 2007, that language
formally became part of the migration policy agenda, particularly in
Europe.
Issue
#10: South Korea Opens Its Arms
 Although South Korea
has long valued its homogeneous society, its government actively
charted a different course in 2007 by acknowledging permanent
immigration and the economic importance of immigrants, and literally
rolling out the welcome mat.
Ones
to Watch
Immigration and the 2008 elections,
migration and climate change, visa waiver programs, and more.
Originally published on the Migration Information Source (www.migrationinformation.org), a project of the Migration Policy Institute.
About The Author
Kirin Kalia is Editor at the Migration Policy Institute.
The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of ILW.COM.
Copyright © 1999-2007 American Immigration LLC, ILW.COM
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