In The News

Mexico Worries About Its Own Southern Border

Ginger Thompson June 15, 2006
While Mexican authorities have chided the US for its policy of increasing militarization of the US-Mexico border, Mexico’s President Vicente Fox also makes plans for more patrols of the southern border in his own country. Indeed, Mexican regulations on immigration are far tougher than those in the US. Detentions and deportations have risen by about 74 percent in the past four years, according to...

In Praise of Migration

Kofi A. Annan June 8, 2006
UN secretary general Kofi Annan not only suggests that borders are meant to be crossed, but also that those crossing national borders “have always been the motors of human progress.” Migration offers myriad benefits, including an increased menial and skilled labor force comprised of incoming migrants, as well as the high level of remittances that migrants send home, which totaled around $232...

Somalis Brave a Sea of Perils for Jobs Abroad

Marc Lacey June 5, 2006
For individuals seeking an escape from the crushing drought, poverty and violence of Somalia, the width of the Gulf of Aden between the African coast and that of Yemen is tantalizingly narrow. The two-day journey, however, is deadly for the migrants who cram onto rickety fishing boats, waiting to be smuggled across the divide. Conservative estimates suggest that since September 2005, about 1000...

The Gauls at Home in Erin

John Tagliabue June 2, 2006
Young Europeans now travel about the continent, overcoming language and cultural barriers in search of better work opportunities – a major cultural shift. One increasingly common migration trajectory is from France to Ireland. Ireland’s economy and job prospects, especially in fields like finance and computers, beckon young adults from France, who flee the nation’s high taxes and high...

When Germans Join Migrant Field Hands, the Harvest Suffers

Andreas Tzortzis June 1, 2006
Polish nurses take time off during the asparagus harvest in Germany, where they can earn six months of nursing wages with only two months in the fields. Polish migrants traditionally harvest the spring asparagus crop in Germany – and appreciate the pay for work that is long and strenuous. The system pleased both migrants and farmers, but the German Labor Ministry – responding to a 11 percent...

EU Faces Complications in Plan to Halt Migrants

Dan Bilefsky June 1, 2006
The proximity of Spain’s Canary Islands to the coast of West Africa has historically been a vantage point for European westward endeavors and explorations. Today, however, the islands and other EU border areas experience an influx of migrants from the south. During one week in May, more than 1,500 individuals arrived at the Canary Islands from several West African countries, overwhelming border...

The West Is Teeming with Africans Doing Odd Jobs Because Our Leaders Can’t Provide Vision or Hope

Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem May 31, 2006
The narratives of illegal immigration in both Europe and North America often focus on the problems faced by receiving countries or the trials of those forced to live covert lives in foreign lands. The exodus of citizens from underdeveloped states, however, imposes the most harm on the countries that are abandoned. Author Abdul-Raheem describes the irony of sitting on a plane next to a man who...