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Illegal Migrants (illegal + migrant)
Selected AbstractsTransnational organized crime in West Africa: the additional challengeINTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, Issue 6 2007ANTONIO L. MAZZITELLI Despite its vast natural and human resources and the undisputed progress made in the last decade towards the establishment of democratic culture and governing systems, West African countries continue to occupy the bottom ranks of the UN Human Development Index. Similarly, many of them score poorly in World Bank and Transparency International indexes that measure good governance. The international mass media have recently highlighted the role played by the West African region in the transatlantic cocaine trade, as well as in the flow of illegal migrants to Europe. Drugs and migrants are, however, just two of the numerous illicit activities that feed the growth of local and transnational criminal organizations, and the establishing of a culture of quick and easy money that is progressively eroding the foundations of any sustainable and well balanced socio-economic development. The pervasive power of the corruption of criminal organizations, coupled with a general crisis by state actors in the administration of justice and enforcement of the rule of law, contribute towards the progressive diminishing of the credibility of the state as the institution entrusted with the prerogatives of guaranteeing security (of people and investments) and dispensing justice. In this context, the case of Guinea Bissau is probably the clearest example of what West African states may face in the near future if the issues of justice and security are not properly and promptly addressed. If primary responsibilities lie with West African governments and institutions, the international community as a whole should also review its approach to development policies by not only mainstreaming the issues of security and justice in their bilateral and multilateral agendas, but also by making it an essential cornerstone of policies and programmes aimed at supporting good governance and the establishment of states ruled by the law. [source] Toward a Critical Phenomenology of "Illegality": State Power, Criminalization, and Abjectivity among Undocumented Migrant Workers in Tel Aviv, IsraelINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 3 2007Sarah S. Willen ABSTRACT Given the vast scope and magnitude of the phenomenon of so-called "illegal" migration in the present historical moment, this article contends that phenomenologically engaged ethnography has a crucial role to play in sensitizing not only anthropologists, but also policymakers, politicians, and broader publics to the complicated, often anxiety-ridden and frightening realities associated with "the condition of migrant illegality," both of specific host society settings and comparatively across the globe. In theoretical terms, the article constitutes a preliminary attempt to link pressing questions in the fields of legal anthropology and anthropology of transnational migration, on one hand, with recent work by phenomenologically oriented scholars interested in the anthropology of experience, on the other. The article calls upon ethnographers of undocumented transnational migration to bridge these areas of scholarship by applying what can helpfully be characterized as a "critical phenomenological" approach to the study of migrant "illegality" (Willen, 2006; see also Desjarlais, 2003). This critical phenomenological approach involves a three-dimensional model of illegality: first, as a form of juridical status; second, as a sociopolitical condition; and third, as a mode of being-in-the-world. In developing this model, the article draws upon 26 non-consecutive months of ethnographic field research conducted within the communities of undocumented West African (Nigerian and Ghanaian) and Filipino migrants in Tel Aviv, Israel, between 2000 and 2004. During the first part of this period, "illegal" migrants in Israel were generally treated as benign, excluded "Others." Beginning in mid-2002, however, a resource-intensive, government-sponsored campaign of mass arrest and deportation reconfigured the condition of migrant "illegality" in Israel and, in effect, transformed these benign "Others" into wanted criminals. By analyzing this transformation the article highlights the profound significance of examining not only the judicial and sociopolitical dimensions of what it means to be "illegal" but also its impact on migrants' modes of being-in-the-world. [source] Reducing Irregular Migration from ChinaINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 3 2003James K. Chin With the development of China's economy since 1979, a new type of Chinese migration has emerged, which is more diversified and quite distinct from previous migration patterns. Trafficking in human beings and other forms of irregular migration are one of the most pressing and complex human rights issues today, reaching across borders and affecting most of the countries in the world, with new and serious security implications. As part of the international irregular migration flows toward and into the European Union (EU), the Chinese, particularly from Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, have played a major role since the 1980s. To some extent, it could be said that China provides the largest number of East Asian irregular immigrants to Europe. Based on fieldwork conducted in southern China over the past seven years, this paper proposes to examine current Chinese irregular migration trends. It will further present the Government's response regarding the migratory modus operandi and policy implications with the aim of offering policy makers an empirical insight into the most active region of emigration in China. Because of the difficulty and sensitivity involved in collecting data on the topic, materials in this paper are mainly based on a content analysis of local Chinese newspapers and my interviews with various people involved in irregular migration activities, such as "snakeheads", illegal migrants and their family members, and police, local, and government officials at different levels. [source] Rational Migration Policy Should Tolerate Non-zero Illegal Migration Flows: Lessons from Modelling the Market for Illegal MigrationINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 1 2002Horst Entorf The debate on the immigration policies in OECD countries has turned its attention towards illegal migrants. Given that migration flows are determined by immigration laws, the probability of potential detection, penalties for unauthorized migrants and their employers, and income differences between sending and receiving countries, this paper presents a new approach to the problem of illegal migration, grounded on the economic theory of illegal behaviour. The framework considers the interaction of potential migrants, citizens, employers, and the government. After introducing the supply function of illegal migration and its determinants, the trade-off between social costs and benefits of preventing and combating illegal migration is demonstrated. This trade-off results in an optimal level of migration larger than zero. A complete "market model" of illegal migration is offered by presentation of a demand curve of illegal migration, based on the tolerance of the society towards clandestine foreigners. Equilibrium forces predict a non-zero level of illegal migration. The rule of law of our legal systems, according to which any illegal activity has to be reduced to zero, bears the danger of producing inefficient disequilibria. A reasonable policy of wanted and unwanted migration should address the question of how to allocate scarce resources. Ignoring social optima and equilibrium forces means to abandon public resources that could be used for other public assignments, such as schooling or foreign aid, for instance, i.e., measures that could strike the problem of illegal migration at its root. [source] Illegality of International Population Movements in PolandINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 3 2000Marek Okólski Until the beginning of the 1990s Poland did not receive foreign migrants. Thereafter, the situation changed dramatically. A large part of the inflow proved to be illegal migrants, many of whom were in transit to Western Europe. Although these movements gradually declined in the second half of the decade, some became increasingly identified with relatively sophisticated smuggling of people. Foreigners smuggled from the South to the West, together with the international criminal networks assisting them, became typical of the migratory movements of people in Central and Eastern Europe during the 1990s. This article seeks to describe illegal migration from the perspective of Poland, a country often perceived as a major transit area in the smuggling of persons to Western Europe. The conclusions draw on the findings of several surveys recently carried out in Poland. Basic concepts related to illegal migration are defined and juxtaposed, and various myths and stereotypes concerning it that most often stem from the paucity of empirical evidence are examined. Finally, the trends observed in Poland are interpreted within the larger context of contemporary European migration. [source] Darfurian Livelihoods and Libya: Trade, Migration, and Remittance Flows in Times of Conflict and Crisis1INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 4 2007Helen Young Labor migration and commerce between Sudan and Libya have long been features of livelihoods in Darfur. This paper describes the importance of historical trade and migration links between Darfur and Libya, and provides a background to the political and economic situation in Libya which has influenced opportunities for Sudanese migrant workers. A case study of the situation of the Darfurian migrants in Kufra (an oasis and transnational trade hub in southern Libya) illustrates how the recent Darfur conflict has affected migration patterns from Darfur and remittance flows in the opposite direction. Official estimates of Darfurian migrant workers in Libya were unavailable but were estimated to be between 150,000 and 250,000. The closure of the national border between Sudan and Libya in May 2003, largely a result of insecurity in Darfur, stopped the traffic of migrant workers between northern Darfur and southern Libya (which prevented the onward travel to Sudan of several thousand migrants in Kufra), and curtailed the well-established trade routes, communications, and remittance flows. The current limited economic prospects for migrant workers in Libya, combined with the threat of detention, difficulties of return to Sudan, and loss of contact with and uncertainty about the fate of their families in Darfur, have created a sense of despair among many Darfurians. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations to improve the conditions of the Darfurian migrants in Libya, including an amnesty for illegal migrants, and also to ease the travel of migrants, promote communications between Libya and Darfur, and support the flow of remittances. [source] | ||||||||||