May 2021:
Thank you!
Ninetynine (99) people have submitted their migration stories!
See the home page and keep an eye on the social media channels where we post the anonymous suvey responses about migration challenges, community impact, and world views.
April 2021:
Migration Through Songs
From this, Englishman in New York was born, which represents a real praise to the courage to be oneself despite everything, the diversity of the individual, and the courage to live the life of a ”foreigner in a foreign land.”
“Second generation immigration is a current topic. We always hear about immigrants, but never about the immigrants’ daughters and sons. Parents arrive in another country with already a lifetime of experiences, but their children, teenagers or even younger, don’t”, Giacomo says.
Students from the AD&A Museum and the Department of Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara co-create with high school and university students in Italy as part of the impactmania internship program.
COVID didn't stop cross-cultural exposure — learning and collaboration opportunities across borders.
February 2021:
UC Santa Barbara students co-create with high school and university students in Italy as part of the impactmania internship program
http://www.impactmania.com/im/impactmania-starts-partnership-with-messaggero-veneto-italy/
2021: impactmania - AD&A Museum students are collaborating with newspaper Messaggero Veneto students in Italy!
A selection of migration news around the world in 2019-2020
Aug 14, 2020
COVID-19 made our work even more relevant as many of us became Digital Nomads overnight.
Share your migration story here (scroll down to the bottom of the page, right hand side for the anonymous questionnaire).
Aug 13, 2020
Aug 11, 2020
Share your migration story here (scroll down to the bottom of the page, right hand side for the anonymous questionnaire).
Aug 9, 2020
Aug 7, 2020
Polish migrant worker gave his life to save three Dutch children from drowning.
Marcin Kolczynski saved three Dutch children from drowning while visiting a beach close to Julianadorp, in the Netherlands. Kolczynski was in Holland as a seasonal migrant worker to earn some extra money for his family. Kolczynski was speaking with his wife when he said: "There are a few kids in the water having some trouble, I have to hang up." The 37-old man leaves behind a wife and three small children in Poland. The Dutch are raising money for his family.
July 23, 2020
ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine have modeled the paths of future climate refugees
https://features.propublica.org/climate-migration/model-how-climate-refugees-move-across-continents/
July 13, 2020
UK offers former British colony Hong Kong a path to citizenship
The new national security law in Hong Kong is causing people looking to migrate.
https://www.ft.com/content/039ddcf4-e223-4a16-902d-7c6ba3a2cfa5
July 13, 2020
Point-based immigration policies in the UK post-Brexit
With UK's end of freedom of movement in the EU starting January 2021, a new immigation system will be introduced. One that is based on points.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-53382818
June 23, 2020
President Trump freezes foreign workers visa
The visa freeze would impact some 700,000 workers, mainly high-skilled people, non-agricultural helpers, au pairs, and top executives.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53145317
June 18, 2020
Big win for Dreamers
An attempt by President Trump to end the stay for 800,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is blocked by the Supreme court. The young people who came with their parents to the U.S. in the past, known as Dreamers, have avoided deportation.
June 17, 2020
80 Million People Forcibely Displaced
"...displacement affects all nations, data showed that it was poorer countries which hosted 85 per cent of those forced from their home," according to the UN refugee chief, Filippo Grandi.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1066492
Extreme weather exiles: how climate change is turning Europeans into migrants
https://www.euronews.com/2020/02/26/extreme-weather-exiles-how-climate-change-is-turning-europeans-into-migrants
June 16, 2020
https://www.britishcouncil.pl/sites/default/files/croatia_pop.pdf
June 11, 2020
June 9, 2020
The Republic of Malta, after initially refusal, allowed 425 migrants on land. This decision came after threats of some of the migrants to kidnap the crewmembers on board the migrant ship. A number of the migrants have been at sea for more than a month.
Luxembourg, France, and Portugal offered to take in some of the migrants.
On May 20, 2020, the Guardian paper posted a video report of Malta's armed forces giving a dinghy overloaded with refugees fuel and GPS coordinates for Italy.
June 1, 2020
"'Lady in the well' sheds light on ancient human population movements"
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-ladyinthewell-idUSKBN2382R1
May 26, 2020
"Epic 7,500-mile cuckoo migration wows scientists!"
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52815286
May 25, 2020
"Business groups push Trump to keep skilled-worker visas amid pandemic."
May 20, 2020
"The pandemic highlights the industry's reliance on low-wage migrant workers."
May 18, 2020
"Since the coronavirus broke out, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of migrant children alone -- in some cases, without notifying their families."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/us/coronavirus-migrant-children-unaccompanied-minors.html
May 13, 2020
"A new campaign aims to celebrate immigrant workers providing essential services throughout the ongoing pandemic."
May 11, 2020
"The COVID-19 pandemic can teach us compassion for migrants and refugees."
May 6, 2020
"Pope Francis said on Wednesday employers must respect the dignity of workers, particularly migrants, despite economic difficulties brought on by the coronavirus crisis."
May 2, 2020
"Coronavirus is making some people rethink where they want to live."
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/02/us/cities-population-coronavirus/index.html
April 26, 2020
"Migrant workers face further social isolation and mental health challenges during coronavirus pandemic."
April 20, 2020
"Nurses from the Philippines and other developing countries have long made up shortages in Western nations. Now they are risking their lives."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/world/asia/coronavirus-philippines-nurses.html
April 16, 2020
"Standout student who found her calling while working in agriculture awarded Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans."
https://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/feature/a-career-cultivated-in-watermelon-fields
April 13, 2020
"A vessel has capsized while at least three other boats carrying more than 150 migrants and refugees are in distress in the Mediterranean Sea."
April 7, 2020
"Amid COVID-19 pandemic, authorities must release immigration detainees."
April 5, 2020
"...in the past five years, at least 60 Vietnamese children have disappeared from [protection] shelters. Dutch police and immigration official suspect the children end up in the UK working on cannabis farms and in nail salons."
April 1, 2020
In artist and Professor Jane Mulfinger's recent site-specific work, geographical and sociological research has led to the study of human migration routes in the climate of today's political spectrum. The video, sculptural and sound installations that result capture the Zeitgeist in sensorial passages of emergence through transient qualities of light and sound. The sonic and visual aspects of language and how unique idiosyncrasies of expression articulate difference are central to her work in West is South at the Atkinson Gallery, Santa Barbara and in the Regrets series with Microsoft Research, Cambridge, UK, Ars Electronica, Linz, Le Cube, Paris, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Her work has been reviewed in The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, London, La Stampa, Flash Art, Italy, the Los Angeles Times, and she has been interviewed by BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Radio Austria, and National Public Radio KCRW:
Jane Mulfinger's personal site: http://janemulfinger.com/
April 1, 2020
"Returnees flood across the border after lockdown leads to loss of jobs, amid warnings that influx threatens health catastrophe."
March 29, 2020
"India's Coronavirus Lockdown Leaves Vast Numbers of Migrants Stranded: Hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers began long journeys on foot to get home."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/world/asia/coronavirus-india-migrants.html
March 18, 2020
"Qatar put some migrant worker camps on the outskirts of the capital under lockdown for two weeks in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus among low-income expatriates."
March 17, 2020
"The administration, citing the coronavirus threat to detention facilities, plans to turn back all undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers to Mexico."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-mexican-border.html
March 16, 2020
"When Family Members Detained or Deported, Kids' Mental Health Risks Grow - One in four Latinx children in suburban Atlanta affected by immigration enforcement."
https://www.medpagetoday.com/psychiatry/generalpsychiatry/85447
March 12, 2020
"The EU says it will pay ($2,225) each to migrants in overcrowded camps on the Greek islands willing to go back to their home countries."
March 7, 2020
Violent hate crimes rise as India's new Citizenship Amendment Act discriminate against Muslims in a majority Hindu society.
https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/indias-citizenship-law-leading-rise-hate-crimes-experts-warn
March 3, 2020
"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Monday that 'millions' of migrants would soon head for Europe..."
February 26, 2020
"Immigrants make up 10% of the electorate and could swing Democratic primary, Congressional races."
February 25, 2020
"A US judge in Arizona sided Wednesday with migrants who have long-complained about inhumane and unsanitary conditions in some US Border Patrol facilities in the state."
https://apnews.com/c0a7e0d72e60d0c347877d46863514bf
February 19, 2020
January 24, 2020
January 13, 2020
Spanish and Gibraltar police arrested a gang of 47 members. The criminals trafficked more than 130 people from Morocco into Spain and other European countries. People were charged 8,000 euro per person for U.K. tourist visas.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/12/nearly-50-arrested-gibraltar-people-smuggling-inquiry
January 13, 2020
January 11, 2020
https://www.sfgate.com/expensive-san-francisco/article/move-california-where-to-go-cheap-states-best-14811246.php
https://abc7.com/society/more-people-leaving-ca-than-moving-in-report-finds/5780288/
January 2, 2020
The ongoing fire between Melbourne and Sydney are causing 10,000 tourists to evacuate the area. Australians call this one of the largest mass relocation in the region. The worst wildfire of the country started late July 2019 and killed 18 people and destroyed thousands of homes. According to CNN, "more than 5.9 million hectares (14.7 million acres) have been burned across Australia—an area larger than the countries of Belgium and Haiti combined."
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/01/australia/australia-fires-explainer-intl-hnk-scli/index.html
December 14, 2019
December 8, 2019
There are nearly 50 million children refugee and migrant children in the world due to war, violence, extreme poverty.
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/nearly-50-million-children-uprooted-worldwide
November 22, 2019
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/21/some-british-citizens-in-syria-to-be-repatriated-within-days
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/governments-should-repatriate-foreign-children-stranded-syria-its-too-late
Turkey is releasing ISIS members to repetriate to Germany
A German-Iraqi family consisting of seven members arrived in Berlin from Turkey. International law allows nationals to return to their country. The family can only be detained or brought to justice if Turkey or Syria would cooperate in offering evidence against them.
The U.S. detained 69,550 migrant children in 2019, a 42% increase over previous year. The number of children in detention in the U.S. is the highest in the world according to the United Nations.
November 11, 2019
A truck with 82 Afghan migrants was seized in the town of Ayvavic. The people are awaiting deportation. Tutkey received 3 billion euros in aid from the European Union to exert more control on migraants crossing Turkey into Europe.
https://www.euronews.com/2019/11/11/turkey-stops-truck-carrying-82-migrants-bound-for-europe
October 23, 2019
https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/10/world/brexit-irish-border-gbr-intl/
October 18, 2019
The EU passport is for sale. The Malta Individual Investor Programme (IIP) offers individuals and families worldwide citizenship in an EU Member Country. Cost: 650,000 euro. No citizenship test, no language requirement. Maltese citizens are free to live, work, and study in any other European Union country including Switzerland.
Thousands of Russian natonals are now Maltese without living there. The investigative journalist, Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia, who researched the government practices was killed by a car bomb in 2017.
http://www.maltaimmigration.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphne_Caruana_Galizia
September 16, 2019
John Oliver, host of Last Week Tonight (HBO), on Legal Immigration. Oliver shared his own migration story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXqnRMU1fTs
September 15, 2019
Italy's new government is allowing migrant ships on shore after France and Germany committed to taking in 50% of the migrants.
September 7, 2019
In the last ten years, some 17,000 people inhabitants moved out of the city of Barcelona. Filmmaker Laura Álvarez made the documentary City For Sale about the consequences of the ever increasing tourism to the city—inhabitants being priced out of their homes are happening in many major European cities.
September 4, 2019
The Bahamas was hit with the most powerful storm ever recorded. The 185 mph winds of Hurrican Dorian flooded the airports and roads, destroyed and trapped people in their homes, decimated entire towns. About 60 percent of Grand Bahamas was under water. As the storm approached the U.S. more than 2 million residents in Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina were warned to evacuate.
August 11, 2019
Actor Richard Gere boarded the Open Arms ship in show of support of migrants stranded in the Mediterranean. Gere called out Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and the US President to stop demonising migrants. Salvini clapped back by saying that Gere should take the people on board the ship to Hollywood.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49309196
August 4, 2019
A mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas kills 20 people and injures 26 others. Investigators link an Internet manifesto of hate posted by an individual to the 21 year old shooter. The manifesto described a gun attack to repsond to the "Hispanic invasion of Texas."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/03/el-paso-shooting-21-year...
August 2, 2019
The incoming leader of the Eruopean Commission, Von der Leyen, called for change of European Union's asylum rules. Ursula von der Leyen, former German defense minister, said: "We know that migration will not go away; it is inherent in a globalized world. What we do need are procedures that are effective and humane at the same time,"
https://www.dw.com/en/von-der-leyen-calls-for-eu-migration-pact-in-italy/a-49872491
July 30, 2019
Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein, the sixth wife of the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, has fled to Germany before moving to the UK with her children. The daughter of the former King Hussein of Jordan has applied for a protection order in the High Court in London. It is partly to prevent one of her children from being forced into marriage.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-48851388
July 26, 2019
The UN announced 150 migrants drowned five miles from the Libya coast. The people were in a wooden boat bound for Europe. It is the worst loss of life in the Mediterranean this year.
July 15, 2019
More than three million people have been displaced by floods across India. Storms and monsoon floods have also caused hundreds of deaths in Bangladesh and Nepal. More severe weather is expected in the coming days. More than 1,200 people died last year during last years Monsoon floods.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48979668July 14, 2019
July 14, 2019
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plan to arrest thousands of undocumented immigrant families was not carried out this weekend. Nation wide immigration raids were announced earlier by the President.
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/14/741653581/trumps-nationwide-immigration-raids-fail-to-materialize
Former president Obama deported more immigrants (5 million) during his tenure than President Trump.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/13/politics/obama-trump-deportations-illegal-immigration/index.html
July 3, 2019
The captain of Sea Watch 3, Carola Rackete, has been released from house arrest. Rackete was arrested four days ago upon docking the ship with 40 migrants at Lampedusa, Italy. The captain is now facing legal action for facilitating illegal immigration.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/world/europe/sea-watch-captain-italy.html
June 26, 2019
Far-right extremist, Stephan Ernst confessed to killing German politician, Walter Lübcke. Lübcke, a member of the Christian Democrats (CDU) was murdered outside his house on June 2. The murderer cited the politician's pro-refugee stance as motive for shooting.
June 25, 2019
A photo of a drowned father and toddler is circulating around the Internet. Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez (25) and his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria, from El Salvador were found washed ashore in the Rio Grande bank. They tried to cross from Mexico to the United States.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/us/father-daughter-border-drowning-picture-mexico.html
June 22, 2019
Canada surpasses the U.S. in leading the world in refugee resettlement. Pew Research Center reports that globally, 92,000 refugees were resettled in 2018. This is down from 103,000 in 2017 and 189,000 in 2016.
June 11, 2019
There were 60,000 child migrants detained by the U.S. in 40 days. -BBC
June 5, 2019
The Republic of Malta rescues close to 400 migrants on one day. What will happen with the migrants is unclear. For now, the migrants in rubber boats at sea are brought to shore in Malta. -NRC
June 5, 2019
The Dream and Promise Act passes the House providing more than 2 million undocumentated immigrants a chance at legal status. This includes the group "Dreamers" who came to the U.S. as a children. -Huffington Post
June 3, 2019
Johana Medina Leon, a transgender woman, seeking asylum in the United States, from El Salvador died in a Texas hospital. The 25-year-old woman died four days after six weeks in ICE custody.
June 2, 2019
In the past 4,5 years, more than 1600 children disappeared from asylum centers in the Netherlands. A number of them run away, even the children who have a chance of being granted visas. -NRC
May 30, 2019
The U.S. President will place a 5% tariff on Mexican goods until the migration crisis is alleviated. Tariffs will rise and remain at 25% until Mexico stops the illegal inflow of Central American migrants. -The Guardian
May 22, 2019
According to BuzzFeed, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has 52,398 immigrants in detention.
May 20, 2019
Sea-watch, an organization that rescues migrants stranded on the Medditerean Sea, has its ship seized by the Italian government. Italian’s deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, has taken a hard line against humanitarian rescue operations.
May 11, 2019
In Vlaardingen, 34 migrants including two young children were found in trucks who were on their way to the United Kingdom. -NOS
May 11, 2019
60 of the 75 migrants drowned crossing Libya to Europe. Tunisia saved the 15 migrants who were at sea for 8 hours. -NOS
May 7, 2019
Italian luxury stores in Milan prepare for the “Ramadan Rush”. While Italy’s political party Lega Nord is doing everything to keep immigrants out, the Milanese shopkeepers are taking business courses to better serve the Muslim community who spend on average four times more on gifts and clothes durind the celebration season. -NOS
May 3, 2019
An army officer confessed to murdering migrant women and girls. The women were all domestic workers. It is the island’s first serial killing. Cyprus introduced a temporary law to allow migrants into the country in 1991. It was to fill gaps in employment. The island saw the rise of migrations to represent 20% of the population (between 70,000 - 80,000 people).
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48110874
May 2, 2019
The countries of Italy, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Romania are more concerned about emigration than immigration. A majority in these countries have called for measures against long-term stay of their citizens in other EU countries. A ‘braindrain’ has already happened in countries such as Italy where the young professionals are emigrating en masse.
April 28, 2019
The U.S. Border agency forced migrants to sleep under a bridge is now erecting tents close to the U.S. - Mexico border to house detained migrants.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/28/tent-city-migrants-el-paso-texas
April 28, 2019
Pope Francis donated $500,000 to help Central American migrants stranded in Mexico as they reach the U.S. border. The donation is offered to help with food, lodging, and other basic necessities.
April 20, 2019
FBI arrested Larry Hopkins, leader of an armed group that patrols the U.S. - Mexican border. The group, in camouflage and carrying rifles, have helped U.S. Border Patrol detain over 5,600 migrants in the last two months. PayPal and GoFundMe have shut down their ability on the platforms to raise money, but the group more than doubled their Facebook supporters.
April 16, 2019
Sanctuary cities, counties, and states have laws, ordinances, regulations, resolutions, policies, or other practices that obstruct immigration enforcement and shield criminals from ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
https://cis.org/Map-Sanctuary-Cities-Counties-and-States
April 11, 2019
According to officials from the Department of Homeland Securities, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was pressured by White House officials to release detainees in Sanctuary Cities to retaliate against Trump’s adversaries.
April 6, 2019
False rumors on social media claiming that the borders to North and West Europe would be opened caused clashes between migrants and the police. Families with babies and children gathered at the Greece - North Macedonia border were met with tear gas. The 1200 people gathered at the border ended up all arrested.
NOS and https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1110825/migrant-crisis-greece-Europe-border-Diavata-EU
March 30, 2019
Investigative reporters at Argos report that 60 refugee children from Vietnam have disappeared from Dutch asylum centrums. One of the boys disappeared the day before he was scheduled to testify against a human trafficker.
Europol’s chief of staff, Brian Donald, reported that at least 10.000 child refugees have disappeared after arriving in Europe.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/30/fears-for-missing-child-refugees
March 28, 2019
Turkish ship El Hiblu 1 was hijacked by migrants after rescuing them from a sinking migrants’ boat. After the migrants realized the El Hiblu 1 was heading for Libya, the 12-men ship crew was forced to head back to Europe. The migrants are in Maltese custody.
March 23, 2019
Cyclone Idai devastated Mozambique and killed more than 600 people in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. The death toll is expected to rise once the water recedes. The cyclone also caused tens of thousands of people on the move.
https://www.unhcr.org/climate-change-and-disasters.html
March 21, 2019
“...flash flooding from a combination of warming temperatures, sudden snowmelt and heavy rainfall has been felt from Nebraska through Iowa and down into Missouri. The waters have killed two, burst through a dozen levees on the Missouri River and caused almost $1.4 billion of losses in Nebraska alone, according to the Associated Press. And with climate change an ongoing threat, extreme weather events like this will likely be increasingly common in the future.
In Fremont County alone, local farmers pulled together a quick estimate that the flood affected 28 local producers’ farmland. Of those who stored grain, only three were able to move theirs before the water came and ruined nearly 1.8 million bushels of corn and soybeans.”
March 20, 2019
Bus driver set a school bus on fire with 51 students. No one was injured. The bus driver is a 47year old Italian from Senegal. He wanted to protest against the migration drama in the Medditerrean Sea.
Migration Policy Institute
March 14, 2019
“More than 44.5 million immigrants resided in the United States in 2017, the historical high since census records have been kept. One in seven U.S. residents is foreign born, according to 2017 American Community Survey (ACS) data. While immigrants’ current share—13.7 percent—of the overall U.S. population (325.7 million people) has been increasing since the record low marked in 1970, it remains below the historical record of 14.8 percent hit in 1890.”
March 14, 2019
Shooters attacked people in two mosques and caused multiple fatalities in the city of Christchurch.
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a press conference, “This is one of the country's darkest days...Many of those directly affected by this shooting...maybe migrants to New Zealand, they may even be refugees here. They have chosen to make New Zealand their home and it is their home. They are us.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47578798
March 14, 2019
Wandering males transformed Spain’s DNA
A study revealed how a mass migration of males transformed the genetic make-up of people in Spain during the Bronze Age.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47540792
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6432/1230
March 14, 2019
Immigrants are more accepted worldwide according to a study by Pew Research Center in 18 countries. Six out of 10 adults in the US say that immigrants strengthen the country. -Pew Research Center
March 5, 2019
Between October 2018 - end of February 2019, American Border Patrol agents picked up more than 260,000 people according to NPR. This is a 90% increase over the same period a year ago. Even with the rise, illegal border crossings are below historical numbers. However, the illegal border crossings in the past were mostly single men from Mexico. Today, there are more families and children. -NPR
February 27, 2019
The US refugee program is set to allow 45,000 into the country. It is the lowest number set since the modern refugee program was established in 1980. The US is not likely to take in less than 45,000 in 2018.
Overall refugee admission numbers also show that refugees from the following countries have almost no chance of being admitted to the US: Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. -Reuters
February 27, 2019
The UN refugee agency reported that nearly 5.5 million Syrians have fled the country over the last seven years of the war. When Russia launched a military operation in Syria in 2015, Russia granted asylum to 1,924 Syrians. Today, the NGO, Civil Assistance Committee, says Russia has warned Syrians in Russia that their papers will not be extended next year. There are also reports of people bribing the Russian police in order to stay in the country. -Reuters
February 26, 2019
There are approximately 188,000 people in Germany who were declined asylum, but were not able to be sent back to the country of origin. People’s papers are not in order to be sent to their country of origin, the country of origin is not willing to repatriate these people, the police can’t locate the asylum seeker. -FDP and Bild
February 23, 2019
Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) estimate that the Country will need 50.000 additional migrant workers from the European Union (EU) to cover the work that can’t be filled by workers in the Netherlands.
February 16, 2019
In 2016 the British people voted for Brexit [leave the European Union]
“Immigration was the key issue on the [Brexit] leave side…the voters were voting with immigration on their minds.”
Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs, King’s College London
UK population is 66,02 million people (2017), one million people are from Poland.
https://nos.nl/uitzending/39686-nieuwsuur.html
February 15, 2019
President Trump declares a national emergency to pay for a border wall: 8 billion dollar.
Illegal immigration reached their peaks in 1986 and 2000.
In 1986: 1.7 million illegal immigrants trying to enter the USA
In 2000: 1.67 million illegal immigrants trying to enter the USA
In 2018: less than 400,000 illegal immigrants trying to enter the USA
Source: NOS Journaal
February 12, 2019
U.S. Congress reach a bipartisan agreement to avert government shutdown. The proposed border security deal will include $1.375 billion to build a 55 miles new border wall made of vertical steel slats (bollards). President Trump sought $5.7 billion for 234 miles of steel walls.
Lawmakers are hopeful Trump will accept the deal. The President indicated that there are other ways to add to building the wall he envisioned.
January 31, 2019
29 children died due to cold in camp, without tents they slept in the outdoors.
Since December some 20,000 people, predominately women and children, have been discplaced from the Hajin area to the Al-Hol camps in the Hasakah province. They have been exposed to hostilities, explosive hazards, intense cold, and prolonged security screenings.
Mark Lowcock, UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
January 24, 2019
The refugee process in the Country has gone up to 1 year and 4 months according to Vluchtelingen Werk Nederland. It is projected to be two years in the near future.
In 2017, 14,716 people requested asylum in the Netherlands. In 2016, the number of requests was 18,171. The majority of asylum seekers are from Syria (2,202 people) and Eritrea (1,095).
https://nos.nl/uitzending/39143-nos-journaal.html
https://www.vluchtelingenwerk.nl/
January 23, 2019
Opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, declares himself Interim President of Venezuela. Three million people have fled Venezuela since the President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro came to power in 2013. Inflation has been 2 million percent.
https://nos.nl/uitzending/39118-nos-journaal.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/world/americas/venezuela-protests-guaido-maduro.html
January 20, 2019
In a speech, President Trump offers 3-year extension of protection for 700,000 ‘dreamers’ (‘dreamers’ entered the United States illegally as children) in exchange for $5.7 billion for wall. Pelosi says it is a “non-starter” since this is a temporary solution.
The longest government shutdown in history has left 800,000 unpaid federal workers.
January 18, 2019
Oxfam issues report on the substandard living conditions in refugee camps in Greece, especially on Lesbos.
During the latter part of 2015 and early 2016, selective and arbitrary admissions policies were put in place by European countries such as the closure of their borders and the EU – Turkey deal that aims to return to Turkey people seeking safety in Europe. According to UNHCR there are approximately 43,000 refugees and migrants in Greece, about 30,000 on the mainland living in containers, formerly abandoned buildings, hotels, as well as in UNHCR’s ‘relocation scheme housing’and 13,000 are restricted to the Greek islands, which have a capacity for 8,500 people only.
Substandard living conditions and lack of adequate food, medical care and information have heightened people's anxiety, depression and uncertainty. With little information about their rights, legal options, and how long it will take for them to be able to benefit from asylum or other legal options for being relocated or reaching family elsewhere in the European Union, many people turn to smugglers to move north.
https://www.oxfam.org/en/refugee-and-migrant-crisis/oxfams-humanitarian-response-greece
January 11, 2019
Prime Minister of Canada Trudeau grants asylum to an 18-year old woman who left Saudi Arabia after being threatened by her family for turning away from the Islam.
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada: “We have accepted the UN’s request to grant her asylum. That is something we are pleased to do. Canada is a country that understands how important it is to stand up for human right and to stand up for women’s rights around the world.”
Canada is risking a further impasse with Saudi Arabia. The two countries had a clash in 2017 about Canada’s support for Saudi Arabia human rights activists.
January 8, 2019
Civil search and rescue ships Sea-Watch and Albert Peck rescued 32 refugees and 17 migrants respectively from boats off the coast from Malta in December were informed that eight EU member states would accept the migrants.
The EU member states are Germany, Portugal, France, The Netherlands, Ireland, Romania, Luxembourg, and Italy.
The Netherlands agreed to accept 6 refugees.
Mark Harbers, Minister of Migration, says that this is a one time humanitarian act by the Netherlands and warned that the Country will not be taking in migrants rescued by Sea-Watch in the future. The asylum seekers will undergo standard procedures, which does not mean that they are granted permanent stay in the host countries.
https://nos.nl/uitzending/38787-nos-journaal.html
January 5, 2019
Turkey sees more people leaving the country.
The official emigration numbers of Turkey
2016 69,326 emigrants
2017 253,640 emigrants
January 5, 2019
United States Government Shutdown enters third week. Government workers will miss their first round of payments as a result of the shutdown on Jan. 11.
President Trump and the Democratic lawmakers are in an impasse over a proposed wall along the U.S. – Mexico border. President Trump threatened to declare a national emergency to force border wall funding.
https://www.politico.com/latest-news-updates/government-shutdown-2018
The cost of a U.S. – Mexico wall varies in estimation depending on who you ask. President Trump estimates the construction cost to be 12 billion, Department of Homeland Security at 22 billion, Senate Democrats has it at 70 billion. These costs do not include annual maintenance.
In California, for example, where there is a large immigrant population, including of undocumented migrants, U.S.–born men were incarcerated at a rate 2.5 times higher than foreign–born men.
January 4, 2019
Coast of Italy
Civil search and rescue ship Sea-Watch 3 has been awaiting the assignment of a port of safety for the 32 women, men and children it rescued in the Central Mediterranean on 22 December 2018.
Sea-Watch picked up 32 people in the Mediterranean Sea
Libya to Italy
Italian government internally disagrees on migration issues
A migrant on board Sea-Watch:
“We have to stay on the ship. We don’t understand. We are not fish; we are not sharks, we are people like everyone else.”
(Other civil search and rescue ships: Aquarius, Open Arms)
January 4, 2019
Number of illegal border crossings at European Union external borders at lowest level in 5 years.
Last year the number of illegal border-crossings at Europe’s external borders has fallen by a quarter compared with 2017 to an estimated 150 000, the lowest level in five years. The total for 2018 was also 92% below the peak of the migratory crisis in 2015.
Women accounted for 18% of all illegal border-crossings on entry from third countries. Nearly one in five of the detected migrants claimed to be under the age of 18
December 28, 2018
Two boats with 12 people crossed the busy (English) Channel from Calais, France to Dover, UK
Human smuggler informed the BBC that the trip cost 3000 – 4000 British pounds.
December 10, 2018
Global Migration Trends