Unit 4The Migration-Asylum Nexus

Definition and significance 16 March 2006

http://minorities.fsv.cuni.cz/multiculti/welcome.htm

Laura Laubeova

laubeova@fsv.cuni.cz

Unit Structure

South (sending, mig. producing countries)

macro-, micro- level

Receiving (transit) countries

macro-, micro-

Forced vs Economic? Or Forced and Economic?

Future prospects

Case of Germany

What is the 'migration-asylum' nexus

• Growing difficulty in separating between forced and economic migration

• Closely related causes of forced and economic migration

• Increasing similarities in the migratory process for both categories

• Common responses: lack of differentiation between asylum seekers and irregular migrants

'Category jumping': Examples

• Portuguese workers in France - 1960s Refugees from fascism Use of people smugglers

Regularisation as workers If workers are needed, employers and governments don't care if they are refugees

• Burmese in Thailand • The Roma in Europe (asylum seekers from

Slovakia)

A global problem: forced migration (2003-4)

Refugees (1951 Convention definition) 9.7 million (recognised by UNHCR)

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) 25 m (13 m of them in Africa)

Development Induced Displacement 10 million a year (World Bank)

Environmental change and disasters Numbers unknown

UHNCR

Towards a political economy of forced migration

• Globalisation: the North-South Gap • Selective inclusion and exclusion in global

economy: 'disconnection' • Trade, investment and development • Trade in small arms, conflict diamonds etc.• 'Reconnection' of South and North through

”unwanted' flows and networks • Migration as a form of 'reconnection'

The migration-asylum nexus in the South: macro-level

• Links between poverty, weak states, human rights abuse and conflict

• Complex emergencies lead to many types of displacement

• Internal displacement often means impoverishment - and further migration

• Conflict prevents development - causes economic migration

• Many migrants have multiple motivations

Political economy of forced migration in the South: micro level

Approaches: Commodity chain analysis Livelihood studies

Examples:Conflict diamonds in Sierra Leone Cobalt mining in DR Congo Afghanistan: survival in enduring conflict The role of arms trafficking

The MAN in Countries of first asylum and transit

Thailand: new industrial country with:labour emigration and immigrationrefugee inflows

Malaysia: Indonesian and Filipino labour - often really

refugees Tanzania: less-developed country with:

Long-standing and diverse refugee populationStrains of long-term support

The migration-asylum nexus in the process of mobility

• Category jumping as a rational strategy • Policies as 'opportunity structures' • Migration barriers (visas, carrier sanctions,

safe third countries, buffer zones) - create demand for the 'migration industry'

• The importance of migration networks • Irregular movement may lead to long-term

irregularity

The nexus between asylum and irregular migration in receiving countries - macro

• Deterrent measures create incentives for irregular employment and residence

• Irregular entry helps create networks for irregular work and life

• Unmet labour demand for low-skilled workers encourages informal sector

• Media-driven asylum panic leads to hypocritical asylum policies

The micro-level: how does asylum affect local communities? • Local conflicts about asylum centres • Fears of 'cheap labour' in areas of social

exclusion • Welfare challenges (e.g. assisting

unaccompanied minors) • Destitution as challenge to local authorities• Dispersal, concentration and potential ethnic

conflicts

Migration from Sri Lanka (UK)

• Elite/professionals

• Students

• Refugees and asylum seekers

• Labour migration

• Family reunion/foundation

Tamils in the UK

• Post independence 1948: professionals • From 1960s, discrimination and hardening ethnic

nationalisms: students • From 1980s: conflict refugees and asylum

seekers • 1990s: acceleration of asylum migration • From 2002: decline in asylum migration • Family reunion • From 2000: regrouping/relocation/secondary

migration

Consequences of the Migration-Asylum Nexus

• Diversified migrant populations in host countries • Diversified migrant destinations: diasporisation• Proliferation and diversification of transnational

linkages - Households at home have a portfolio of transnational

resources

- Diaspora households have a portfolio of obligations

The future of the migration-asylum nexus

• Era of asylum migration to affluent countries drawing to close • Asylum migration to middle income countries? • Other legal channels will continue: limited labour migration,

family reunion, high skilled, students ... • Irregular migration will continue • Regrouping: eg movement from continental Europe to the UK • Containment of 'mixed migration' in regions of origin • In- region migration management: sorting migrants in regions

of origin • Effects on diaspora formation, transnational links, and the

global political economy?

Case of Germany

http://www.proasyl.de/

GERMANY’S IMMIGRATION LAW MARKS ONE YEAR

http://www.icare.to/article.php?id=1292&lang=enASYLUM SEEKER NUMBERS IN GERMANY FALL

BY 18PChttp://www.icare.to/article.php?id=1351&lang=enhttp://www.icare.to/