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Immigration in the United Kingdom: The Recession
and Beyond
By Will Somerville and Madeleine Sumption
Will the recession reduce immigrant inflows to the United Kingdom
and encourage return migration as immigrants find it more difficult
to get jobs? There is already evidence that Eastern European
workers are arriving in significantly smaller numbers. Still,
the report makes clear that immigration will by no means cease
during the recession in part because the downturn also is affecting
immigrant-source countries and because migration decisions are
not governed solely by economic concerns.
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Immigration and the Labor Market: Theory, Evidence, and Policy
By Will Somerville and Madeleine Sumption
With the current economic downturn leading to questions over
the value of economic migration, this report examines labor-market
conditions in the United Kingdom. While there is consensus among
economic researchers that immigration has only a small impact
on the average wages of all workers, the report suggests that
policymakers cannot ignore immigrants’ role in the labor
market. Interventions to assist low-skilled workers, integration
policies, and employer-sponsored training are essential tools
to mitigate real and perceived effects of immigration.
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Charting the Demographic Course across the Mediterranean
By Philippe Fargues
This paper, prepared for the Transatlantic Council on Migration,
examines the demographic future for the Middle East and North
Africa through 2030 – and notes that the MENA region’s
growing supply of young, educated workers is occurring against
the backdrop of Europe’s aging population and below-replacement
fertility. While at first sight it appears obvious that the MENA
region will play a pivotal role in Europe’s hunt for skilled
workers, the paper outlines that the European Union isn’t
the sole destination for MENA migrants.
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Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa: The Most
Demographically Extreme Regions
By Wolfgang Lutz, Warren Sanderson, Sergei Scherbov, and Samir
K.C.
The world’s two most demographically extreme regions are
sub-Saharan Africa, which is experiencing the most rapid population
growth, and Eastern Europe, which has the fastest shrinking population.
In this paper, prepared for the Transatlantic Council on Migration,
the authors track the region’s divergent paths through
2030 and examine labor-force trends, educational attainment,
and implications for future migration to Europe.
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Migration and the Economic
Downturn: What to Expect in the European Union
 By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption, and Will Somerville
As unemployment rises and household budgets shrink across the European
Union, policymakers, analysts, and the public are beginning to ask what
the consequences will be with respect to immigration. The implications
of the recession should not be underestimated. The downturn is likely
to affect the kind of immigrants that arrive and leave, with implications
for labor supply in certain sectors, for integration, and for the host
communities.
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Learning
by Doing: Experiences of Circular Migration
 By
Kathleen Newland, Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias, and Aaron Terrazas
Increasingly, policymakers are considering whether circular migration could improve
the likelihood that global mobility gains will be shared by migrant-origin and
destination countries alike — as well as by migrants themselves. This MPI
Insight examines the record of circular migration, both where it has arisen naturally
and where governments have taken action to encourage it.
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Report | Press Release
Purchase a hard copy at the MPI bookstore: US | International
Hometown
Associations: An Untapped Resource for Immigrant Integration?
 By
Will Somerville, Jamie Durana, and Aaron Matteo Terrazas
Hometown associations, the organizations that immigrants create
for social, economic development, and political empowerment purposes,
play an important – and
underexamined – role in immigrant integration. Though policymakers focus
chiefly on the associations’ development potential, this
MPI Insight recommends cooperative interventions to strengthen
their immigrant integration capacity.
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Report | Press Release
Purchase a hard copy at the MPI bookstore: US | International
Europe’s
Disappearing Internal Borders
By Hiroyuki Tanaka and Trinidad Macias
Fact Sheet No. 20, December 2007
The Schengen Area allows European Union citizens and third-country nationals
in 15 Schengen Member States to, in almost all cases, travel freely to another
Schengen Member State. On December 21, 2007, the Schengen Area will enlarge to
include nine of the 10 countries that entered the European Union in 2004. This
MPI fact sheet provides 10 key facts about the expanding Schengen Area.
Fact
Sheet | Press
Release
Integrating
Islam: A New Chapter in “Church-State” Relations
By Jonathan Laurence, Boston College, October 2007
With at least 15 million Muslims now residing in Europe, Islam
is Europe’s second largest religion. A new report provides
a roadmap for how European governments can best engage Muslim
communities on issues related to religious practice and integration.
The primary challenges for European governments are to safeguard
religious freedoms and to ensure a voice for Muslim populations,
while combating extremism and adapting European societies to
diverse religious communities. Drawing on examples from throughout
the European Union, the report provides a framework for establishing
dialogues that can play a critical role in integrating newcomers
of various faiths, many of whom still have foreign nationality.
Full Report | Press Release
Alien
nation
Public concern over immigration made it a policy priority for Tony Blair. But
will Gordon Brown rewrite the script?
By Will Somerville
Op-Ed in The Guardian (UK), September 26, 2007
The children that Europe forgot
By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Werner Weidenfeld,
Co-Chairs, Transatlantic Task Force on Immigration and Integration
Op-Ed in the European Voice, September 20, 2007
 Immigration under New Labour
By Will Somerville
Book published by The Policy Press, September 2007
This new book chronicles the transformation of Britain from a country of “uncertain backward-looking” immigration policies to a “veritable hotbed of policy innovation.” Will Somerville explores both how Britain has developed new economic migration policies, making it a top global competitor for skilled migrants and foreign students, and how a more restrictive approach to asylum seekers has been adopted. He also describes the new integration tools and security measures, central to the new immigration policy, and how institutional changes, including the establishment of a new Border and Immigration Agency, have helped deliver policies.
Press Release | Preface by MPI President Demetrios Papademetriou
Gaining from Migration: Towards a New Mobility System
Lead written by Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Gregory A. Maniatis
OECD Report, September 2007
A functioning migration system in Europe must treat sending and transit countries as genuine partners. The report recommends that EU policymakers forego restrictive rhetoric and instead create more legal channels and flexible options for immigrants’ entry and stay to attract workers in industries that most need them. At the same time, and in recognition of the fact that immigration cannot succeed unless immigrants integrate successfully, European countries must become more flexible in giving immigrants access to their labor markets and political systems.
Full Report | Executive Summary | Press Release
New Policy Solutions for Closing Educational Gaps for Immigrant Children
Three September 2007 studies present policymakers with ideas for how best to close achievement gaps between native-born students and immigrant students or the children of immigrants across European countries.
Early Education for Immigrant Children
By Paul Leseman, Utrecht University
Dr. Leseman looks at factors that create educational disadvantages among children of immigrants, including socioeconomic and psychological risks and lack of cognitive stimulation at home. He finds that while early education can improve the educational and socioeconomic position of low-income and minority communities, the program’s design is fundamental to its success. He recommends that policymakers focus on providing center-based care, with programs grounded in teaching children the host language and with strong outreach to minorities that includes additional help for parents. He also recommends that governments directly subsidize early-education programs rather than providing parents with vouchers, which can be confusing and are underused.
Pathways to Success for the Children of Immigrants
By Maurice Crul, University of Amsterdam
Dr. Crul looks at how the children of Turkish immigrants, the largest immigrant group in Europe, are faring across the continent. He finds disparities across countries in the age at which children start school, the number who drop out of secondary school, and the number of youth who are unemployed. He notes that, because immigrant students tend to start school at a linguistic and cultural disadvantage, compelling them to choose either an academic or vocational education “track” too early may relegate them to a less enriching education. Dr. Crul suggests a range of policy tools to avoid this outcome, such as establishing strong apprenticeship programs and allowing vocational students to switch back to academic schools if they show the potential to succeed.
Language Policies and Practices for Helping Immigrants and Second-Generation Students Succeed
By Gayle Christensen, Urban Institute, and Petra Stanat, Free University of Berlin
Drs. Christensen and Stanat draw on the results of a unique survey of school language policies and practices to close the achievement gap in 14 immigrant-receiving countries. The authors find that countries where immigrant and second-generation students succeed tend to have long-standing language support programs, for both primary and secondary students, with clearly defined goals and standards. The authors highlight Sweden; Victoria, Australia; and British Columbia, Canada, as places with smaller achievement gaps between native-born and immigrant students. These programs’ common strategies include centrally developed curricula, high program standards, time-intensive programs, support in both primary and secondary school, second-language teachers who have received specialized training, and cooperation between language and other teachers.
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