MPI's Migration Information Source Newsletter

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August 1, 2019

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Spotlight
Naturalization Trends in the United States
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/naturalization-trends-united-states
Nearly 22 million immigrants -- about half of the overall immigrant population -- were naturalized U.S. citizens in fiscal year 2017. In the same year, more than 707,000 immigrants became U.S. citizens. Naturalized citizens tend to have higher incomes and educational attainment compared to other immigrants, as this data-rich article explores.

Feature
Lack of Opportunities and Family Pressures Drive Unaccompanied Minor Migration from Albania to Italy
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/lack-opportunities-and-family-pressures-drive-unaccompanied-minor-migration-albania-italy
Faced with a lack of employment opportunities and recurrent poverty, Albanian youth migrate to Italy alone in the hopes of improving their educational prospects or making money for their families. Yet upon arrival, they face many vulnerabilities. While some protections for unaccompanied minors exist in the Italy, the system is greatly fragmented and challenges, including how to return them to Albania, remain persistent.

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EDITOR'S NOTE

Turkey last week announced that it intends to suspend its migrant readmission agreement with the European Union. The readmission agreement has been in place since March 2016, as part of a broader deal Turkey and the bloc signed to stem the flow of migrants and refugees from Syria and elsewhere from entering the European Union, in exchange for visa-free travel for Turkish citizens and other concessions. More than three years on, visa-free travel has failed to materialize, so Turkey "will not wait at the EU's door," according to the country's foreign minister. Amid the announcement, reports of clashes and deportations have circulated, suggesting that long-simmering tensions between Turks and Syrians have begun to boil over.

More than 3.6 million Syrian refugees live in Turkey, 64 percent of all Syrians who have sought refuge abroad. Since the beginning of the civil war, Syrians have flocked to neighboring Turkey, which has maintained an "open-door policy" and granted registered Syrians temporary protection, including access to work permits. Most have settled in towns and urban centers, living alongside the native population.

As the Syrian conflict drags on, however, tensions between the two groups have grown. Many Turks who originally welcomed the refugees as temporary guests are now demanding their return to Syria. Indeed, according to a July poll, more than 80 percent of Turks surveyed stated that hosting Syrians was not their government's responsibility and that all Syrians should be sent back. In the same poll, Turks ranked the presence of Syrian refugees as a key problem in the country, second only to the economy.

Reports of deportations surfaced in mid-July, with estimates ranging from hundreds to 1,000 Syrians removed. Turkish officials maintain that arrests and removals were part of a crackdown on unregistered Syrians, while human-rights advocates and international observers argue the deportations represent a violation of Turkish and international law. Perhaps most concerning, many have reportedly been deported to Idlib province, notorious for its instability and violence. Finally, on July 22, the governor of Istanbul announced that Syrians living in the city but registered elsewhere in Turkey must return to those jurisdictions by August 20 or be forcibly removed.

These new moves to expel Syrians will likely exacerbate already strained relations with the European Union. The bloc imposed sanctions on Turkey in mid-July over its natural gas drilling operations off the coast of Cyprus. As part of the sanctions, the European Union has said it will reduce the amount of pre-accession funding Turkey will receive as part of its bid to join the Union. Against the backdrop of these domestic and regional tensions, Syrian refugees have much to lose. Escalating crackdown will prompt many Syrians to weigh the odds: Should they risk the dangerous journey to Europe, where they may be turned away, or stay in Turkey, where they could face forced removal?

Best regards,

Alexandra Vranas-Carita

Editor, Migration Information Source

[email protected]

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NEW FROM MPI

Equipping Immigrant Selection Systems for a Changing World of Work (Transatlantic Council Statement)
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/immigrant-selection-systems-changing-world-work
By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Meghan Benton, and Kate Hooper

As the Trump Administration Seeks to Remove Families, Due-Process Questions over Rocket Dockets Abound
www.migrationpolicy.org/news/due-process-questions-rocket-dockets-family-migrants
By Sarah Pierce

Start-Up Visas: A Passport for Innovation and Growth?
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/start-visas-innovation-growth
By Liam Patuzzi

Strategic Solutions for the United States and Mexico to Manage the Migration Crisis
www.migrationpolicy.org/news/strategic-solutions-united-states-and-mexico-manage-migration-crisis
By Andrew Selee, Silvia E. Giorguli-Saucedo, Claudia Masferrer, and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto

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HAVE YOU READ

Asylum Hangover? Governments Seek to Narrow Avenues for Humanitarian Protection
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/top-10-2018-issue-7-asylum-hangover-countries-seek-narrow-avenues-humanitarian-protection

Estonian Citizenship Policy: The Restoration of a Country Leads to Statelessness for Some
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/estonian-citizenship-policy-restoration-country-leads-statelessness-some

Straddling Two Worlds: Highly Skilled Migrants from Senegambia and Switzerland
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/straddling-two-worlds-highly-skilled-migrants-senegambia-and-switzerland

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