MPI's Migration Information Source Newsletter

********************************************

March 17, 2020

********************************************

Spotlight
Immigrant Women and Girls in the United States
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigrant-women-and-girls-united-states
Immigrant women and girls constituted slightly more than half of the 44.7 million immigrants in the United States in 2018. This is higher than the global average, likely because immigrants are more likely to enter the United States through family reunification channels rather than labor migration ones (which globally are predominantly male). This article offers a rich data profile on immigrant women and girls in the United States including age, education, employment, and poverty levels.

Policy Beat
Interlocking Set of Trump Administration Policies at the U.S.-Mexico Border Bars Virtually All from Asylum
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/interlocking-set-policies-us-mexico-border-bars-virtually-all-asylum
Through a set of interlocking policies, the Trump administration has walled off the asylum system at the U.S.-Mexico border, guaranteeing that only a miniscule few can successfully gain protection. While the Migrant Protection Protocols, more commonly known as Remain in Mexico, have been a key part of throttling asylum applications, two newer, far less visible programs hold the potential to complete the job, as this article explores.

********************************************

EDITOR'S NOTE

Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei's famous art installation, "Safe Passage," made its U.S. debut last month at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA). Comprising 2,400 life jackets discarded by refugees who made the often-dangerous passage from Turkey to Greece, the eye-catching multicolored installation covers the museum's six towering exterior neoclassical columns. Making its way around the world, the installation was previously featured on the columns of the Berlin Konzerthaus, Yokohama Museum of Art, and the National Archives of Chile.

The MIA's head of contemporary art, Gabriel Ritter, notes that the decision to bring Ai's work to Minneapolis is part of a larger conversation, as Minnesota has the highest number of refugees per capita of any U.S. state. "Safe Passages" is one work in the "When Home Won't Let You Stay: Art and Migration" exhibition scheduled to remain at MIA through May 24. (With the museum currently closed to the public due to the coronavirus, Ai's installation is the most accessible at present.)

Considered one of the world's most famous contemporary artists and activists, Ai has been a vocal critic of Europe's response to the refugee crisis. The 62-year-old visited refugee camps several times in 2015, sparking his creation of "Safe Passage" (the life jackets were donated by the mayor of Lesvos) and the large-scale installation "Laundromat," a display of 2,046 articles of clothing salvaged from the Idomeni refugee camp in northern Greece. In 2017, Ai turned to filmmaking with "Human Flow," which documented the refugee crisis across more than 20 countries, and the follow-up, "The Rest."

While many view Ai's art and films as powerful expressions of the refugee experience, some have accused him of exploiting the struggle of refugees to promote his personal image, and treating them as a "faceless, nameless" mass. Ai also received backlash for his restaging of the photograph of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose tragic drowning sparked worldwide attention.

Ai has been steadfast in defending his work, emphasizing the value his art has in evoking discomfort, questioning existing judgments, and forcing people to confront issues of displacement. He also admits that his work is inherently selfish as it is a reflection of his personal journey processing his family's forced exile within China for two decades and his departure from China, where he was imprisoned in 2011 for criticizing the government.

"I'm very fortunate -- I'm like a high-end refugee," Ai said in an interview with The Art Newspaper. "I can speak to the media and I get to do so many shows but I have a nation I cannot go back to. It's very hard to think conceptually 'I am settled here' because everything is so uncertain. Uncertainty gives me a clear understanding about the refugee condition."

Best regards,

Editor, Migration Information Source

[email protected]

********************************************

NEW FROM MPI

Coronavirus Is Spreading across Borders, But It Is Not a Migration Problem
www.migrationpolicy.org/news/coronavirus-not-a-migration-problem
By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Meghan Benton, and Susan Fratzke

Chasing Efficiency: Can Operational Changes Fix European Asylum Systems?
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/operational-changes-european-asylum-systems
By Hanne Beirens

Which English Learners Count When? Understanding State EL Subgroup Definitions in ESSA Reporting
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/state-english-learner-subgroup-definitions-essa
By Julie Sugarman

The Public-Charge Rule: Broad Impacts, But Few Will Be Denied Green Cards Based on Actual Benefits Use
www.migrationpolicy.org/news/public-charge-denial-green-cards-benefits-use
By Randy Capps, Julia Gelatt, and Mark Greenberg

********************************************

HAVE YOU READ

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states

Using Fear of the "Other," Orbán Reshapes Migration Policy in a Hungary Built on Cultural Diversity
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/orban-reshapes-migration-policy-hungary

As More Migrants from Africa and Asia Arrive in Latin America, Governments Seek Orderly and Controlled Pathways
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/extracontinental-migrants-latin-america


********************************************

***Join Our List***
If a friend has forwarded this email to you and you would like to continue receiving the Migration Information Source newsletter, you can subscribe here:
www.migrationpolicy.org/signup/source

***Sign Up for RSS Feed***
Subscribe to our RSS feed for news of the latest articles www.migrationpolicy.org/feeds/83/rss.xml

***Unsubscribe***
If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you can unsubscribe here:
[link removed]

_______________________________________________________________

The Migration Information Source
A project of the Migration Policy Institute
1400 16th Street, NW Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036 USA
tel: (001) 202-266-1940; fax: (001) 202-266-1900
email: [email protected]

Copyright @ 2020 Migration Policy Institute. All rights reserved.