MPI's Migration Information Source Newsletter

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November 16, 2021

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Feature
Costa Rica Has Welcoming Policies for Migrants, but Nicaraguans Face Subtle Barriers
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/costa-rica-nicaragua-migrants-subtle-barriers
Tens of thousands of Nicaraguans have fled their country since 2018, amid repression and a renewed government crackdown. In neighboring Costa Rica, many migrants have encountered a robust system for protection and integration, yet they still face stigma and discrimination in their daily lives. This article explores this dynamic along one of Central America's most important migratory routes.

Spotlight
Naturalized Citizens in the United States
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/naturalization-trends-united-states
More than half of all immigrants in the United States are naturalized citizens. The number of new naturalizations has fluctuated from year to year, hitting a decade-long low in fiscal year 2020, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising processing times. This article provides information on naturalized citizens in the United States, including historical trends and socioeconomic characteristics.


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EDITOR'S NOTE

There were emotional and anxious scenes at the U.S.-Mexico border last week, when some of the world's busiest border crossings fully opened for the first time in 20 months. Loved ones were able to reunite, shoppers could stock up at their favorite stores, and travelers of all kinds were able to transit between the two countries.

Although travel deemed essential had been allowed throughout the pandemic, that often did not include family and friends wanting to attend birthday parties, weddings, and myriad other social events. Travelers could often make journeys for nonessential purposes if they traveled by air from points in the countries' interiors, but not by land. This situation had created a bitterly ironic situation in which tightknit cross-border communities and economies were largely cleaved in two, while residents elsewhere could travel back and forth more or less unabated.

Similar scenes played out farther north, on the U.S.-Canada border-the longest land border in the world. Canada had rolled back restrictions for land arrivals from the United States in August, but last week was the first time that Canadians could cross south for nonessential purposes.

Of course, these borders are not open for everyone. Travelers to the United States must show proof of vaccination against the coronavirus, in further evidence that these types of certificates could become increasingly mandatory for future travel, as my colleague Meghan Benton has astutely described. And watchers are quick to note that the continued imposition of a U.S. public-health measure known as Title 42 prevents many asylum seekers from entering the country.

Still, the border reopening seemed like a critical moment. And North America is not alone. As we approach a third year of reckoning with COVID-19, countries across the world are beginning to formalize mobility plans that allow for international travel of all kinds.

In addition to reopening the land borders, the United States also allowed for resumed travel from Europe and other regions. Australia also reopened its border this month, in the start of a rollback of some of the world's strictest restrictions. India in mid-October began granting new visas to tourists. And countries in the European Union are moving in a piecemeal fashion to allow travel from places outside the bloc.

As the scenes from North America demonstrate, reopenings are particularly momentous for borderlands and the families, businesses, and others who make up communities that straddle two countries. U.S. southern border communities are estimated to have lost billions of dollars during the closures, although some Mexican businesses may have actually benefitted from the restrictions. Like so many elements of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will likely take months to understand the full repercussions.

Best regards,

Julian Hattem

Editor, Migration Information Source

[email protected]


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NEW FROM MPI

Investing in Alternatives to Irregular Migration from Central America: Options to Expand U.S. Employment Pathways
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/alternatives-irregular-migration-central-america
By Cristobal Ramón

Invertir en alternativas a la migración irregular desde Centroamérica: Opciones para expandir las vías de empleo en Estados Unidos
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/alternativas-migracion-irregular-centroamerica
By Cristobal Ramón

Narrowing the Skills Gap: Equipping Immigrant-Origin Workers with Postsecondary Credentials
www.migrationpolicy.org/news/equipping-immigrant-origin-workers-postsecondary-credentials
By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix

The Impacts on English Learners of Key State High School Policies and Graduation Requirements
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/english-learners-high-school-policies
By Julie Sugarman


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HAVE YOU READ?

Immigrant Veterans in the United States
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigrant-veterans-united-states-2018

"Us" or "Them"? How Policies, Public Opinion, and Political Rhetoric Affect Immigrants' Sense of Belonging
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/policies-public-opinion-rhetoric-immigrants-sense-belonging

Climate Extremes, Food Insecurity, and Migration in Central America: A Complicated Nexus
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/climate-food-insecurity-migration-central-america-guatemala


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MEDIA CORNER

Between Dreams and Ghosts: Indian Migration and Middle Eastern Oil, by Andrea Wright, traces migrants' journeys from India to Persian Gulf oilfields.
www.sup.org/books/title/?id=31806

The graphic novel Hakim's Odyssey: Book 1: From Syria to Turkey, by Fabien Toulmé and translated by Hannah Chutevividly, offers the tale of a young Syrian man who leaves his native country.
www.graphicmundi.org/books/978-1-63779-000-7.html

Historian Ruth Balint examines displacement after World War II in Destination Elsewhere: Displaced Persons and Their Quest to Leave Postwar Europe.
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501760211/destination-elsewhere

Stella-Monica N. Mpande's The Diaspora's Role in Africa: Transculturalism, Challenges, and Development examines the relationship between the African continent and people of African descent.
www.routledge.com/The-Diasporas-Role-in-Africa-Transculturalism-Challenges-and-Development/Mpande/p/book/9781032106519

In Good Practices in Resettlement: An Approach to Improving Development Outcomes, editor Hari Mohan Mathur collects examinations of successful resettlement practices around the world.
[link removed]

Eve Hayes de Kalaf provides a cautionary tale about efforts to register descendants of immigrants in Legal Identity, Race and Belonging in the Dominican Republic: From Citizen to Foreigner.
[link removed]


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