MPI's Migration Information Source Newsletter

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March 1, 2022

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Spotlight
South American Immigrants in the United States
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/south-american-immigrants-united-states
South Americans make up a relatively small share of all U.S. immigrants. But their numbers have been growing in recent years and flows are diversifying, particularly with new arrivals from Venezuela. This article offers key statistics on the South American immigrant population in the United States.

U.S. Policy Beat
Mounting Backlogs Undermine U.S. Immigration System and Impede Biden Policy Changes
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/us-immigration-backlogs-mounting-undermine-biden
President Joe Biden has made efforts to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, but could see his administration's agenda slowed by massive backlogs across the immigration system. Case application wait times and immigration court queues have swelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, slowing legal arrivals to the United States and undermining the entire immigration system.


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EDITOR'S NOTE

Russia's invasion into Ukraine has triggered one of the swiftest exoduses in recent European history. Around 677,000 individuals had fled the country by Tuesday, the largest share to Poland and others headed for Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, and elsewhere. In recent days the border queues have stretched for miles, while trains have been packed. In coming weeks and months, European officials and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees are planning for several million arrivals and overall for as many as 7 million Ukrainians to leave the country.

Flight from Ukraine has stirred reminders of the European refugee and migration crisis of 2015-16, during which time an estimated 2 million people arrived, many of them coming from Syria, Afghanistan, or Iraq.

But there are several crucial differences, as Migration Policy Institute Europe Director Hanne Beirens has made clear (read her commentary here: [link removed]). Among them is the comparatively easier path for EU-bound Ukrainians, due both to geographic proximity and rules allowing Ukrainian nationals to travel visa-free for up to 90 days. Later this week, the European Union seems set to consider a first-ever triggering of the Temporary Protection Directive, which could allow up to three years of protection for Ukrainians as a group, bypassing individual asylum determinations that would quickly overburden European asylum systems.

The system was created in 2001 but has never been used--including, notably, during the 2015-16 crisis. Indeed, countries such as Hungary and Poland, which are welcoming displaced Ukrainians, have strongly resisted arrivals of asylum seekers from other parts of the world. The difference in reception is due in part to geopolitical realities as Europe and other regions condemn the Russian invasion. But one cannot escape the notion that perceived similarities in migrants' backgrounds, race, and other characteristics also impact their differing receptions. Indeed, some Western media organizations have used language that draws a distinction between "civilized" refugees from Ukraine and others from "a developing third-world nation," for which they have been criticized. Even as hundreds of thousands have departed Ukraine in recent days, Black residents of the country, including African immigrants, have claimed that they have been blocked from leaving.

Of course, not all Ukrainians who are displaced will travel internationally. Even before the incursion, Ukraine was host to one of the world's largest populations of internally displaced people, many of whom were dislocated during Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. A few years ago, Marta Jaroszewicz described the challenges of integrating this population in an article for the Migration Information Source: [link removed]. Whatever the outcome of the current conflict, addressing the vast internal and international displacement will be a pressing concern for years to come.

Russian advancement into Ukraine has been rapid, if not without setbacks. But no one knows what the future will bring. What is certain, however, is that the impact on individuals caught up in the violence will be profound, as will it be for their families, friends, and associates abroad. The broader European and international reception and protection systems will also be challenged in coming weeks and months. Russia's incursion into Ukraine was quick; the resolution promises to be anything but.

Best regards,

Julian Hattem

Editor, Migration Information Source

[email protected]

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NEW FROM MPI

Is Europe Prepared for a Possible Large-Scale Ukrainian Displacement Crisis?
www.migrationpolicy.org/news/europe-prepared-possible-large-scale-ukrainian-displacement-crisis
By Hanne Beirens

Advancing Digital Equity among Immigrant-Origin Youth
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/digital-equity-immigrant-origin-youth
By Essey Workie, Lillie Hinkle, Anna deDufour and Valerie Lacarte

The IELCE Program: Understanding Its Design and Challenges in Meeting Immigrant Learners' Needs
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/ielce-design-immigrant-learners
By Jacob Hofstetter and Alexis Cherewka


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HAVE YOU READ?

Years After Crimea's Annexation, Integration of Ukraine's Internally Displaced Population Remains Uneven
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/fyears-after-crimea-annexation-integration-ukraine-internally-displaced-population

In Relatively Peaceful Tanzania, Climate Change and Migration Can Spur Conflict
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/tanzania-climate-change-migration-conflict

Biden Immigration Enforcement Priorities Emphasize a Multi-Dimensional View of Migrants
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/us-immigration-enforcement-priorities-new-paradigm-prosecutorial-discretion


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MEDIA CORNER

"Ninety Miles and a Lifetime Away: Memories of Early Cuban Exiles," by David Powell, features oral histories of individuals who left Cuba in the years following 1959.
[link removed]

James F. Hollifield and Neil Foley are the editors of "Understanding Global Migration," which looks at emerging migration states particularly in the Global South.
www.sup.org/books/title/?id=32777

In "Climate Refugees: Global, Local and Critical Approaches," editors Simon Behrman and Avidan Kent collect perspectives on legal and policy responses to climate change and forced displacement.
www.cambridge.org/core/books/climate-refugees/0094AE0297AD7A6FBA4B372C66B9B7A4

Patrick Sylvain, Jalene Tamerat, and Marie Lily Cerat are the authors of "Education Across Borders: Immigration, Race, and Identity in the Classroom," a resource for K-12 educators in the United States.
www.beacon.org/Education-Across-Borders-P1680.aspx

Yasmin Ibrahim investigates antagonistic responses to immigrants in the United Kingdom and Europe in "Migrants and Refugees at UK Borders: Hostility and 'Unmaking' the Human."
www.routledge.com/Migrants-and-Refugees-at-UK-Borders-Hostility-and-Unmaking-the-Human/Ibrahim/p/book/9781032071831

"Between Systems and Violence: State-Level Policy Targeting Intimate Partner Violence in Immigrant and Refugee Lives," edited by Julio Montanez, Amy Donley, Amy Reckdenwald, analyzes the incomplete landscape for protection.
www.routledge.com/Between-Systems-and-Violence-State-Level-Policy-Targeting-Intimate-Partner/Montanez-Donley-Reckdenwald/p/book/9780367763763


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