MPI's Migration Information Source Newsletter

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April 1, 2022

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U.S. Policy Beat
Controversial U.S. Title 42 Expulsions Policy Is Coming to an End, Bringing New Border Challenges
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/title-42-expulsions-policy
The United States' controversial Title 42 migrant expulsions policy soon will come to an end, after more than 1.7 million expulsions over two years. The COVID-19-era public-health restriction ushered in an unprecedented period of mass expulsions, including of would-be asylum seekers, at the U.S.-Mexico border. Unwinding the policy will be complicated amid predictions of a significant increase in unauthorized migration.

Feature
'Migrants'? 'Refugees'? Terminology Is Contested, Powerful, and Evolving
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/terminology-migrants-refugees-illegal-undocumented-evolving
What's in a name? Terms used to refer to people crossing international borders are frequently debated and often evolve, amid efforts to shape the narrative and changing political realities. This article explores the history and evolving use of terms such as "migrant," "refugee," "illegal immigrant," "unauthorized immigrant," and more.

Spotlight
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states
Need information about U.S. immigration trends or the makeup of the country's immigrant population? This useful, stats-rich article answers the most common questions about the size, shape, and changing nature of the U.S. foreign-born population. It also offers data on immigration enforcement actions, backlogs, and other elements of the U.S. immigration system.


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EDITOR'S NOTE

New migration patterns across Panama's treacherous Darién Gap and the expected end of the United States' Title 42 expulsions policy could spell months of heightened migration from diverse sources into North America.

The 66-mile remote tangle of jungle separating Colombia from Panama has become increasingly well-trodden for migrants leaving South America. Last year, nearly 134,000 people passed through the Darién according to Panamanian border authorities, a more than 15-fold increase over 2020 and well more than the 109,000 who crossed during the entire decade from 2010 through 2019.

Numbers are up again in 2022 compared to the first two months of last year, but it is hard to make a direct comparison since most crossings of the Darién occurred later in 2021, after COVID-19-related border closures eased. Overall trends may in fact represent a leveling off after a remarkable period of unbottling in 2021, when would-be migrants constrained by months of restrictions were finally able to move.

Regardless, the composition of migrants is changing, potentially due to persistent economic impacts of the pandemic. In January and February, about 2,500 Venezuelans crossed the Darién, nearly as many as in all of 2021. According to United Nations agencies, an increasing number are coming directly from Venezuela, rather than moving on from other countries in South America.

As Caitlyn Yates described in the Migration Information Source last year, more than half those traversing the jungle in 2021 were Haitians, many of whom had previously lived in Brazil and Chile until economic and other conditions turned. Read her analysis here: www.migrationpolicy.org/article/haitian-migration-through-americas

Continued passage could have ripple effects farther north, especially after May 23, when the United States lifts the controversial pandemic-era Title 42 policy, which allows it to immediately expel migrants at the southwest border. In this week's U.S. Policy Beat article, Migration Policy Institute experts Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter describe the challenges in unwinding the policy, under which 1.7 million expulsions occurred between March 2020 and February 2022. Read it here: www.migrationpolicy.org/article/title-42-expulsions-policy

Approximately 40 percent of migrants recently encountered under the policy are reportedly from countries outside from the traditional origins of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, complicating return efforts. Yet as Muzaffar and Jessica describe, Mexico in recent months tightened its policies by imposing visa requirements on some South American nationals, which may hamper onward movement to the United States. Perhaps as a result, in January and February, more than 16,000 people filed asylum claims in Mexico-an increase over the same period in 2021 and 2020.

The Biden administration is reportedly bracing for a "mass migration event" once the expulsions policy is lifted, with increased pressure on both the United States and Mexico. Last summer the two countries confronted rising arrivals. Whatever the post-Title 42 landscape looks like, increased unauthorized migration seems inevitable.

Best regards,

Julian Hattem

Editor, Migration Information Source

[email protected]

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NEW FROM MPI

Opportunities Exist to Better Reach Dual Language Learner and Immigrant Families through Home Visiting Programs
www.migrationpolicy.org/news/dual-language-learner-families-home-visiting-programs
By Maki Park and Jazmin Flores Peña

The Central Role of Cooperation in Australia's Immigration Enforcement Strategy
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/cooperation-australia-immigration-enforcement
By Henry Sherrell

Migration from Huehuetenango in Guatemala's Western Highlands: Policy and Development Responses
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/migration-huehuetenango-guatemala
By Andrew Selee, Luis Argueta and Juan José Hurtado Paz y Paz

Migración de Huehuetenango en el Altiplano Occidental de Guatemala: Respuestas de políticas públicas y desarrollo
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/migraci%C3%B3n-huehuetenango-guatemala
By Andrew Selee, Luis Argueta and Juan José Hurtado Paz y Paz


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HAVE YOU READ?

Haitian Migration through the Americas: A Decade in the Making
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/haitian-migration-through-americas

Russia: A Migration System with Soviet Roots
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/russia-migration-system-soviet-roots

Court-Ordered Relaunch of Remain in Mexico Policy Tweaks Predecessor Program, but Faces Similar Challenges
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/court-order-relaunch-remain-in-mexico


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MEDIA CORNER

The latest episode of MPI's "Changing Climate, Changing Migration" podcast discusses host communities' attitudes towards climate migrants, in a conversation with researchers Sabrina Arias and Christopher Blair.
[link removed]

Journalist Sally Hayden's "My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World's Deadliest Migration Route" provides a vivid account of the experiences of migrants detained after trying to cross from North Africa to Europe.
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/696846/my-fourth-time-we-drowned-by-sally-hayden/

Ali Noorani, the president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, examines the lives and journeys involved in migration from Central America to the United States in "Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants."
[link removed]

How do governments consider migration of nationals' foreign-born spouses and partners? That is the question at the heart of "Transnational Marriage and Partner Migration: Constellations of Security, Citizenship, and Rights," edited by Anne-Marie D'Aoust.
www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/transnational-marriage-and-partner-migration/9781978816701

In "Migrant City: A New History of London," Panikos Panayi describes the UK capital as a city built on immigration.
[link removed]

"Migration and Identity in Nordic Literature," edited by Martin Humpál and Helena Brezinová, examines changing depictions of migration in Northern European writing since the 19th century.
[link removed]


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