MPI Transatlantic Council on Migration out with new reports on border issues

The fifth plenary meeting of the Migration Policy Institute’s Transatlantic Council on Migration focused on assessing the most effective approaches to bringing greater order and legality to migration, border management, and labor systems. And today, MPI is pleased to release the first paper commissioned as part of the Council’s November 2010 meeting, “Restoring Trust in the Management of Migration and Borders.”

In their report, A New Architecture for Border Management, MPI President Demetrios Papademetriou and European Policy Fellow Elizabeth Collett sketch the emergence of a new border architecture resulting from the explosion in global travel and the dawning of the age of risk. This new border architecture must respond effectively to the seemingly competing demands of facilitating mobility while better managing the risks associated with cross-border travel (e.g. terrorism, the entry of unwanted migrants, and organized crime). The report examines the information-sharing agreements, technology innovations, and multilateral partnerships that have emerged as key components of the new architecture for border management, and discusses challenges and considerations for the future.

Among the other works also informing the Council’s deliberations were a report assessing the transatlantic data-sharing agreements and negotiations that have emerged in the post-9/11 era, and an analysis of US border control programs since the mid-1990s.

In Transatlantic Cooperation on Travelers’ Data Processing: From Sorting Countries to Sorting Individuals, authors Paul De Hert and Rocco Bellanova detail the post-9/11 programs and agreements implemented by US and European governments to identify terrorists and serious transnational criminals through the collection and processing of increasing quantities of traveler data – and discuss the evolution of those iniatives.

And in The Evolution of Border Controls as a Mechanism to Prevent Illegal Immigration, author and MPI Nonresident Fellow Rey Koslowski analyzes how the challenges in achieving effective US border control have increased dramatically in recent decades and particularly since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The report examines the programmatic and funding responses US policymakers have put in place — including the Secure Border Initiative, the Visa Waiver Program, US-VISIT, and registered-traveler programs — and traces their evolution and effectiveness.

These papers and other MPI transatlantic research can be found at the Council’s website: www.migrationpolicy.org/transatlantic.

Senate holds hearing on anti-Muslim sentiment

CNN reports on hearing in Senate:  http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/29/senate.anti.muslim.bigotry/index.html

NPR story on immigration policy in Texas

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/29/134956690/texas-republicans-take-harder-line-on-immigration?ft=1&f=1014

This article points out the shift in tactics on immigration since George W. Bush became governor.

Trailer for a new (short) documentary on race and the big society in the UK

Number Games: Does race have a place in the Big Society? We know that cuts to public sector services and jobs will impact particularly heavily on ethnic minority people. So, how can the Big Society be a racially just one? Set in London and Chicago, Number Games sets out to answer this question by looking at the model for social activism in the US. The 25-minute documentary follows Runnymede director Dr Rob Berkeley as he travels to Chicago for the largest race equality event in the world. Rob speaks to community organisers, exploring what we can learn from their particular brand of activism and how it has been used to fight for racial justice. The film's first screening will mark 30 years since the 1981 Brixton Riot: a watershed moment in the history of race relations in the UK. You will be able to watch Number Games in full for free from Tuesday 12 April 2011 on the Runnymede website Watch the 2-minute Number Games trailer by clicking here

CNN series on Muslims in America

I haven't had a chance to watch the documentary yet, but it looks interesting...
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/23/muslim.politics/index.html

Brussels Forum, Day two

My second day at the Brussels Forum started a bit late, due to jet lag and my need to get out for a run.  The first session I attended was on the situation in Japan.  Nik Gowing of the BBC made a comment about the communication issues with the Japanese government, and the Japanese participants on the panel were critical of the media, saying that the communication had been better than it was portrayed. 

The session on EU neighborhood policy was also interesting, there was some criticism that the U.S. had imposed economic sanctions on Belarus but the EU hadn't yet made a decision to impose economic sanctions.  After the recent elections that were considered fraudulent many protesters were jailed and several representatives of civil society in Belarus were present at the Forum.

Brussels Forum, Day one

The Brussels Forum had a series of very interesting sessions on Friday.  Perhaps the most interesting was the first session:

BBC World Debate (On the Record)
Have the Western policies failed North Africa and the Middle East?
Baroness Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President, European Commission
Amb. Nabil Fahmy, Dean, American University, Cairo
The Hon. Jeanne Shaheen, Member, U.S. Senate

The comments and questions from the audience were very challenging, and we even had a young blogger from Egypt in the audience who pleaded for help with political capacity building.

Although you'll have to wait for the BBC to post the debate from the first session, there is video of all the other sessions that were on the record on the Brussels Forum website:  http://brussels.gmfus.org/archive.html

It was a very stimulating set of discussions, although a bit frustrating at times.  I happened to sit next to Barry Eichengreen at dinner, an economics professor from Berkeley, and we both complained that the session on the economy didn't point out that education in general, and higher education in particular is suffering from major cuts in the U.S., threatening both our economy and place in the world.  Both of us had tried to make a comment about this when the issue of education came up, since the commentators stated the importance of education in growing the economy.

Immigration also came up as a topic, with Richard Fischer and Senator Mark Warner pointing out that we need skilled immigration, and that we are making a mistake by training foreign students and then sending them back to their home countries -- they agreed that we should offer them a green card when they graduate.

I also attended a night owl session where we had a very interesting discussion about minorities in politics in the U.S., but it was off the record...

Transatlantic Conference on Minority Political Leadership – March 24, 2011

This is the third event of this type, hosted by the European Parliament and the Helsinki Commission, Congressman Alcee Hastings (D- Florida), in particular. This is only the second time I have attended, but it has been interesting to see how things have developed over the last year. At this event we heard from a variety of speakers on the challenges faced by minorities in getting into political office as well as issues of discrimination.

Besides Alcee Hasting, Barbara Lee (D-California) and Gregory Meeks (D-New York) were in attendance. The were also several Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) including Harlem Desir (France - Socialists), Claude Moraes (UK - Labour Party) and Hannes Swoboda (Sweden - Socialists).  One of the key discussions was on developing a joint action plan between the U.S. and Europe on minority political participation, however, it's not clear how to get such a project moving forward.  Networks and strategies will continue to develop, but for now the key is mutual support and sharing of information.