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{{Main|Illegal immigration to the United States}} {{Main|Illegal immigration to the United States}}
Between 12 and 20 million illegal immigrants are estimated to be living in the ]; due to the nature of illegal immigration, the exact number is unknown.<ref>, csmonitor.com</ref> The majority of the illegal immigrants are from ].<ref>, NPR</ref> Illegal immigration has been a longstanding issue in the United States, creating immense controversy. ] economist ] explains that the controversy centers around the "huge redistribution away from workers to who use immigrants." <ref> David J. Lynch and Chris Woodyard, ''USA TODAY'', April 11, 2006. </ref> In 2007, President Bush called for Congress to endorse his guest worker proposal, stating that illegal immigrants took jobs that Americans would not take. <ref> David J. Lynch and Chris Woodyard, ''USA TODAY'', April 11, 2006. </ref> The ] notes that while the number of legal immigrants (including LPRs, refugees, and asylees) arriving has not varied substantially since the 1980s, the number of illegal aliens has increased dramatically and, since the mid 1990s, has surpassed the number of ]. Penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants range from $2,000-$10,000 and up to six months' imprisonment. <ref></ref> Between 12 and 20 million illegal immigrants are estimated to be living in the ]; due to the nature of illegal immigration, the exact number is unknown.<ref>, csmonitor.com</ref> The majority of the illegal immigrants are from ].<ref>, NPR</ref> Illegal immigration has been a longstanding issue in the United States, creating immense controversy. ] economist ] explains that the controversy centers around the "huge redistribution away from workers to who use immigrants." <ref> David J. Lynch and Chris Woodyard, ''USA TODAY'', April 11, 2006. </ref> In 2007, President Bush called for Congress to endorse his guest worker proposal, stating that illegal immigrants took jobs that Americans would not take. <ref> David J. Lynch and Chris Woodyard, ''USA TODAY'', April 11, 2006. </ref> The ] notes that while the number of legal immigrants (including LPRs, refugees, and asylees) arriving has not varied substantially since the 1980s, the number of illegal aliens has increased dramatically and, since the mid 1990s, has surpassed the number of ]. Penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants range from $2,000-$10,000 and up to six months' imprisonment. <ref></ref>
Political groups like Americans for Legal Immigration PAC <ref></ref> have been formed to fight the threat of illegal immigration in the United States by demanding the US enforce it's current immigration laws and securing the borders of the US. They believe that this can be done without providing any type of amnesty for illegal immigrants.


===Venezuela=== ===Venezuela===

Revision as of 16:09, 3 December 2008

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Find sources: "Illegal immigration" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Template:Legal status Illegal immigration refers to immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. In politics, the term may imply a larger set of social issues and time constraints with disputed consequences in areas such as economy, social welfare, education, health care, slavery, prostitution, legal protections, voting rights, public services, and human rights. Conversely, Illegal emigration refers to unlawfully leaving a country.

Terminology

See also: Illegal immigration to the United States § Terminology
  • illegal immigrant
  • undocumented immigrant
  • clandestine workers
  • sans papiers/"sin papeles"
  • Irregular immigrant/immigration
  • illegal aliens - technical term from U.S. immigration law
  • undocumented immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident
  • unauthorized immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident
  • paperless immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident
  • immigrant "without immigration status"
  • out of status
  • unnaturalized immigrant
  • boat people

Causes

War

Illegal immigration may be prompted by the desire to escape civil war or repression in the country of origin. Non-economic push factors include persecution (religious and otherwise), frequent abuse, bullying, oppression, and genocide, and risks to civilians during war. Political motives traditionally motivate refugee flows - to escape dictatorship for instance.

After decades of armed conflict, roughly one of every 10 Colombians now lives abroad. For example, Colombians emigrating to Spain have "grown exponentially, from a little over 7,000 in 1993 to more than 80,000 in 2002 and 244,000 in 2003." This is equivalent to 124,000 Colombian immigrants in year 2003 into Spain alone. Also, figures from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security indicate that Colombia is the fourth-leading source country of unauthorized immigration to the United States. According to its estimates, the number of unauthorized Colombian residents in the United States almost tripled from 51,000 in 1990 to 141,000 in 2000. According to the US Census Bureau, the number of authorized Colombian immigrants in the United States in 2000 was 801,363. Census data are important because, as the Department of Homeland Security states, "census data are more complete and reliable because of the national scope of the data collection, the vastly larger data sample, and the extensive preparation and follow-up activities involved in conducting the decennial census."

El Salvador is another country which experienced substantial emigration as a result of civil war and repression. The largest per-capita source of immigrants to the United States comes from El Salvador. Up to a third of the world's Salvadoran-born population lives outside the country, mostly in the United States. According to the Santa Clara County, California, Office of Human Relations.

Despite the fact that the U.S. government’s role in the Salvadoran conflict was unique in sustaining the prolongation of the civil conflict, the government and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) extended little sympathy to the people affected by the war. In the 1980s, the INS granted only 2% of political asylum applications, claiming that democracy existed in El Salvador and that reports of U.S. and government-sponsored “death squads” were overblown. As a response to what they considered a failure of the U.S. government to address the situation of Salvadoran refugees in the country, American activists established a loose network to aid refugees. Operating in clear violation of U.S. immigration laws, these activists took refugees into their houses, aided their travel, hid them and helped them find work. This became known as the “sanctuary movement”.

Family reunification

Some illegal immigrants seek to live with loved ones, such as a spouse or other family members. This is particularly true for the families of binational same sex couples. The Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force (LGIRTF) warns binational same sex couples in the United States that marriage may actually increase the likelihood of becoming undocumented, rather than decreasing it. Other individuals seek to distance themselves from their spouses.

Poverty

One cause of illegal immigration can be poverty. This is the case in the United States, where illegal immigrants traditionally have entered the country in search of wages higher than those achievable in their home countries.
The case of U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez is atypical, but it serves to demonstrate how poor immigrants enter the United States illegally in search for a better tomorrow. According to CBS 60 Minutes, U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez, one of the first U.S. servicemen to die in combat in Iraq, was a former street child in Guatemala having been orphaned at age eight. Gutierrez, 60 Minutes reported, first entered the United States as an illegal immigrant in 1997 to escape poverty, and dreamed of becoming an architect.

The chief cause of illegal immigration is considered to be economic. Illegal immigrants in the United States traditionally have been portrayed as seeking jobs and wages better than those available in their home countries. For example, the 1994 economic crisis in Mexico was associated with widespread poverty and a lower valuation for the peso relative to the dollar. The United States Department of Labor calculates that the Zone A (most industrialized) minimum wage in Mexico in 1999 was 34.45 pesos, or about US$3.50 per day . The Zone C (rural/agricultural) minimum wage was 29.70 Pesos a day, or roughly US$3.02 a day . By contrast, the U.S. minimum is set at $5.85 per hour under U.S. federal law, and many states require rates higher than the federally mandated minimum. Natural disasters and overpopulation can amplify poverty-driven migration flows.

Population growth

Population growth which exceeds the carrying capacity of an area or environment results in overpopulation. Spikes in human population can cause problems such as pollution, water crisis and poverty. World population has grown from 1.6 billion in 1900 to an estimated 6.7 billion today. In Mexico alone, population has grown from 13.6 million in 1900 to 107 million in 2007.

In 2000, the United Nations estimated that the world's population was growing at the rate of 1.14% (or about 75 million people) per year. According to data from the CIA's 2005–2006 World Factbooks, the world human population currently increases by 203,800 every day. The United States Census Bureau issued a revised forecast for world population that increased its projection for the year 2050 to above 9.4 billion people, up from 9.1 billion people. We are adding a billion more every 12 years. Almost all growth will take place in the less developed regions.

Dangers

Illegal immigrants expose themselves to dangers while engaged in illegal entry to another country. Aside from the possibility that they may be intercepted and deported, some considerably more dangerous outcomes have been known to result from their activity. As an example, illegal immigrants may been trafficked for exploitation.

Slavery

After the end of the legal international slave trade by the European nations and the United States in the early 19th century, the illegal importation of slaves has continued, albeit at much reduced levels. Although not as common as in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, some women are undoubtedly smuggled into the United States and Canada.

People been kidnapped or tricked into slavery to work as laborers, for example in factories. Those trafficked in this manner often face additional barriers to escaping slavery, since their status as illegal immigrants makes it difficult for them to gain access to help or services. For example Burmese women trafficked into Thailand and forced to work in factories or as prostitutes may not speak the language and may be vulnerable to abuse by police due to their illegal immigrant status. In the Dominican Republic, Haitian migrant workers are sold into slavery on Dominican Sugar plantations, including children.

Prostitution

The so-called "white slave trade" referred to the smuggling of women, almost always under duress or fraud, for the purpose of forced prostitution. Now more generically called "sexual slavery" it continues to be a problem, particularly in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, though there has been an increase in the number of cases in the U.S. Some Haitian children have allegedly been forced to work as prostitutes in the Dominican sexual tourism industry. Currently the Dominican sex trade ranks third in the world, only behind Thailand and the Philippines.

Death

Each year there are several hundred Immigrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border. Death by exposure occurs in the deserts of Southwestern United States during the hot summer season.

Allegations have been made that thousands of illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe have died since 1986.

In order to arrive to the sea, the dangerous passage of the Sahara is necessary. People have crossed it on trucks and off-road vehicles along the tracks between Sudan, Chad, Niger and Mali one one side and Libya and Algeria on the other. On this passage at least 1,069 people have died since 1996. The Libyan, Algerian and Morocan Governments have been accused of abandoning hundreds of migrants in open desert border areas.

Abuse has been reported of migrants in Libya. There are not any official data, but in 2006 Human Rights Watch and AFVIC accused Tripoli of arbitrary arrests, beatings and tortures in the migrant detention centers, In September 2000 in Zawiyah, in northwest Libya, at least 560 foreigners were killed in racist attacks.

247 stowaways in trucks were found dead in Albania, France, Germany, Greece, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Hungary.

There are still minefields along the Evros river between the Greece-Turkey border.

Additionally, 51 people drowned crossing rivers delimiting the frontier between Croatia and Bosnia; Turkey and Greece; Slovakia and Austria; and Slovenia and Italy. Forty-one people froze to death travelling over the icy mountains at the border between Turkey, Greece and Slovakia; 20 people died under the trains in the Channel tunnel trying to reach England; 33 people were shot dead by Spanish and Moroccan police or injured along the border fence of Ceuta and Melilla Spanish enclaves in Morocco; 11 people burnt when a deportation center in the Netherlands caught fire; and eight men were found dead hidden in the undercarriages of planes.

Methods

Border crossing

Border control at sea by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Immigrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like the United States–Mexico border, the Mona Channel between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the Strait of Gibraltar, Fuerteventura, and the Strait of Otranto. Because these methods are illegal, they are often dangerous. Would-be immigrants have been known to suffocate in shipping containers, boxcars, and trucks , sink in shipwrecks caused by unseaworthy vessels , die of dehydration or exposure during long walks without water. An official estimate puts the number of people who died in illegal crossings across the U.S.-Mexican border between 1998 and 2004 at 1,954 (see immigrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border).

Human smuggling is the practice of intermediaries aiding illegal immigrants in crossing over international borders in financial gain, often in large groups. Human smuggling differs from, but is sometimes associated with, human trafficking. A human smuggler will facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, but on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is usually free. Trafficking involves a process of using physical force, fraud, or deception to obtain and transport people.

Types of notorious human smugglers include Snakehead gangs present in mainland China (especially in Fujian) that smuggle laborers into Pacific Rim nations (making Chinatowns frequent centers of illegal immigration) and "coyotes," who smuggle illegal immigrants to the Southwestern United States and have been known to abuse or even kill their passengers. Sometimes immigrants are abandoned by their human traffickers if there are difficulties, often dying in the process. Others may be victims of intentional killing. In many spots on the U.S.-Mexico border, there are "rape trees" on which either condoms or the undergarments of women sexually abused by the "coyotes" are hung as trophies.

Overstaying a visa

Some illegal immigrants enter a country legally and then overstay or violate their visa. For example, most of the estimated 200,000 illegal immigrants in Canada (perhaps as high as 500,000), are refugee claimants whose refugee applications were rejected but who have not yet been ejected from the country.

A related way of becoming an illegal immigrant is through bureaucratic means. For example, a person can be allowed to remain in a country - or be protected from expulsion - because he/she needs special pension for a medical condition, etc., without being able to regularize his/her situation and obtain a work and/or residency permit, let alone naturalization. Hence, categories of people being neither illegal immigrants nor legal citizens are created, living in a judicial "no man's land". Another example is formed by children of foreigners born in countries observing jus soli ("right of territory"), such as France. In that country, one may obtain French nationality if one is born in France - but, due to recent legislative changes, it is only granted at the age of eighteen, and only upon request.

Fraudulent marriage

A third way to enter a country is to engage in a sham marriage, registering as married with the government for the purpose of obtaining papers for one half of the partnership in exchange for monetary or other considerations. The first U.S. case involving one of these marriages arranged over the internet is currently being prosecuted.

Legal and political status

See also: Illegal immigration to the United States, Immigration to the United States, Australian immigration, Immigration to the United Kingdom, Immigration to Canada, Illegal immigrants in Malaysia, Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

Many countries have had or currently have laws restricting immigration for economic or nationalistic political reasons. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 concerning counter-terrorism, enacted in October 2001, requested of UN member states to restrict immigration laws. Whether a person is permitted to stay in a country legally may be decided by quotas or point systems or may be based on considerations such as family ties (marriage, elderly mother, etc.). Exceptions relative to political refugees or to sick people are also common. Immigrants who do not participate in these legal proceedings or who are denied permission under them and still enter or stay in the country are illegal immigrants, as well as people born on national territory (henceforth not "immigrants") but who have not obtained nationality of their birthplace and have no legal title of residency .

Most countries have laws requiring workers to have proper documentation, often intended to prevent or minimize the employment of unauthorized immigrants. However the penalties against employers are often small and the acceptable identification requirements vague and ill-defined as well as being seldom checked or enforced, making it easy for employers to hire unauthorized labor. Unauthorized immigrants are especially popular with many employers because they can pay less than the legal minimum wage or have unsafe working conditions, secure in the knowledge that few unauthorized workers will report the abuse to the authorities. Often the minimum wages in one country can be several times the prevailing wage in the unauthorized immigrant's country, making even these jobs attractive to the unauthorized worker.

In response to the outcry following popular knowledge of the Holocaust, the newly-established United Nations held an international conference on refugees, where it was decided that refugees (legally defined to be people who are persecuted in their original country and then enter another country seeking safety) should be exempted from immigration laws. It is, however, up to the countries involved to decide if a particular immigrant is a refugee or not, and hence whether they are subject to the immigration controls.

The right to freedom of movement of an individual within National borders is often contained within the constitution or in a country's human rights legislation but these rights are restricted to citizens and exclude all others. Some argue that the freedom of movement both within and between countries is a basic human right and that nationalism and immigration policies of state governments violate this human right that those same governments recognize within their own borders. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, fundamental human rights are violated when citizens are forbidden to leave their country. (Article 13). However, immigrants are not assured the right to enter a country, that right is given at the host country's discretion.

Since illegal immigrants without proper legal status have no valid identification documents such as identity cards, they may have reduced or no access to public health systems, proper housing, education and banks. This lack of access may result in the creation or expansion of illegal underground forgery to provide this documentation. .

When the authorities are overwhelmed in their efforts to stop illegal immigration, they have historically provided amnesty. Amnesties waive the "subject to deportation" clause associated with illegal aliens.

By region

Angola

In 2007 around 44,000 Congolese were forced to leave Angola. Since 2004, more than 400,000 illegal immigrants, almost all from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have been expelled from Angola.

Argentina

Illegal immigration has been a relatively important factor in recent Argentine demographics. Most illegal immigrants come from Bolivia, and Paraguay, countries which border Argentina to the north. Smaller numbers arrive from Uruguay, Brazil, Ukraine, Peru, Ecuador, Romania, Dominican Republic, Cuba and the People's Republic of China. The Argentine government estimates that 750,000 inhabitants lack official documents and has launched a program called Patria Grande ("Greater Homeland"), to encourage illegal immigrants to regularize their status; so far some 200,000 applications have been processed under the program.

Bhutan

Immigration in Bhutan by Nepalese settlers (Lhotshampa) began slowly towards the end of the 19th century. In 1985, the government passed a new Citizenship Act which clarified and attempted to enforce the 1958 Citizenship Act to control the flood of illegal immigration. Those individuals who could not provide proof of residency prior to 1958 were adjudged to be illegal immigrants. In 1991-92, Bhutan expelled roughly 100,000 ethnic Nepalis, most of whom have been living in seven refugee camps in eastern Nepal ever since. The United States has offered to resettle 60,000 of the 107,000 Bhutanese refugees of Nepalese origin now living in U.N. refugee camps in Nepal.

Chile

Chile has recently become a new pole of attraction for illegal immigrants, mostly from the neighboring countries such as Peru and Bolivia. According to the national census of 2002 the foreign populations have increased by 75% since 1992.

China

People's Republic of China is building a security barrier along its border with North Korea to prevent the defectors or refugees from North Korea.

European Union

The European Union is developing a common system for immigration and asylum and a single external border control strategy.

In France, helping an illegal immigrant (providing shelter, for example) is prohibited by a law passed on December 27, 1994 . The law was heavily criticized by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the CIMADE and the GISTI, left-wing political parties such as the Greens and the French Communist Party, and trade-unions such as the magistrates' Syndicat de la magistrature.

The Turkish newspaper Hürriyet published stories once in July 2004 and a second time in May 2006 that Hellenic Coast Guard ships were caught on film cruising as near as a few hundred meters off the Turkish coast and abandoning clandestine immigrants to the sea. This practice allegedly resulted in the drowning of six people between Chios and Karaburun Peninsula on 26 September 2006 while three others disappeared and 31 were saved by Turkish gendarmes and fishermen. However, there are numerous non-Turkish claims and testimonies that Turkish authorities and/or citizens lead immigrants through the sea, often resulting to the abandonment and sometimes drowning of said immigrants.

A tough new EU immigration law detaining illegal immigrants for up to 18 months before deportation has triggered outrage across Latin America, with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatening to cut off oil exports to Europe.

Greece

After the opening of the Albanian borders in 1991, a huge influx of Albanian economic migrants crossed illegally into Greece in order to find work. They are currently estimated at about 600,000-800,000, but an accurate calculation is very difficult because of the large percentage of illegal immigrants.

India

The Indo-Bangladeshi barrier is 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) long. Presently, India is constructing a fence along the border to restrict illegal traffic from Bangladesh. This obstruction will virtually isolate Bangladesh from India. The barrier's plan is based on the designs of the Israeli West Bank barrier and will be 3.6 m (11.8 ft) high. The stated aim of the fence is to stop infiltration of terrorists, prevent smuggling, and to bring a close to illegal immigration from Bangladesh.

Iran

Since late April 2007, the Iranian government has forcibly deported back to Afghanistan nearly 100,000 registered and unregistered Afghans living and working in Iran. The forceful evictions of the refugees, who have lived in Iran and Pakistan for nearly three decades, are part of the two countries' larger plans to repatriate all Afghan refugees within a few years. Iran says it will send 1,000,000 by next March, and Pakistan announced that all 2,400,000 Afghan refugees, most living in camps, must return home by 2009. Experts say it will be 'disastrous' for Afghanistan.

Libya

Libya is home to a large illegal Sub-Saharan African population which numbers as much as 2,000,000. The mass expulsion plan to summarily deport all undocumented foreigners was announced by Libyan leader Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi in January 2008. "No resident without a legal visa will be excluded."

Malaysia

Main article: Illegal immigrants in Malaysia

An ethnic Indian Malaysian was recently sentenced to whipping and 10 months in prison for hiring six illegal immigrants at his restaurant. "I think that after this, Malaysian employers will be afraid to take in foreign workers (without work permits). They will think twice," said immigration department prosecutor Azlan Abdul Latiff. “This is the first case where an employer is being sentenced to caning,” he told. Illegal immigrants also face caning before being deported. There are an estimated 800,000 illegal immigrants in Malaysia.

Mexico

In the first six months of 2005 alone, more than 120,000 people from Central America have been deported to their countries of origin. This is a significantly higher rate than in 2002, when for the entire year, only 130,000 people were deported . Another important group of people are those of Chinese origin, who pay about $5,500 to smugglers to be taken to Mexico from Hong Kong. It is estimated that 2.4% of rejections for work permits in Mexico correspond to Chinese citizens . Many women from Eastern Europe, Asia, the United States, and Central and South America are also offered jobs at table dance establishments in large cities throughout the country causing the National Institute of Migration (INM) in Mexico to raid strip clubs and deport foreigners who work without the proper documentation . In 2004, the INM deported 188,000 people at a cost of $10 million . Illegal immigration of Cubans through Cancún tripled from 2004 to 2006.

In September 2007, Mexican President Calderón harshly criticized the United States government for the crackdown on illegal immigrants, saying it has led to the persecution of immigrant workers without visas. “I have said that Mexico does not stop at its border, that wherever there is a Mexican, there is Mexico,” he said.

In October 2008, Mexico tightened its immigration rules and agreed to deport Cubans using the country as an entry point to the US. It also criticized U.S. policy that generally allows Cubans who reach U.S. territory to stay. Cuban Foreign Minister said the Cuban-Mexican agreement would lead to "the immense majority of Cubans being repatriated."

Nepal

In 2008, Nepal's Maoist-led government has initiated a major crackdown against Tibetan exiles with the aim to deport to China all Tibetans living illegally in the country. Tibetans started pouring in Nepal after a failed anti-Chinese uprising in Tibet in 1959.

Russia

Russia experiences a constant flow of immigration. On average, 200,000 legal immigrants enter the country every year; about half are ethnic Russians from other republics of the former Soviet Union. In addition, there are an estimated 10-12 million illegal immigrants in the country. There has been a significant influx of ethnic Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Tajiks, and Uzbeks into big Russian cities in recent years, which has been viewed very unfavorably by many citizens, and has given rise to nationalist sentiments. Many immigrant ethnic groups have much higher birth rates than native Russians, further shifting the balance. Some Chinese flee the overpopulation and birth control regulations of their home country and settle in the Far East and in southern Siberia. Russia’s main Pacific port and naval base of Vladivostok, once closed to foreigners, today is bristling with Chinese markets, restaurants and trade houses. Experts predict that the Chinese diaspora in Russia will increase to at least 10 million by 2010 and Chinese may become the dominant ethnic group in the Russian Far East region 20 to 30 years from now.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has begun construction of a separation barrier between its territory and Yemen to prevent the unauthorized movement of people and goods into and out of the kingdom. See Saudi-Yemen barrier.

In 2006 Saudi Arabia proposed plans for the construction of a security fence along the entire length of its 560-mile (900km) desert border with Iraq in a multimillion-pound project to secure the kingdom’s borders in order to improve internal security, control illegal immigration and bolster its defences against external threats.

South Africa

South Africa is home to an estimated five million illegal immigrants, including some three million Zimbabweans. Attacks on foreign nationals increased markedly in late 2007 and it is believed that there have been at least a dozen attacks since the start of 2008. A series of anti-immigrant riots occurred in South Africa beginning on May 11, 2008.

Syria

Refugees from Iraq have increased in number since the U.S.-led invasion of that country in March 2003. The United Nations estimates that nearly 2,200,000 Iraqis have fled the country since 2003, with nearly 100,000 fleeing to Syria and Jordan each month. Most ventured to Jordan and Syria, creating demographic shifts that have worried both governments. Refugees are mired in poverty as they are generally barred from working in their host countries.

Syrian authorities worried that the new influx of refugees would limit the country's resources. Sources like oil, heat, water and electricity were said to be becoming more scarce as demand had gone up. On October 1, 2007 news agencies reported that Syria re-imposed restrictions on Iraqi refugees, as stated by a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Under Syria's new rules, only Iraqi merchants, businessmen and university professors with visas acquired from Syrian embassies may enter Syria.

Turkey

Turkey receives many economic migrants from nearby countries such as Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran, but also from Afghanistan, Central Asia and Pakistan. The Iraq War is thought to have increased the flow of illegal immigration into Turkey, while the global parties directly involved in the conflict have been accused of extending a less-helping hand than Turkey itself to resolve the precarious situation of immigrants stranded in passage.

United States

Main article: Illegal immigration to the United States

Between 12 and 20 million illegal immigrants are estimated to be living in the United States; due to the nature of illegal immigration, the exact number is unknown. The majority of the illegal immigrants are from Mexico. Illegal immigration has been a longstanding issue in the United States, creating immense controversy. Harvard University economist George J. Borjas explains that the controversy centers around the "huge redistribution away from workers to who use immigrants." In 2007, President Bush called for Congress to endorse his guest worker proposal, stating that illegal immigrants took jobs that Americans would not take. The Pew Hispanic Center notes that while the number of legal immigrants (including LPRs, refugees, and asylees) arriving has not varied substantially since the 1980s, the number of illegal aliens has increased dramatically and, since the mid 1990s, has surpassed the number of legal immigrants. Penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants range from $2,000-$10,000 and up to six months' imprisonment. Political groups like Americans for Legal Immigration PAC have been formed to fight the threat of illegal immigration in the United States by demanding the US enforce it's current immigration laws and securing the borders of the US. They believe that this can be done without providing any type of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Venezuela

There are hundreds of thousands, possibly even millions of Colombian immigrants living in Venezuela. In 1995, Venezuela announced plans to conduct a census to locate and deport illegal immigrants. An estimated 200,000 Colombians have fled the Colombian Civil War and sought safety in Venezuela. Most of them lack identity documents and this hampers their access to services, as well as to the labor market. The Venezuelan government had no specific policies on refugees.

See also

References

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  2. The undocumented Africans "of St. Ambroise" Bok.net. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
  3. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Glossary
  4. U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Frequently asked questions. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
  5. Myriam Bérubé (November 2005). "Colombia: In the Crossfire". Migration Information Source. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  6. Pilar Marrero, Immigration Shift: Many Latin Americans Choosing Spain Over U.S. Pacific News Service, December 9, 2004. Retrieved on 2008-09-02.
  7. Office of Policy and Planning U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service: Estimates of the unauthorized immigrant population residing in the United States: 1990 to 2000 page 9.
  8. U.S. Census Bureau, Selected Population Profile in the United States: Colombians U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved on 2008-02-07. "S0201. Selected Population Profile in the United States; Population Group: Colombian; Data Set: 2006 American Community porn Survey; Survey: 2006 American Community Survey. (Via: Main>Data Sets>American Community Surveys>Selected Population Profiles (Geographic Type=Nation, Ethnic Group=Colombian)"
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  10. Tania Snyder,To slow immigration from El Salvador, understand its causes Baltimore Sun, January 11, 2007
  11. Knowledge of immigrant nationalities of Santa Clara County (KIN): El Salvador
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  13. Rosario Vital, Love unites them, La Migra separates them El Observador, November 30, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
  14. After such respect, such humiliation. Haaretz, January 31, 2005.
  15. Family, unvalued: Discrimination, denial, and the fate of binational same-sex couples under U.S. law. Human Rights Watch, May 2, 2006 Faced with the unpalatable choice between leaving and living with the person they love in violation of U.S. immigration laws, foreign-born partners may become undocumented—staying after their visa expires.
  16. The Death Of Lance Cpl. Gutierrez: Simon Reports On Non-Citizen SoldiersCBS 60 Minutes, Aug. 20, 2003
  17. Minimum Wage Laws in the States July 24, 2007
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  22. Population and Poverty: the Policy Issues, Part 1
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  24. From Traitors to Heroes: 100 Years of Mexican Migration Policies March 2004
  25. Current world population (ranked) source: "The World Factbook 2006-2007", CIA
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  27. Modern slavery thriving in the U.S.
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  30. "No Papers, No Rights" New York Times 2005
  31. '50,000 Iraqi refugees' forced into prostitution
  32. For East Europe’s Women, a Rude Awakening
  33. Police bring home 3 sex slaves from China
  34. Human trafficking & modern-day slavery: Dominican Republic. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
  35. Juan O. Tamayo, Dominican prostitution: Cheap, prevalent and accepted. The Miami Herald. June 24, 1997. Retrieved on 2007-09-27.
  36. United States Government Accounting Office. GAO-06-770, August 2006.
  37. Evelyn Nieves (August 6, 2002). "Illegal Immigrant Death Rate Rises Sharply in Barren Areas". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  38. CBC News, Three illegal migrants die in shipping container. November 11, 2000. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
  39. Siskind Susser Bland, At least 52 immigrants die of heat crossing from Mexico. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
  40. Marina Jimenez (2003-11-15). "200,000 illegal immigrants toiling in Canada's underground economy". Globe and Mail.
  41. Angolan soldiers rape, beat Congolese migrants - group
  42. IOL: Angola warns against illegal immigration
  43. Angola expels thousands of Congolese
  44. Bhaumik, Subir (November 7, 2007). "Bhutan refugees are 'intimidated'". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  45. China building border fence facing North Korea
  46. Delete the Border quoting Khaleej Times; ADN Kronos Survivors of the immigrant boat tragedy accuse Greeks (in English) - . The newspaper Hürriyet (in Turkish). Three of the drowned were Tunisians, one was Algerian, one Palestinian and the other Iraqi. The three disappeared were also Tunisians.
  47. Chavez: Europe risks oil over immigrant law
  48. Venezuela's Chavez Threatens to Deny Oil, Investments to EU Over Immigration Laws
  49. Background Note: Greece
  50. Greece launches illegal immigrant crackdown
  51. Villagers left in limbo by border fence
  52. The good fences epidemic
  53. India builds a 2,500-mile barrier to rival the Great Wall of China
  54. Iranian Deportations Raise Fears of Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan
  55. To root out Taliban, Pakistan to expel 2.4 million Afghans
  56. Expelled from Iran - refugee misery
  57. Libya asserts its right to deport 2 million illegal immigrants in face of criticism
  58. Libya to Deport Illegal Immigrants
  59. Libya: Summary Deportations Would Endanger Migrants and Asylum Seekers
  60. Malaysian man receives unusually harsh punishment for employing illegals
  61. Indians among illegal immigrants rounded up in Malaysia
  62. Mexican President Assails U.S. Measures on Migrants, New York Times, September 3, 2007
  63. Mexico to deport Cubans heading illegally to US, MiamiHerald.com, October 22, 2008
  64. NEPAL: Tibetans Warned of Deportation to China,
  65. "Russia cracking down on illegal migrants". International Herald Tribune. January 15, 2007.
  66. Moscow to deport Tajiks by air
  67. Russian police determined to oust Georgians from Moscow
  68. Russian nationalists protest against illegal immigration in Irkutsk
  69. Chinese Come To Russia
  70. A Chinese 'Invasion'
  71. Chinese Presence Grows in Russian Far East
  72. Vladivostok's Chinese puzzle
  73. Saudis plan to fence off border with chaos, The Times, April 10, 2006.
  74. Anti-immigrant violence spreads in South Africa, with attacks reported in Cape Town
  75. Escape From Mugabe: Zimbabwe's Exodus
  76. More illegals set to flood SA
  77. "South African mob kills migrants". BBC. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  78. Immigrants Fleeing Fury of South African Mobs
  79. UN warns of five million Iraqi refugees
  80. U.N.: 100,000 Iraq refugees flee monthly. Alexander G. Higgins, Boston Globe, November 3, 2006
  81. Take Iraqi refugees in
  82. Doors closing on fleeing Iraqis
  83. Iraq's middle class escapes, only to find poverty in Jordan
  84. Displaced Iraqis running out of cash, and prices are rising
  85. "Syria shuts border to Iraqi refugees - UNHCR" Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUS119126393845._CH_.2400
  86. Laura Zuber, "Syrian visa restrictions "trap" Iraqi refugees," uruknet.info of Italy http://uruknet.info/?p=m37030&s1=h1
  87. "Syria restores visa limits" "BBC News"
  88. Turkey captures over 500,000 illegal immigrants in past 10 years
  89. Over one million illegal immigrants in Turkey: report.
  90. Iraq's Christians on the run (in German)
  91. Illegal immigrants in the US: How many are there?, csmonitor.com
  92. Study Details Lives of Illegal Immigrants in U.S., NPR
  93. David J. Lynch and Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY, April 11, 2006. Immigrants Claim Pivotal Role in Economy.
  94. David J. Lynch and Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY, April 11, 2006. Immigrants Claim Pivotal Role in Economy.
  95. Penalties for Hiring Illegals.
  96. ALIPAC
  97. Colombia: In the Crossfire
  98. Immigration into Venezuela
  99. Colombia: UNHCR signs agreement with Venezuelan "Banco del Pueblo Soberano"
  100. Venezuela | Child Soldiers Global Report 2008

Further reading

  • Barkan, Elliott R. "Return of the Nativists? California Public Opinion and Immigration in the 1980s and 1990s." Social Science History 2003 27(2): 229-283. in Project Muse
  • Vanessa B. Beasley, ed. Who Belongs in America?: Presidents, Rhetoric, And Immigration (2006)
  • Borjas, G.J. "The economics of immigration," Journal of Economic Literature, v 32 (1994), pp. 1667-717
  • Cull, Nicholas J. and Carrasco, Davíd, ed. Alambrista and the US-Mexico Border: Film, Music, and Stories of Undocumented Immigrants U. of New Mexico Press, 2004. 225 pp.
  • Thomas J. Espenshade; "Unauthorized Immigration to the United States" Annual Review of Sociology. Volume: 21. 1995. pp 195+.
  • Flores, William V. "New Citizens, New Rights: Undocumented Immigrants and Latino Cultural Citizenship" Latin American Perspectives 2003 30(2): 87-100
  • Griswold, Daniel T.; "Willing Workers: Fixing the Problem of Illegal Mexican Migration to the United States," Trade Policy Analysis no. 19, October 15, 2002.
  • Kennedy, Marie and Chris Tilly, 'They Work Here, They Live Here, They Stay Here!': French immigrants strike for the right to work—and win. Dollars & Sense, July/August 2008.
  • Nicholas Laham; Ronald Reagan and the Politics of Immigration Reform Praeger Publishers. 2000.
  • Lisa Magaña, Straddling the Border: Immigration Policy and the INS (2003)j63-a12036-m12i-3620+3e
  • Mohl, Raymond A. "Latinization in the Heart of Dixie: Hispanics in Late-twentieth-century Alabama" Alabama Review 2002 55(4): 243-274. ISSN 0002-4341 9-4894945651
  • Ngai, Mae M. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America (2004), 90952-15665
  • Ngai, Mae M. "The Strange Career of the Illegal Alien: Immigration Restriction and Deportation Policy in the United States, 1921-1965" Law and History Review 2003 21(1): 69-107. ISSN 0738–2480 Fulltext in History Cooperative
  • Mireille Rosello; "Representing Illegal Immigrants in France: From Clandestins to L'affaire Des Sans-Papiers De Saint-Bernard" Journal of European Studies, Vol. 28, 1998 959525126
  • Dowell Myers (2007), Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America, Russell Sage Foundation, ISBN 978-0-87154-636-4.
  • Tolley, Brett "Dying to Get In" Documentary (2006) Undocumented Immigration Documentary
  • Tranaes, T. and Zimmermann, K.F. (eds), Migrants, Work, and the Welfare State, Odense, University Press of Southern Denmark, (2004)
  • Venturini, A. Post-War Migration in Southern Europe. An Economic Approach Cambridge University Press (2004)
  • Zimmermann, K.F. (ed.), European Migration: What Do We Know? Oxford University Press, (2005)
  • Range, Peter R., Europe faces an immigrant tide National Geographic Magazine May 1993
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