Partnership EU and MPI addresses major immigration challenges

The project called US and EU Immigration Systems will focus on eight areas:

1. employment
2. economic growth
3. human rights
4. security
5. immigrant integration
6. demographics
7. development
8. cooperation with immigrant-sending countries

A series of US and European papers will examine how policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic can respond to global immigration trends and challenges in times of current economic hardship and beyond. They will assess the potential for transatlantic cooperation on migration issues. The research is funded by the European Commission DG Relex as part of its series of Pilot Projects on "Transatlantic Methods for Handling Global Challenges." The project is being carried out by the Migration Policy Institute and the European University Institute's Shuman Center for Advanced Studies. Research from the project will be available via MPI’s website.

The Evolution of Border Controls as a Mechanism to Prevent Illegal Immigration

The first report in the series, The Evolution of Border Controls as a Mechanism to Prevent Illegal Immigration, considers the challenge of effective border control in the United States. It also analyzes the innovations in border systems and technologies designed to screen passengers more effectively at official entry points while preventing people from illegally crossing the border. The report, by MPI Non-resident Fellow Rey Koslowski, finds that even as more resources than ever have been devoted to enforcing US border-control policies, success has been uneven.

Stakes are high to stop illegal immigration and prevent potential terrorists

Koslowski reports the stakes are high. Faced with political pressure to stop illegal immigration and prevent entry of potential terrorists while facilitating more than 400 million lawful entries into the United States each year through official ports of entry. The report finds the following:

• Efforts to prevent unauthorized entries (primarily on the US-Mexico land border) have included construction of physical fencing, new technology systems, and a five-fold increase in the number of agents at the Southwest border in less than 2 decades. Still, some programs have been difficult to implement, notably the recently canceled SBInet, which proved vulnerable to technical failures and insufficiently sensitive of the requirements of Border Patrol agents.
• Increased border enforcement has reduced illegal immigration to an extent, but tighter controls are increasing the sophistication of smugglers, who divert flows to less accessible areas. In effect, border-management programs must follow a constantly evolving and moving target, but doing so can be extremely costly.
• Registered-traveller programs have expedited the movement of low-risk, pre-screened travellers but implementation has proved more difficult for the pricey US-VISIT entry-exit system, which was supposed to record arrivals and departures in order to identify visa overstayers. Despite legislation mandating its completion, full implementation remains a distant goal, with marginal contribution to immigration law enforcement.
• Political support remains strong for many of these systems and technologies, yet it is not clear whether resources could be better employed elsewhere. Given that illegal immigration is a function of labour demand, stronger efforts to prosecute law-breaking employers could probably do more to reduce illegal immigration than increasing the already high spending on border fences - physical or virtual.