Immigration - new material (51)
01 January 2001
Barbed Wire Europe: a conference against immigration detention (15-17 September 2000, Ruskin College, Oxford) - the conference report. Campaign to Close Campsfield, January 2001, pp92.
This conference report summarises the wide-ranging discussion that took place amongst UK and European anti-detention groups and migrant self-organisations in an attempt to build a movement for the abolition of immigration detention in Europe. It provides country reports from Belgium, France, Germany and Italy (which includes a list of detention centres) and refugee and migrant contributions from Germany, Ireland, Norway and Portugal. There were further contributions on the European legal and institutional process (Tony Bunyan, Caroline Lucas, MEP) and the report summarises the outcomes of eight workshops. Finally, plans for future action are drawn up, with practical proposals to expose conditions of detention in Europe, lobby MEP's and trade unions, link the campaign to related movements and call for an international day of action against immigration detention. Also includes useful contact list of groups which attended the conference, with the aim to encourage networking. Available from: Campaign to Close Campsfield, c/o Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1RQ, e-mail: asylum@sable.ox.ac.uk; www.closecampsfield.org.uk
Migration: an economic and social analysis. Research, Development and Statistics Directorate (Home Office) Occasional Paper no 67, 2001, pp68.
In line with the government's drive for a more "sensible and rational" approach to immigration and asylum matters, this report is an attempt by researchers and policy makers "to identify the overall economic and social outcomes of migration policy in the UK". Contrary to former government approaches, this research marks a distinct break in that it positively assesses the impact of migration and sets out to encourage an informed public debate. It draws on economic migration theories in an attempt to create "a new analytical framework for thinking about migration policy" and sets out to break down existing preconceptions about the nature and impact of migration. Reiterating the not so new insight that migration has in fact been economically beneficial to Western Europe (contrary to common belief that it creates labour shortages for domestic workers). The report calls for a review of existing government policy towards a more coordinated immigration approach, taking into account skill shortages. Although this report marks a welcomed break with former uninformed nationalistic debates ("They [migrants] do not disproportionately claim benefits"), it falls short on the social and humanitarian aspect of migration. Rather than pointing to the migrants welfare, it is always the UK's economic welfare which lies at the heart of this research: although it points to current inadequate policies, the latter is criticised not as being inhumane/ethically unacceptable, but because the government "could enhance migrants' economic and social contribution [to the UK], in line with the Government's overall objective." "Irregular" migration is seen as "undesirable in economic and social terms" and should be combatted, presumably through more research to gather "better information on illegal and irregular migrants - who they are, how they get here, what they do when they get here, where they live and where they work." The report emphasises that "[a]ll of this research and analysis will make an important contribution towards our understanding of migration and migrants' experiences in the UK", and that "it will assist in identifying whether there are areas where policies should be reviewed". The question is who this review will benefit. Available from: Home Office, Communication and Development Unit, RDS, Room 201, 50 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AT, 00-44-20-7273-2084, you can download the report for free from the internet under: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/whatsnew1.html
The numbers game, Refugee Council,