Poverty, international migration and asylum

Poverty, international migration and asylum

Published Jan 2004

Authors

C. Boswell, J. Crisp

Publisher

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International attitudes to poverty, international migration and asylum

This paper discusses the issues surrounding poverty, international migration and asylum. The pressures and opportunities linked to the process of globalisation have led to an increase in the number of people moving between countries and continents.

The paper particularly highlights:

  • considerable public and political resistance to any liberalisation of migration and asylum policy
  • the absence of legal routes for migration has led to a significant expansion in human trafficking and smuggling networks which are both dangerous and exploitative in nature
  • restrictive entry policies and the corresponding increase in illegal patterns of international migration have undermined the international refugee protection regime
  • political pressures to retain restrictive immigration policies have encouraged states to limit recruitment to those with high skills
  • while such fears about the apparently negative impact of immigration and refugee flows on employment are often unfounded, governments and opposition parties continue to mobilise electoral support through promises to obstruct, deter or limit the arrival of foreign nationals.

[adapted from author]

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