Fall 2018 Immigration in Europe and US

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Instructions for Posting Research

Posting format

• Follow this pattern to post research results and links to this page:

• Brief description of resource.

• Link. "[" url space title "]"
• Your real name

Example:

• This article corrects some misinformation about immigration to Italy. (Pick some of the important facts/claims out of the article and include in this description to save us time.)

• Italy's Post Fact Immigration Debate -- Politico
• Alfino

Page Organization

• I will recruit 3-5 "organizers from each class to help manage the arrangements of posts, but you can help them by thinking about the best place to put your post. We will have alot of material on the page and we need to organize it so that your reading and learning time is efficiently used. So here is some advice about how to promote good page organization:

• Don't post random things. Think about what we need to know to understand the issues. Look at the page and see what people are posting and try to think of information, opinion pieces, and scholarly articles that will help us.
• Pull important information out of the article or resource to include in your brief description. Keep that description to about 3-7 lines of text.
• Don't just do Google searches. Use some of the databases through the Foley Library to access authoritative and scholarly work as well.
• Think about what heading to put your finding under. You can create headings by using pairs of "=" signs.

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Main Research Headings for Immigration Research

Basic Facts and Figures about refugee immigration and other immigration to US / Italy / EU

• This article compiles immigration of the 28 nations in the EU from 2016. Charts are included to help understand the distribution of immigrants. 4.3 million people immigrated to the European Union, and 300,800 of those immigrants went to Italy. Half of the immigrants to the EU were under the age of 26.There were 22 million immigrants living in the EU at the time of this publication.

• Migration and Migrant Population Statistics
• Kelly Clement

• This journal article, published in May 2007, shines light on the myths in the scholarly world surrounding the immigration of African migrants to the European Union. The increasing flow of migrants exists in part due to push factors of violence and economic instability in under-developed countries of Africa but also due to pull factors of increased perspectives in the more highly-developed destination countries. The EU’s historical policies, such as the slave trade and selfish trade laws, have contributed to this mass movement of people, but the current decade’s solutions of closing borders and aiding in development of countries may, in fact, be harmful to both parties. As the flow of people from Africa, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, continues to increase, well-advised policies are necessary to capture the positive benefits of immigration, such as financial support of extended families. Although this article was published a decade ago, it provides necessary information about the recent trends/facts regarding an important and large group of immigrants currently residing in, and moving to, the EU, both legally and illegally.

• African Migration to Europe: Obscured Responsibilities and Common Misconceptions
• Casey Wilson

Italy and the EU on immigration

• What rules govern the handling of immigration into Italy? How do Italians view the support from the EU? What are the positions of major Italian political parties on immigration?

• This article discusses the impact of Bangladeshi immigrants in Italy, especially Rome. In Bangladesh, people are struggling to find work to support their families. In Italy, Bangladeshi migrants and their families are able to find many more opportunities. Italy has attracted many Bangladeshis because of its job opportunities, as well as its less strict entry controls compared to other European countries. Italy also has initiatives to legalize immigrants. Bangladeshi migrants have successfully found a place in Italy’s economy primarily by owning and running mini-marts. The article also mentions that working in the service industry and construction is another common form of employment for Bangladeshis. However, since so many Bangladeshis have migrated to Italy, the community has become competitive. Many Bangladeshis also do not hope for a future in Italy, rather they would like to return home after they have made enough money.

• Italy’s Second Economy: The Impact of Bangladeshi Migration
• Chloe LeComp

• The Five Star Movement (M5S) is a political party in Italy that won over 30% of votes in the election last March. The party has radical ideals, among which are anti-immigration. The following article details the party’s plans for deporting immigrants now that they hold control of the administration. These plans include opening more detainment centers, shutting down refugee camps, renegotiating treaties, requiring mosques and their attendees to be registered with the government, and more. The group plans to form an alliance with Lega, another Italian political party that falls far right on the spectrum, to submit these documents to the President. Based on this article, it’s easy to see why Italian immigrants are beginning to fear their future.

• Italy's Immigrants Fear Tough Times as Populist Coalition Heads for Power
• Shelby Dollemore

• This article dives into Italian citizens' divided opinions on the topic of immigration immediately after Matteo Salvini’s inauguration as the Deputy Prime Minister of Italy. It describes research about which demographics of Italians are in support of the heavy flow of immigrants. The research conducted by More In Common identified seven different opinion segments along a spectrum that runs from open to closed values. The research found that one-quarter of people to fit in the “open” category, one-quarter in the “closed” group, and one-half of the subjects in the “middle”group. It breaks down the difference on Italian citizens’ opinions on immigration against immigrants showing that Italians in all seven categories have different perspectives when the debate is broken down even further.

• Italians Still Believe in Welcoming Strangers
• Julia Hurley

• In her article, “How Far Will the EU Go to Seal Its Borders?”, Caitlin Chandler shines a light on the plight of people living in Africa and the Middle East, trying to make their way to a better life by being smuggled across borders. Chandler interviews multiple people from Eritrean, who are residing in Sudan and working to make enough money to be smuggled into Libya and then into Italy. What was once an easier task, has now become nearly impossible and dangerous as the European Union (EU) buckles down on their border policies. Chandler exposes “the EU, working with the Sudanese government, wants refugees and migrants to return to their “home” country or stay in a third country (how the EU refers to countries like Sudan).” (81) The EU, working with multiple African states and the African Union (AU), created the Khartoum Process, with the main goal being staunching the flow of immigrants from Africa coming in to Europe. Numerous EU countries have their own agreements with various AU countries. For example, Italy has been training and funding the Libyan coast guard. The rest of Chandler’s article focuses on the effects and repercussions the Khartoum Process has on African immigrants.

• [1]
• Makenna Morris

Major Events and Controversies

• Report on major events and crises Italians have faced intercepting and receiving immigrants, especially by boat. What is the role of NGO's in these crises? How are contemporary Italian politic parties responding?

• Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini, is cracking down on illegal immigration, similar to the efforts made by Donald Trump in the United States. A decree was passed on Monday in favor of furthering Salvini's efforts. The decree will lengthen the time an immigrant can be detained, grant fewer people asylum, and will expand the definition of criminal offenses that permit deportation.

• New Regulations To Curb Illegal Immigration In Italy

• Abby Tarantino

• Interior minister/deputy prime minister of Italy Matteo Salvini recently opened a case against Cécile Kyenge, Italy's minister of integration. He's having her stand trial for libel after she had called his party, now known as The League, racist. The reasoning behind the case is that Kyenge likened the party to Nazis, damaging their reputation. The article additionally provides details on Kyenge's career and views on immigration, the relationship between racial tension and the economy, and Salvini's actions regarding immigration.

• ‘I’m a symbol’: Italy’s first black cabinet minister sued by populists she deemed ‘racist’
• Clint Bull

• Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s cabinet approved a set of laws that puts more restrictions on migration. It allows refugee applications to be suspended if the applicant is deemed "socially dangerous" and abolishes humanitarian protection, which protects asylum seekers who do not meet the qualifications to become a refugee. 25% of asylum seekers have humanitarian protection, which lasts for two years, so the removal of this protection may increase the number of immigrants who are in the country illegally. The new laws will also make it easier for the government to deport migrants.

• Italian government approves Salvini bill targeting migrants
• Kaiya Collins

• This source is a video on YouTube. Border patrol spokesman, Chris Cabrera, was interviewed on a CNN segment about the current immigration policies as they relate to the separation of kids from the parents and adults that accompany them. This is a point of view I think is often neglected. Some of the personal experience and desire for change in immigration policies sheds a light on an important perspective that Chris offers. He speaks from personal experience on how kids are often put into dangerous situations by their parents or people who claim to be their parents. Often kids will be exploited by criminals who may or may not be their parents so they can more easily cross the border. He explains also the fact that if people chose to go through the port of entry, they wouldn't be charged for the crime of illegally crossing the border. Chris also acknowledges that the process of crossing the border through the port of entry can be difficult, and he calls for reform while maintaining the fact that children are treated humanely under the current policy.

• [2]
• Peter Gray

Social and Economic Impact of Immigrants to Italy / US

• What do economist and social scientist say about the impact of immigrants on the economy and social life in Italy / US? Are there differences of opinion and differences between impacts on Italy vs. US?

• • This article address and debunks some myths about migrant workers and how migrant workers impact Italy's economy and pension system. It is a common myth that migrants steal jobs from Italians; instead the fields that migrants tend to work in and the fields that Italians tend to work in are drastically different. One of the reasons that migrants and Italians work in different fields has to do with the differing graduation rates of secondary education for migrants and Italians. In addition, since Italy is an aging country, immigrant workers provide a positive balance for INPS funds. Immigrant workers, just like in the United States, perform unqualified manual work. As of 2016 there are 5 million immigrants living in Italy and these immigrants add 130 billion euros to the Italian economy. So the argument that immigrants are taking Italians jobs and taking money from the government is false.

• -- Migrant Workers Add Billions of Euros to Italy's Economy
• Laurel Cinti

• This article examines the history of immigrant cultural assimilation in America, how long it took and what conditions helped or hampered assimilation during the first waves of mass immigration to America. The author measures assimilation through the adaption of more American sounding names, as this is a way of showing an individuals effort to conform to the dominant society. Immigrants in this time, 1930's, entered the same job market as native born Americans, and therefore there was a larger pressure to assimilate to a culture they had more contact with. The study shows that it, on average, took three generations for an immigrant family to begin naming their children more American sounding names and marrying outside of their culture group. There is some variation to this time frame as more culturally dissimilar peoples, for example Finns and Russians, took longer to assimilate. The article ends by stating that immigrants to the US today enter into a different job market than that of Americans, therefore likely less forced contact with dominant culture, but that on average immigrant populations have ended up assimilating. There has always been anger and fear directed towards un-assimilated immigrants by the host population.

• What History Tells us about Assimilation Immigrants -- Stanford
• Eliot Roberts