AN OVERVIEW OF GLOBAL MIGRATION

In the last three decades the phenomenon of migration has undergone

a remarkable change marked by an increase in the types, intensity and
volumes of population flows from around the world leading to
changes in the demographic (relating to the structure of
populations) as well as sociological realms of different nation states.
As we all know the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) marked a basic
blueprint for the current political order and introduced the concept of
State sovereignty. But with the advent of globalization the nation
states have become increasingly interconnected and interdependent on
each other and it has resulted in excessive inward and outward flows
of people across continents. Now, in recent times, this flow of people
has been both in terms of legal and illegal migration because of which
states have come up with anti-migration and anti-immigration policies
to better secure their national borders. Terrorist Attacks like 9/11 was
one of the key events which contributed to the growing scepticism
among the nation states.
International migration has been classified into four categories based
on population flows.
1. South-south migration: the flow from one developing country
to another and this constitutes one of the largest flows of
migrants. For e.g. From Bangladesh to India.
2. South-north migration: and this is the 2nd largest flow of
population with movement from one developing country to a
developed country. For e.g, from Mexico to the US.
3. North-north migration: movement from one industrialized
country to another. For example, from Canada to the US.
4. North-south migration: movement from an industrialized
country to a developing country. Japan to Thailand

Illegal immigrants in Europe

Since the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty (1993), a number of
nations have been added to the EU including less developed Eastern
European nations Poland, Bulgaria and Romania. One of the key
points of the Treaty was to move toward Europe as an increasingly
borderless society, at least as far as the member nations and their
citizens are concerned.
However, this influx of immigrants from the less developed east to
the more developed west in search of jobs, security and a better future
has led to the need to confront, assimilate or even expel strangers that
strains political systems and collective identities. The growing wave
of refugees and immigrants have produced mixed reactions among
Europeans, and sparks bitter discussions about Europe’s identity and
future.
There are debates which surround this discussion; to mention one of
them,
Debate 1: it is based on the idea that the host country allows
immigrants in. then question arises, but should this be understood as a
duty or a favour? Is the host country obliged to open its gates to
everybody, or does it have the right to pick and choose, and even to
halt immigration altogether?
Discussion: Pro-immigrationists are of the view that countries have
a moral duty to accept not just refugees, but also people from poverty-
stricken lands who seek jobs and a better future. They also stress that
it is impossible to completely stop immigration, no matter how strict
the rules and border controls becomes. So, for them, it is better to
legalise immigration and deal with it openly, than to create a vast
underworld of human trafficking, illegal workers and paperless
children.
Anti-immigrationists reply that if one uses sufficient force, then it
can completely stop immigration, and except perhaps in the case of
refugees fleeing brutal persecution in a neighbouring country, one is
never obliged to open their door. Moreover, the anti-immigrationists
say that a country can have whatever immigration policy it wants,
screening immigrants not just for their criminal records or
professional talents, but even for things like religion.
As long as this debate isn’t settled, it is extremely difficult to answer
questions like for example if the migrants are allowed in, does the
immigrants have an obligation to assimilate into the local culture?
And how far should this assimilation go? If immigrants move from a
patriarchal society to a liberal society, must they become feminists?
Anyway, since pro-immigrationists think that people have a right to
immigrate to another land if they so wish, and host countries have a
duty to absorb them, they react with moral outrage when people’s
right to immigrate is violated. Anti- immigrationists are astounded by
such views. They see immigration as a privilege, and absorption as a
favour.
Some of the recent data on international migration as produced
by International Organisation for migration 2021;
 In 2020, there were 281 million international migrants out of
which Europe had the greatest number (87 million), followed
closely by the 81 million migrants living in Asia
 women comprised 47.9 per cent of international migrants.
 Talking of Global displacement, almost 82.4 million people
have been displaced – or forced to move – because of conflict,
violence, human rights violations and environmental factors
(UNHCR, 2021)
 At the end of 2020, there were about 20.7 million refugees in the
world.