Borders beyond Control

Abstract

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION lies close to the center of global problems that now seize the attention of politicians and intellectuals across the world. Take just a few recent examples. Prime Ministers Tony Blair of the United Kingdom and Jose Maria Aznar of Spain proposed at last year's European Council meet ing in Seville that the European Union withdraw aid from countries that did not take effective steps to stem the flow of illegal emigrants to the EU. Blair's outspoken minister for development, Clare Short, described the proposal as morally repugnant and it died amid a storm of other protests. Australia received severe condemnation worldwide last sum mer when a special envoy of the UN high commissioner for human rights exposed the deplorable conditions in detention camps that held Afghan, Iranian, Iraqi, and Palestinian asylum seekers who had landed in Australia. Following the September 1i attacks in New York City and Wash ington, D.C., U.S. Attorney GeneralJohn Ashcroft announced several new policies that rolled back protections enjoyed by immigrants. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Human Rights Watch fought back. So did Islamic and Arab ethnic organizations. These groups employed lawsuits, public dissent, and congressional lobbying to secure a reversal of the worst excesses. The Economist ran in just six weeks two major stories describing the growing outflow of skilled citizens from less developed countries to