Migrants and Citizens
Immigration, inequality, borders, belonging and social justice
Blog
Opinion and commentary that looks behind the headlines and political spin
Analysis
Incisive briefings that examine the social, economic and political impact of migration for both migrants and citizens
Writing
Thought-provoking books and papers exploring the big questions about immigration and inequality
Facts
Investigating the data: the who, where and why of migration
Recent Articles
A citizen’s lament
From 5,000 miles away, I no longer recognize my country. At first glance I thought the newspaper headlines were a joke: promises of forcing firms to publish “Foreign Workers’ Lists” too obviously fascist to be anything more than… Read More
Circus tricks: a week in New York
The circus was in town. I had a ticket: but I did not really want to see the show. I’ve not much appetite for tightrope-walking, especially when you know in advance the performer – in this case the… Read More
The Worst Invention Ever?
‘Borders are the worst invention ever made by politicians’. This was the claim made earlier this week by Jean-Claude Junker, the very President of the European Commission. So is he right? And if so, having invented them, must we now live… Read More
On Silence in an Anxious Year
I haven’t written much here in the past year. It is not for a lack of things to say, but rather a search for words adequate to meet so much misery. Syria’s refugees; Europe’s xenophobes; Brexiteers; Trump. And… Read More
Green Cards
Our Green Cards arrived today. Shiny plastic; biometric bureaucratic confirmation that we can stay in San Francisco indefinitely. Do they matter? I’ve been trained to be skeptical of official labels and categories: legal status does a poor job… Read More
Refugee Passports Could End Border Delays in the Balkans
The latest hellish chapter in the Syrian refugee crisis is currently unfolding at Croatia’s borders. Thousands of refugees were forced to wait in knee-deep mud, as Croatia and Slovenia refuse to allow more than 2,500 people to cross… Read More
Future-proofing: the state and refugee protection
Refugee protection is broken. So what comes next? By now, a thousand Op Eds have called for bold and creative thinking in order to solve Syria’s refugee crisis – or rather to end Europe’s migration “crisis” (which… Read More
Peace, prevention and asylum
World peace. An end to hunger. A cure for cancer. Who would dispute that wish list? But faced with the hard-edged reality of war and famine and disease such wishes lose their meaning, exposed as no more than… Read More
On Refugee Camps
Call them irregular migrants, not refugees. Call them reception centres, not camps. And it’s true that a problem out of sight is a problem out of mind. But more money for camps – whether in Turkey and… Read More
Private money, public good?
Sometimes you have to sacrifice your sacred cows. I believe in public goods; in collective action and in solidarity. I don’t think charity – dependency on the benevolence of others – is an adequate substitute for welfare that… Read More
Do migrants cause more crime?
Are migrants more like to turn to crime than citizens? Do higher levels of immigration lead to higher crime rates? These are question that surface unanswered every time an immigrants are identified as the perpetrators of rape, murder or… Read More
Do migrants take our jobs?
It’s one of the key questions at the heart of the immigration debate: do migrants take our jobs? Does every Spanish waiter, Polish plumber or Mexican gardener add up to one more unemployed British or American citizen?