Your Top Migration Stories of 2011

The Migration Information Source lists its top migration stories for 2011. You have the usual xenophobia. But, the main themes are evenly split between human security issues involving unstable Middle East states and economic migrants fleeing economic, not combat, warzones in traditional migrant-receiving nations that have seen better times in search for greener pastures in faster-growing developing countries--some of which they left in the first place. Things change, my dear:

1.	Arab Spring and Fear of Migrant Surge Expose Rift in EU Immigration Policy Circles - The Arab Spring exposed critical weaknesses and exacerbated long-held disagreements within the European Union related to asylum, immigration, and external border control policy matters that spilled over into the operation of the Schengen area.
2.	Economic Malaise Makes Immigrants a Target for Restrictive Legislation, Public Backlash - With unemployment rates remaining persistently high in the wake of the global economic crisis, ongoing turbulence in financial markets, and new austerity in public spending, anxious publics and governments trained their attention on immigration and immigrants during 2011.
3.	Immigration in the United States and Parts of Europe Gives Way to Increased Emigration - Immigration flows this year continued to respond sharply to the economic climate in major immigrant-receiving nations, as many people struggled to gain a labor market foothold in the aftermath of the global economic meltdown.
4.	Highly Skilled Migrants Seek New Destinations as Global Growth Shifts to Emerging Economies - Developing nations that were once primarily migrant-sending states are now experiencing a boom that is beginning to increase their attractiveness for highly educated and highly skilled migrants and beckoning their diaspora members home.
5.	Substantial Investments to Court Diaspora Entrepreneurs for Development Gains - With the goal of building and sustaining economic growth in mind, some countries have intensified their efforts to court investments from their nationals and co-ethnics abroad, recognizing that diaspora entrepreneurs are uniquely positioned to spot opportunities in their countries of origin and capitalize on them.
6.	Heading into the 2012 Elections, Republican Presidential Candidates Walk the Immigration Policy Tightrope - The debate season is well underway for the Republican presidential primary races in the United States, and immigration has once again emerged as a highly contentious policy issue.
7.	Immigrant Detention under Scrutiny in Australia, United Kingdom, and United States - Public backlash against the detention systems of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States mounted in 2011with allegations of unacceptable living conditions, abuse, prolonged detention, and government waste.
8.	The Arab Spring and Other Crises in Africa Displace More Than 1 Million People - The succession of displacement and refugee crises arising from the Arab Spring and in Côte d'Ivoire, Somalia, and Sudan highlighted the need for governments and the international community to achieve and maintain readiness to manage population movements triggered by sociopolitical unrest and environmental factors.
9.	A Decade after 9/11, Enforcement Focus Prevails in the United States; Broader Immigration Reforms Remain Stalled - As the United States paused in September to mark the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the enforcement paradigm that took hold immediately after the terrorist attacks showed no signs of waning.
10.	Caught between Two Migration Realities, Mexico Passes New Immigration Legislation - In April 2011, the Mexican Congress unanimously approved an ambitious new migration law that sets out to address longstanding problems related to the immigration and transmigration of Central Americans and the emigration and return migration of Mexicans.