photo source photo source One out of every forty or fifty persons dwells in a nation that was not the nation of his/her birth. The best predictor of where global migrants go is not poverty or war but the dispersed networks of humans with similar language, origins and ethnic worldviews. Global movement takes four forms: professional transients (e.g. business, tourism, students, visitors), illegal and legal jobseekers (maybe 100 million transnationals each year), and refugees fleeing violence (14.5 million in 2000). The refugees meet the criteria of the Geneva Convention. Perhaps, the 20 million or so internally displaced persons (IDPs) should be added, although because they do not cross borders, they are not counted by the U.N. They usually need as much aid as official refugees. Finally, there are uncounted environmental and development project oustees forced from their homes by natural disasters or dams and shantytown upgrades. The extreme form of refugee is called the permanent stateless nonperson. They are neither refugees nor citizens.

Featured Resources Public Policy Institute of California study: How Immigrants Affect California Employment and Wages Human Rights Watch: Defending the Human Rights of Migrants and Asylum Seekers in Western Europe Featured Organizations International Organization for Migration is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. Migration Policy Institute is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think-tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide. MPI provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at the local, national, and international levels. United Filipinos in Hong Kong is an alliance of Filipino migrant organizations in Hong Kong. Founded in May 12, 1985, it aims to consolidate Filipino migrant organizations into an alliance, raise consciousness of migrants on problems, issues and root causes of migration in the Philippines, and mobilize them to address the issues towards a resolute action. Related WiserEarth Portals Demographics Distributive and Economic Justice Globalization Impacts Global Labor Demographics Human Rights and Natural Law International Debt Living Wages Militarism and Violence Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons, and Migrants Worker Rights

Did You Know? A study from the Public Policy Institute of California concluded that immigration induced a 4 percent real wage increase for the average California native worker between 1990 and 2004. photo source Discussion Find or start a discussion forum to discuss Global Migration

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refugees, Geneva Convention, professional transients, internally displaced persons, IDPs, environmental refugees, development refugees, permanent stateless nonperson, illegal migrants, mojados, contract workers, mail-order brides, human trafficking, dislocation, population, migration, immigration, ethnobiology