Migration Control

European Union leaders will use a summit Thursday to seek ways to make the bloc a more hostile destination for migrants and asylum seekers following a recent surge in support for the extreme right, which has fomented opposition to foreigners. As the summit opens in Brussels, the 27 EU leader are looking at plans to speed up initiatives to get unwanted migrants out of the bloc and process asylum applications far outside their borders. The tenor of the debate is a far cry from 2015, less than a decade ago, when the EU was faced with a migration crisis. Well over a million migrants and refugees sought help then, mainly from the Middle East and Afghanistan. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the EU's dominant national leader at the time, famously said, We can manage that. Now, EU leaders want to manage and seal off their borders ever more tightly, embracing initiatives that would have looked unacceptable only a few years ago. In recent weeks, Poland has said it wants to temporarily suspe

Republicans are pointing to newly released immigration enforcement data to bolster their argument that the Biden administration is letting migrants who have committed serious crimes go free in the US. But the numbers have been misconstrued without key context. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released data to Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales in response to a request he made for information about people under ICE supervision either convicted of crimes or facing criminal charges. Gonzales' Texas district includes an 800-mile stretch bordering Mexico. Gonzales posted the numbers online and they immediately became a flashpoint in the presidential campaign between former President Donald Trump, who has vowed to carry out mass deportations, and Vice President Kamala Harris. Immigration and the Biden administration's record on border security has become a key issue in the election. Here's a look at the data and what it does or doesn't show: What are the numbers? As of July 21, ICE sai

Leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations are turning their attention to migration on the second day of their summit Friday, seeking ways to combat trafficking and increase investment in countries from where migrants start out on often life-threatening journeys. The gathering in a luxury resort in Italy's southern Puglia region is also discussing other major topics, such as financial support for Ukraine, the war in Gaza, artificial intelligence and climate change, as well as China's industrial policy and economic security. But some divisions also appeared to emerge over the wording of the summit's final declaration, with disagreement reported over the inclusion of a reference to abortion. Migration is of particular interest to summit host Italy, which lies on one of the major routes into the European Union for people fleeing war and poverty in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Right-wing Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, known for her hard-line stance on the issue,

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the new rules a "historic, indispensable step" for the EU

Though fallen out of political favour, world without migration looks bleak for advanced economies