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Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the
immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, from poorer to richer countries. Illegal residence in another country creates the risk of
detention,
deportation
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
, and/or other sanctions.
Asylum seeker
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and m ...
s who are denied asylum may face
impediment to expulsion if the home country refuses to receive the person or if new asylum evidence emerges after the decision. In some cases, these people are considered illegal aliens, and in others, they may receive a
temporary residence A temporary resident is a foreign national granted the right to stay in a country for a certain length of time (e.g. with a visa or ), without full citizenship. This may be for study, business, or other reasons.
Various countries have their own ru ...
permit, for example with reference to the principle of
non-refoulement
Non-refoulement () is a fundamental principle of international law that forbids a country receiving asylum seekers from returning them to a country in which they would be in likely danger of persecution based on "race, religion, nationality, membe ...
in the international
Refugee Convention
The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951, is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who a refugee is, and sets out the rights of individuals ...
. The
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...
, referring to the
European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by ...
, has shown in a number of indicative judgments that there are enforcement barriers to expulsion to certain countries, for example, due to the risk of torture.
Terminology
The terminology surrounding illegal immigration is often controversial. In particular, describing people who immigrated illegally as illegal immigrants has been a matter of debate. It is nevertheless commonly used in formal contexts, among others by the US and by the Canadian governments.
Title 8 of the US Code is the portion of United States law that contains legislation on
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
,
nationality
Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...
, and
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
. Defining the legal term ''
alien'' as "any person not a citizen or national of the United States,"
the terminology used in Title 8 includes illegal alien (33 times), unauthorized alien (21 times), undocumented alien (18 times), ''illegal immigrant'' (6 times), ''undocumented person'' (2 times), and others.
An analysis by
PolitiFact, however, concluded that the term ''illegal alien'' "occurs scarcely, often undefined or part of an introductory title or limited to apply to certain individuals convicted of felonies."
There are campaigns that discourage the use of the term ''illegal immigrant'', generally based on the argument that the act of immigrating illegally does not make the people themselves illegal, but rather they are "people who have immigrated illegally." In Europe, the
Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) launched its international "Words Matter" campaign in 2014 to promote the use of the terms ''undocumented'' or ''irregular migrants'' instead of ''illegal''. Depending on jurisdiction, culture, or context, alternatives to ''illegal alien'' or ''illegal immigrant'' can include ''irregular migrant'', ''undocumented immigrant'', ''undocumented person'', and ''unauthorized immigrant''.
In some contexts the term ''illegal immigrants'' is shortened, often
pejorative
A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
ly, to ''illegals''.
''Irregular migration'' is a related term that is sometimes used, e.g., by the
International Organization for Migration
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
The IOM w ...
; however, because of the word ''migration'', this term describes a somewhat wider concept which also includes
illegal emigration
Illegal emigration is departure from a country in violation of emigration laws. Countries often seek to regulate who departs a country for diverse reasons, such as stopping criminals from leaving, preventing labor shortages and capital flight, an ...
.
News media
Some news associations have discontinued or discourage the term ''illegal'' ''immigrant,'' except in quotations. These organizations presently include the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
(US),
[Illegal Immigrant no more](_blank)
Associated Press Blog, 2013 April 2 Press Association (UK),
European Journalism Observatory,
European Journalism Centre,
Association of European Journalists,
Australian Press Council, and
Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (AU). Related terms that describe actions are not similarly discouraged. Most commonly they use the alternative term ''undocumented immigrant.'' For example, the Associated Press continues to use the term ''illegal immigration'', whereby ''illegal'' describes the action rather than the person.
On the other hand, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' said described ''undocumented immigrant'' as a "term preferred by many immigrants and their advocates, but it has a flavor of
euphemism and should be used with caution outside quotation."
''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' questions the use of the phrase ''undocumented immigrants'' as a method of
euphemistic
A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...
framing, namely, "a psychological technique that can influence the perception of social phenomena."
''Newsweek'' also suggests that persons who enter a country unlawfully cannot be entirely "undocumented," as they "just lack the certain specific documents for
legal residency
Domicile is relevant to an individual's "personal law," which includes the law that governs a person's status and their property. It is independent of a person's nationality. Although a domicile may change from time to time, a person has only one ...
and employment," while "
ny have driver's licences, debit cards, library cards, and school identifications which are useful documents in specific contexts but not nearly so much for immigration."
For example, in the US, youths brought into the country illegally are granted access to public K-12 education and benefits regardless of citizenship status;
therefore the youths are not entirely undocumented, since they are in fact documented for educational purposes.
U.S. Government
In the United States, while overstaying a visa is a
civil violation
A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial
A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decis ...
handled by
immigration court
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is a sub-agency of the United States Department of Justice whose chief function is to conduct removal proceedings in immigration courts and adjudicate appeals arising from the proceedings. These ...
, entering (including re-entering) the US without approval from an immigration officer is a crime; specifically a
misdemeanor on the first offense.
Illegal reentry after deportation is a
felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
offense. This is the distinction between the larger group referred to as ''unauthorized immigrants'' and the smaller subgroup referred to as criminal immigrants.
Democratic Senator and
Senate Majority Leader
The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...
Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, an ...
has spoken out against the term "undocumented", stating that "Illegal immigration is wrong – plain and simple" and that proponents of the term were "not serious" about combatting illegal immigration.
Canadian Government
In Canada, as in the US, "illegal immigrant" is a commonly used term. However, there is confusion and deep dissent among many about what the term means under the law and under what circumstances, and what it implies socially. "Irregular" is a term used by government authorities to refer to migrants who enter Canada outside of official border crossings ("points of entry"). Entrance into Canada outside of a POE is considered unlawful, but not a criminal offence, or a civil offence under the ''Immigration and Refugee Protection Act'', SC 2001, c 27. Regulations under IRPA require that a person seeking to enter Canada outside a POE should "appear without delay" at the nearest entry point. Section 33 of the IRPA requires that any legal charges against a migrant be stayed while an entrant's asylum claim is being processed.
The Government of Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Board use the term "irregular" to refer to these crossings. The
Liberal Party of Canada and the
New Democratic Party typically use the term "irregular", while the
Conservative Party of Canada typically uses the term "illegal". The use of the term "undocumented" is increasingly prevalent among individual MPs and MPPs in Canada, and was also used in a NDP policy document as well as by Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath in a 2018 platform document. Conservative MP Dave Epp referred to "undocumented workers" in a 2020 interview with the CBC wherein he called for an end to the use of contract migrant labour by Canadian agriculture business, in part because many such workers are undocumented and therefore vulnerable to exploitation and unsafe working conditions.
Effects of illegal immigration
Economy and labor market
Research on the economic effects of illegal immigration is scant but existing studies suggest that the effects can be positive for the native population, and for public coffers.
One 2015 study shows that "increasing deportation rates and tightening border control weakens low-skilled labor markets, increasing unemployment of native low-skilled workers. Legalization, instead, decreases the unemployment rate of low-skilled natives and increases income per native." This is because the presence of illegal immigrants reduces the labor costs of employers, providing them more opportunities to create more jobs.
A 2013 study by
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The president and chief executive offic ...
found that granting citizenship to people who immigrated illegally would boost the U.S. economy: doing so would raise the incomes of the illegal immigrants by a quarter (increasing
U.S. GDP
The United States is a highly developed mixed-market economy and has the world's largest nominal GDP and net wealth. It has the second-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) behind China. It has the world's seventh-highest per capita GDP ...
by approximately $1.4 trillion over a 10-year period); a 2016 study found that "legalization would increase the economic contribution of the unauthorized population by about 20%, to 3.6% of private-sector GDP;" and a 2019 working paper by the
University of Cyprus found that "all types of immigrants generate larger surplus to US firms than natives do".
According to economist
George Borjas, immigrants may have caused the decline of real wages of US workers without a high school degree by 9% between 1980 and 2000 due to increased competition. Other economists, such as
Gordon Hanson, criticized these findings.
Douglas Massey
Douglas Steven Massey (born October 5, 1952 in Olympia, Washington, United States) is an American sociologist. Massey is currently a professor of Sociology at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and ...
argues that
developed countries
A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...
need
unskilled immigrant labor to fill undesirable jobs, which citizens do not seek regardless of wages.
Massey argues that this may refute claims that undocumented immigrants are "lowering wages" or stealing jobs from native-born workers, and that it instead shows that undocumented immigrants "take jobs that no one else wants."
A paper by Spanish economists found that, upon granting work permits to the undocumented
immigrant population in Spain, the fiscal revenues increased by around €4,189 per newly legalized immigrant.
The paper found that the wages of the immigrants increased after receiving work permits. At the same time, some low-skilled natives had worse labor market outcomes and high-skilled natives had improved labor market outcomes.
Since the decline of working class
blue-collar
A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...
jobs in manufacturing and industry, younger native-born generations have acquired higher education. In the US, only 12% of the labor force has less than a high school education, but 70% of illegal workers from Mexico lack a high school degree.
The majority of new blue-collar jobs qualify as Massey's "underclass" work, and suffer from unreliability, subservient roles and, critically, a lack of potential for advancement. These "underclass" jobs, which have a disproportionate number of undocumented immigrants, include harvesting crops, unskilled labor in landscaping and construction, house-cleaning, and maid and
busboy
In North America, a busser, more commonly known as a busboy or busgirl, is a person who works in the restaurant and catering industry clearing tables, taking dirty dishes to the dishwasher, setting tables, refilling and otherwise assisting the ...
work in hotels and restaurants. However, as even these "underclass" jobs have higher relative wages than those in home countries they are still attractive for undocumented immigrants and since many undocumented immigrants often anticipate working only temporarily in the destination country, the lack of opportunity for advancement is seen by many as less of a problem. Support for this claim can be seen in a
Pew Hispanic Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C.
It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the wo ...
poll of over 3,000 undocumented immigrants from Mexico in the US, which found that 79% would voluntarily join a
temporary worker
Temporary work or temporary employment (also called gigs) refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary employees are sometimes ...
program that allowed them to work legally for several years but then required them to leave.
From this, it is assumed that the willingness to take undesirable jobs is what gives undocumented immigrants their employment.
Evidence for this may be seen in the average wages of illegal day laborers in California, which was between $10 and $12 per hour according to a 2005 study, and the fact that this was higher than many entry-level white collar or service jobs. Entry-level white collar and service jobs offer advancement opportunities only for people with work permits and citizenship.
Research indicates that the advantage to firms employing undocumented immigrants increases as more firms in the industry do so, further increases with the breadth of a firm's market, and also with the labor intensity of the firm's production process. However, the advantage decreases with the skill level of the firm's workers, meaning that illegal immigrants do not provide as much competitive advantage when a high-skilled workforce is required.
Reasons for illegal immigration
Poverty
Illegal immigrants are not impoverished by the standards of their home countries. The poorest classes in a developing country may lack the resources needed to mount an attempt to cross illegally, or the connections to friends or family already in the destination country. Studies from the Pew Hispanic Center have shown that the education and wage levels of illegal Mexican immigrants in the US are around the median for Mexico and that they are not a suitable predictor of one's choice to immigrate.
Other examples do show that increases in poverty, especially when associated with immediate crises, can increase the likelihood of illegal migration. The
1994 economic crisis in Mexico
The Mexican peso crisis was a currency crisis sparked by the Mexican government's sudden devaluation of the peso against the U.S. dollar in December 1994, which became one of the first international financial crises ignited by capital flight ...
, subsequent to the start of the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), was associated with widespread poverty and a lower valuation for the peso relative to the dollar.
[ Accessed 11 December 2009] It also marked the start of a massive swell in Mexican immigration, in which net illegal migration to the US increased every year from the mid-1990s until the mid-2000s.
There are also examples where
natural disasters and
population growth can amplify
poverty-driven migration flows.
Overpopulation
Population growth that exceeds the
carrying capacity of an area or environment results in
overpopulation
Overpopulation or overabundance is a phenomenon in which a species' population becomes larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scal ...
.
Family reunification
Some illegal immigrants seek to live with loved ones who already live in a country that they are not allowed to enter, such as a spouse or other family members.
Having a family who have immigrated or being from a community with many immigrants is a much better predictor of one's choice to immigrate than poverty.
Family reunification visas may be applied for by legal residents or naturalized citizens to bring their family members into a destination state legally, but these visas may be limited in number and subject to yearly quotas. This may result in family members entering illegally in order to reunify. From studying Mexican migration patterns, Douglas Massey finds that the likelihood that a Mexican national will emigrate illegally to the US increases dramatically if they have one or more family members already residing in the United States, legally or illegally.
Asylum
Unauthorised arrival
An unauthorised arrival is a person who has arrived in a country of which they are not a citizen and does not have a valid visa or does not satisfy other required conditions for entry to that country.
A person may be described as an unauthorised ...
into another country may be prompted by the need to escape civil war or
repression in the country of origin. However, somebody who flees such a situation is in most countries under no circumstances an undocumented immigrant. If victims of forced displacement apply for asylum in the country they fled to and are granted refugee status they have the right to remain permanently. If
asylum seekers are not granted some kind of legal protection status, then they may have to leave the country, or stay as illegal immigrants.
According to the
1951 Refugee Convention
The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951, is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who a refugee is, and sets out the rights of individuals ...
refugees should be exempted from immigration laws and should expect protection from the country they entered. It is, however, up to the countries involved to decide if a particular immigrant is a refugee or not, and hence whether they are subject to the immigration controls. Furthermore, countries that did not sign the 1951 Refugee Convention or do not attempt to follow its guidelines are likely to consider refugees and asylum seekers as illegal immigrants.
Deprivation of citizenship
In a 2012 news story, the
''CSM'' reported, "The estimated 750,000
Rohingya
The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
, one of the most miserable and oppressed minorities in the world, are deeply resentful of their almost complete absence of civil rights in
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
. In 1982, the military junta stripped the Rohingya of their Myanmar citizenship, classing them as illegal immigrants and rendering them
stateless."
In some countries, people born on national territory (henceforth not "immigrants") do not automatically obtain the nationality of their birthplace, and may have no legal title of residency.
Education
Families want to have better lives for their children and to succeed. In the article "Learning to be illegal" it discusses the safety the children have in K-12 schooling. The children are guaranteed education in a safe environment.
Problems faced by illegal immigrants
Aside from the possibility that they may be intercepted and deported, illegal immigrants also face other problems.
Lack of access to services
Illegal immigrants usually have no or very limited access to
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
systems, proper housing,
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
and
bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
s. Some immigrants may
forge identity documents to have access to these services.
Slavery
For example, research at
San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
estimates that there are 2.4 million victims of human trafficking among illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States. Some workers are smuggled into the United States and Canada by human traffickers.
People have been kidnapped or tricked into slavery to work as laborers, after entering the country, for example in factories. Those trafficked in this manner often face additional barriers to escaping slavery, since their status as undocumented immigrants makes it difficult for them to gain access to help or services. For example,
Burmese women trafficked into Thailand and forced to work in factories or as prostitutes may not speak the language and may be vulnerable to abuse by police due to their undocumented immigrant status.
Kidnapping and ransoms
In some regions, people that are still en route to their destination country are also sometimes kidnapped, for example for
ransom. In some instances, they are also
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...
d,
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
d, and killed if the requested ransom does not arrive. One case in point are the
Eritrean migrants that are en route to Israel. A large number of them are captured in north Sinai (Egypt) and Eastern Sudan and held in the buildings in north Sinai.
Sexual exploitation
Since the
fall of the Iron Curtain
The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...
,
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
is being confronted with a serious problem related to the sexual exploitation of undocumented immigrants (especially from
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
), for the purpose of prostitution.
In the United States, human trafficking victims often pass through the porous border with Mexico. In an effort to curb the spread of
sex slavery and other predation on unauthorized immigrants, California Attorney General
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...
and Mexico Attorney General
Marisela Morales Ibáñez signed an accord in 2012 to expand prosecutions of criminals typically members of transnational gangs who engage in the trafficking of human beings between the two countries.
Exploitation of labour
Most countries have laws requiring workers to have proper documentation, often intended to prevent or minimize the employment of undocumented immigrants. However the penalties against employers are often small and the acceptable identification requirements vague, ill-defined and seldom checked or enforced, making it easy for employers to hire illegal labor. Where the
minimum wage is several times the prevailing wage in the home country, employers sometimes pay less than the legal minimum wage or have unsafe working conditions, relying on the reluctance of illegal workers to report the violations to the authorities. Undocumented employees' ability to work legally no longer exists, which makes it easier for corporations to take advantage of their services. Unfair and unjust, the exploitation of undocumented immigrants' labor goes unpunished because they are not considered legal immigrants.
Injury and illness
The search for employment is central to illegal international migration. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, undocumented immigrants in the United States often work in dangerous industries such as agriculture and construction. A recent study suggests that the complex web of consequences resulting from illegal immigrant status limits illegal workers' ability to stay safe at work. In addition to physical danger at work, the choice to immigrate for work often entails work-induced lifestyle factors which impact the physical, mental and social health of immigrants and their families.
Death
Each year there are several hundred
deaths along the U.S.–Mexico border of immigrants crossing the border illegally. Death by exposure occurs in the deserts of Southwestern United States during the hot summer season. In 2016 there were approximately 8,000 migrant deaths, with about 63% of deaths occurring within the Mediterranean.
Methods
Illegal border crossing
![HMRC Vigilant BB](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/HMRC_Vigilant_BB.jpg)
Immigrants from countries that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like the
United States–Mexico border
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
, the Mona Channel between the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
and
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
, the
Strait of Gibraltar,
Fuerteventura, and the
Strait of Otranto. Because these methods are illegal, they are often dangerous. Would-be immigrants have been known to suffocate in
shipping container
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of ...
s,
boxcar
A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...
s, and trucks, sink in
shipwrecks caused by unseaworthy vessels, die of
dehydration
In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...
or
exposure during long walks without water. An official estimate puts the number of people who died in illegal crossings across the U.S.–Mexican border between 1998 and 2004 at 1,954 (see
immigrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents or Naturalization, naturalize ...
).
Human smuggling
People smuggling (also called human smuggling), under U.S. law, is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries' laws, ei ...
is the practice of intermediaries aiding undocumented immigrants in crossing over international borders in financial gain, often in large groups. Human smuggling differs from, but is sometimes associated with,
human trafficking. A human smuggler will facilitate
illegal entry
Illegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law.
Human smuggling is the practice of aiding people in crossing international borders for financial gain, often i ...
into a country for a fee, but on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is usually free. Trafficking involves a process of using physical force,
fraud, or
deception to obtain and transport people.
Types of notorious human smugglers include
Snakehead gang
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...
s present in
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
(especially in
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
) that smuggle laborers into
Pacific Rim states (making
Chinatowns frequent centers of illegal immigration) and "coyotes", who smuggle undocumented immigrants to the
Southwestern United States and have been known to abuse or even kill their passengers. Sometimes undocumented immigrants are abandoned by their human traffickers if there are difficulties, often dying in the process. Others may be victims of intentional killing.
Overstaying visa
Many undocumented immigrants are migrants who originally arrive in a country lawfully but overstay their authorized residence (overstaying a
visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
).
For example, most of the estimated 200,000 illegal immigrants in Canada (perhaps as high as 500,000) are refugee claimants whose refugee applications were rejected but who have not yet been expelled from the country.
Another example is formed by children of foreigners born in countries observing ''
jus soli'' ("right of territory"), such as was the case in France until 1994 and in Ireland until 2005.
In these countries, it was possible to obtain French or Irish nationality (respectively) solely by being born in France before 1994 or in Ireland before 2005
(respectively). At present, a French born child of foreign parents does not automatically obtain French nationality until residency duration conditions are met.
Since 1 January 2005, a child born in Ireland does not automatically acquire Irish nationality unless certain conditions are met.
Sham marriages
Some people enter into
sham marriage
A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into without intending to create a real marital relationship. This is usually for the purpose of gaining an advantage from the marriage.
Definitions of sham marriage vary b ...
s, whereby marriage is contracted into for purely immigration advantage by a couple who are not in a genuine relationship. Common reasons for sham marriages are to gain
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
(i.e., immigration fraud), residency, work, or
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
rights for one or both of the spouses, or for other benefits.
In the United Kingdom, those who arrange, participate in, or officiate over a sham marriage may be charged with a number of offenses, including assisting unlawful immigration and conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law.
The United States has a penalty of a $250,000 fine and five-year prison sentence for such arrangements. The
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
(ICE) and the Justice Department say that they do not have accurate numbers on the rate of attempted marriage fraud. In the 2009 fiscal year, 506 (0.2%) of the 241,154 petitions filed were denied for suspected fraud; 7% were denied on other grounds.
Irregular immigrant populations by country or region
Africa
Angola
In 2007 around 44,000 Congolese were forced to leave
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
. Since 2004, more than 400,000 illegal immigrants, almost all from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, have been expelled from Angola.
South Africa
No accurate estimates of the number of illegal migrants living in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
exist.
Estimates that have been published vary widely. A 1996
Human Sciences Research Council study estimated that there were between 2.5 million and 4.1 million illegal migrants in the country. In their 2008–09 annual report, the
South African Police Service
The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in ea ...
stated: "According to various estimates, the number of undocumented immigrants in South Africa may vary between three and six million people". Other estimates have put the figure as high as 10 million.
,
Statistics South Africa's official estimate is of between 500,000 and one million undocumented migrants.
A large number of
Zimbabweans
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Zimbabwe, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Populat ...
have fled to South Africa as a result of instability in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
, with many living as illegal migrants in South Africa.
Sociologist Alice Bloch notes that migrants in South Africa have been the victims of
xenophobia
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
and violence, regardless of their immigration status.
South to East Asia
Bangladesh
There are about 1.2 million
Indians living in Bangladesh illegally as of 2014. The illegal migrants are mainly from the poorest states in India including
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
,
Meghalaya
Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and J ...
,
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
and
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...
, which surround Bangladesh. They illegally immigrate to Bangladesh in search of jobs in the metropolitan hubs and a better standard of living. Bangladesh is fifth among the nations sending highest
remittances to India
Remittances to India are money transfers (called remittance) from non-resident Indians (NRIs) employed outside the country to family, friends or relatives residing in India. India is the world's top receiver of remittances, claiming more than ...
. Indians working in Bangladesh sent more than $3.7 billion back to India in 2012.
There is a significant number of Burmese illegal immigrants in Bangladesh. As of 2012, the Bangladesh government estimated about 500,000 illegal Burmese immigrants living across Bangladesh.
Bhutan
Immigration in Bhutan by Nepalese settlers (
Lhotshampa
The Lhotshampa or Lhotsampa ( ne, ल्होत्साम्पा; ) people are a heterogeneous Bhutanese people of Nepalese descent. "Lhotshampa", which means "southern borderlanders" in Dzongkha, began to be used by the Bhutanese state i ...
) began slowly towards the end of the 19th century. The government passed the
Bhutanese Citizenship Act 1985
Bhutanese nationality law is the law governing the acquisition, transmission and loss of Bhutanese citizenship. The Bhutanese Citizenship Act of 1985 was introduced by the Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck, on June 10, 1985, modifying the definit ...
to clarify and try to enforce the
Bhutanese Citizenship Act 1958 The Bhutanese Citizenship Act of 1958, officially the Nationality Law of Bhutan, 1958, is a decree by the Druk Gyalpo King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, recognizing the definition of a Bhutanese citizen. The Act was amended in 1977 and then superseded by ...
to control the flood of illegal immigration. Those individuals who could not provide proof of residency prior to 1958 were adjudged to be undocumented immigrants. In 1991 and 1992,
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
expelled roughly 139,110 ethnic
Nepalis
Nepalis (English: Nepalese ; ne, नेपाली) are the citizens of Nepal under the provisions of Nepali nationality law. The country is home to people of many different national origins who are the descendants of immigrants from India, ...
, most of whom have been living in seven refugee camps in eastern Nepal ever since. The United States has offered to resettle 60,000 of the 107,000
Bhutanese refugees
Bhutanese refugees are Lhotshampas ("southerners"), a group of Nepali language-speaking Bhutanese people. These refugees registered in refugee camps in eastern Nepal during the 1990s as Bhutanese citizens deported from Bhutan during the prote ...
of Nepalese origin now living in U.N. refugee camps in Nepal. The Bhutanese government, even today, has not been able to sort the problem of giving citizenship to those people who are married to Bhutanese, even though they have been in the country for 40 years.
India
![ABVP addressing about Bangladeshi illegal immigrants](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/ABVP_addressing_about_Bangladeshi_illegal_immigrants.jpg)
It is estimated that several tens of millions of illegal immigrants live in India. Precise figures are not available, but the numbers run in tens of millions, at least 10 million are from
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, others being from
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and others. According to the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
, there at least 20 million illegal immigrants from Bangladesh alone.
This makes India the country with the largest number of illegal immigrants in the world.
During the
Bangladesh Liberation War at least 10 million Bangladeshis crossed into India illegally to seek refuge from widespread
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
and
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...
.
According to Indian Home Ministry, at least 1.4 Million Bangladeshi crossed over into India in the last decade alone.
Samir Guha Roy of the
Indian Statistical Institute
Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is a higher education and research institute which is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the 1959 act of the Indian parliament. It grew out of the Statistical Laboratory set up by Prasanta ...
states that internal migration is sometimes falsely thought to be immigrants. An analysis of the numbers by Roy revealed that on average around 91000 Bangladeshi nationals might have crossed over to India every year during the years 1981–1991, thus, close to a million in a decade alone. How many of them were identified and pushed back is not known. It is possible that some of these illegal immigrants returned on their own.
According to a pro-Indian scholar, the trip to India from Bangladesh is one of the cheapest in the world, with a trip costing around Rs. 2000 (around $30 US), which includes the fee for the "Tour Operator". As Bangladeshis are cultural similar to the
Bengali people in India, they are able to pass off as Indian citizens and settle down in any part of India to establish a future.,
for a very small price. This false identity can be bolstered with false documentation available for as little as Rs. 200 ($3 US) can even make them part of the vote bank.
India is constructing barriers on its eastern borders to combat the surge of migrants. The
Indo-Bangladeshi barrier is 4,000 km (2,500 mi) long. Presently, India is constructing a fence along the border to restrict illegal traffic from
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. This obstruction will virtually isolate Bangladesh from India. The barrier's plan is based on the designs of the
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian ...
and will be 3.6 m (11.8 ft) high. The stated aim of the fence is to stop infiltration of terrorists, prevent smuggling, and end illegal immigration from Bangladesh.
Malaysia
There are an estimated 800,000 illegal immigrants in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. In January 2009, Malaysia banned the hiring of foreign workers in factories, stores and restaurants to protect its citizens from mass unemployment amid the
late 2000s recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...
. An ethnic
Indian Malaysian
Malaysian Indians or Indian Malaysians are Malaysian citizens of Indian or South Asian ancestry. Today, they form the third-largest group in Malaysia after the Malays and the Chinese. Most are descendants of those who migrated from India duri ...
was recently sentenced to whipping and 10 months in prison for hiring six illegal immigrants at his restaurant. "I think that after this, Malaysian employers will be afraid to take in foreign workers (without work permits). They will think twice", said immigration department prosecutor Azlan Abdul Latiff. "This is the first case where an employer is being sentenced to caning", he said. Illegal immigrants also face
caning before being deported.
Pakistan
As of 2005, 2.1% of the population of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
had foreign origins, however the number of immigrants population in Pakistan recently grew sharply. Immigrants from
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
make up a growing proportion of immigrants in Pakistan. The five largest immigrant groups in Pakistan are in turn
Afghans,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
i,
Tajiks
Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Taj ...
,
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...
,
Turkmens
Turkmens ( tk, , , , ; historically "the Turkmen"), sometimes referred to as Turkmen Turks ( tk, , ), are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-weste ...
,
Iranians,
Indians,
Sri Lankan,
Burmese and
Britons
British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...
including a sizeable number of those of Pakistani origin. Other significant
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
communities in the country are
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
ns,
Australians
Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...
,
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
,
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
,
Americans
Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...
,
Filipinos
Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...
,
Bosnians and many others. Migrants from different countries of
Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
specially
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
,
Palestine,
Syria,
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
,
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, and
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
are in thousands. Nearly all illegal migrants in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
are
Muslim refugees and they are accepted by the local population. There is no political support or legislation to deport these refugees from
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
.
Philippines
It was estimated by Teresita Ang-See, a prominent leader and activist of the
Chinese Filipino
Chinese Filipinos; tl, Tsinoy, / Tsinong Pilipino, ; Hokkien in the Philippines, Philippine Hokkien , Mandarin Chinese in the Philippines, Mandarin (also known as Filipino Chinese in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent, mo ...
community, that by 2007, as much as 100,000 illegal immigrants from
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
are living in the Philippines, a tenth of the ethnic Chinese population. The latest influx has come in part because of Manila's move in 2005 to liberalise entry procedures for Chinese tourists and investors, a move that helped triple the number of Chinese visitors to 133,000 last year. Many of the new Chinese immigrants encounter hostility from many Filipinos, including Filipino-born Chinese, for being perceived as engaging in criminal activities and fraud.
South Korea
According to the Republic of Korea Immigration Service, as of 31 December 2014, there were 208,778 illegal immigrants, which is 11.6% of 1,797,618 total foreign nationals who resided in South Korea. Most illegal immigrants in South Korea are Asian. The top 10 home countries of those illegal immigrants all came from other Asian countries with
China at number 1 followed by
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
,
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
Sri Lanka and
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
.
Other countries
* China: (see
Illegal immigration in China.)
China is building a security barrier along its border with
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
to prevent the
defectors or refugees from North Korea. Also, many illegal immigrants from
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
have tried to make it to China. There might be as many as 100,000
Africans in Guangzhou, mostly illegal overstayers. To encourage people to report foreigners living illegally in China, for instance in 2010 during Guangzhou Asian Games, the police gave 100 yuan reward to whistle blowers whose information successfully led to a deportation.
* Nepal: In 2008,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
's
Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
-led government has initiated a major crackdown against Tibetan exiles with the aim to deport to
China all
Tibetans
The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans liv ...
living illegally in the country. Tibetans started pouring into Nepal after a failed anti-Chinese
uprising in Tibet in 1959.
* Thailand: (see
Illegal immigration to Thailand.)
Americas
Brazil
Brazil has long been part of international migration routes. In 2009, the government estimated the number of illegal immigrants at about 200,000 people; a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
charity working with immigrants said there were 600,000 illegal immigrants (75,000 of whom were from
Bolivia). That same year, the
National Congress of Brazil
The National Congress of Brazil ( pt, Congresso Nacional do Brasil) is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government. Unlike the state legislative assemblies and municipal chambers, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Sen ...
approved an amnesty, opening a six-month window for all foreigners to seek legalization irrespective of their previous standing before the law. Brazil had last legalized all immigrants in 1998; bilateral deals, one of which promoted the legalization of all reciprocal immigrants with Bolivia to date, signed in 2005, are also common.
Illegal immigrants in Brazil enjoy the same legal privileges as native Brazilians regarding access to social services such as
public education and the
Brazilian public healthcare system.
A
Federal Police
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEAs ...
operation investigated Chinese immigrants who traveled through six countries before arriving in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
to work under substandard conditions in the
textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry.
Industry process
Cotton manufacturi ...
.
After signing the 2009 amnesty bill into law, President
Lula da Silva said, in a speech, that "repression and intolerance against immigrants will not solve the problems caused by" the
financial crisis of 2007–2008
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...
, thereby also harshly criticizing the "policy of discrimination and prejudice" against immigrants in developed nations.
An October 2009 piece from
O Globo
''O Globo'' (, ''The Globe'') is a Brazilian newspaper based in Rio de Janeiro. ''O Globo'' is the most prominent print publication in the Grupo Globo media conglomerate.
Founded by journalist Irineu Marinho, owner of '' A Noite'', it was ori ...
, quoting a
UNDP
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
study, estimates the number of illegal immigrants at 0.7 million, and points out to a recent wave of xenophobia among the general populace.
Canada
There is no credible information available on illegal immigration in Canada. Estimates range between 35,000 and 120,000 illegal immigrants in Canada.
James Bissett, a former head of the Canadian Immigration Service, has suggested that the lack of any credible refugee screening process, combined with a high likelihood of ignoring any deportation orders, has resulted in tens of thousands of outstanding warrants for the arrest of rejected refugee claimants, with little attempt at enforcement. Refugee claimants in Canada do not have to attempt re-entry to learn the status of their claim. A 2008 report by the
Auditor General
An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations.
Freq ...
Sheila Fraser
Sheila Fraser (born September 16, 1950) served as Auditor General of Canada from 2001 to 2011.
Early life and education
Fraser was born in Dundee, Quebec, Canada to Kenneth Fraser (1917-2005), a Quebec Member of the National Assembly for Huntin ...
stated that Canada has lost track of as many as 41,000 illegal immigrants. This number was predicted to increase drastically with the expiration of
temporary employer work permits issued in 2007 and 2008, which were not renewed in many cases because of the shortage of work due to the recession.
Mexico
In the first six months of 2005, more than 120,000 people from
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
were deported, as compared to 2002, when for the entire year, only 130,000 were deported. People of
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...
origin pay about $5,500 to smugglers to be taken to Mexico from
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
. It is estimated that 2.4% of rejections for work permits in Mexico correspond to Chinese citizens. In a 2010 news story, ''USA Today'' reported, "... Mexico's
Arizona-style law requires local police to check IDs. And Mexican police freely engage in
racial profiling
Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, rather than on individual suspicion or available evidence. Racial profiling involv ...
and routinely harass Central American migrants, say immigration activists."
Many women from
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
, Asia, and
Central and South America take jobs at
table dance
A table dance, or bartop dance, is a dance performed at (or on) a table or bar, as opposed to on a stage. It may be an erotic dance performed by a sex worker or it may be done as a leisure activity.
Sex work
In some jurisdictions, a table dance m ...
establishments in large cities. The
National Institute of Migration
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
(INM) in Mexico raids
strip clubs
Strip or Stripping may refer to:
Places
* Aouzou Strip, a strip of land following the northern border of Chad that had been claimed and occupied by Libya
* Caprivi Strip, narrow strip of land extending from the Okavango Region of Namibia to ...
and deports foreigners who work without proper documentation. In 2004, the INM deported 188,000 people at a cost of US$10 million.
In September 2007, Mexican President Calderón harshly criticized the United States government for the crackdown on illegal immigrants, saying it has led to the persecution of immigrant workers without visas. "I have said that Mexico does not stop at its border, that wherever there is a Mexican, there is Mexico", he said. However, Mexico has also deported US citizens, deporting 2,000 cases in 2015 and 1,243 in 2014.
Illegal immigration of Cubans through
Cancún
Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...
tripled from 2004 to 2006. In October 2008, Mexico tightened its immigration rules and agreed to deport
Cubans
Cubans ( es, Cubanos) are people born in Cuba and people with Cuban citizenship. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic, religious and national backgrounds.
Racial and ethnic groups
Census
The population of Cuba wa ...
who use the country as an entry point to the US. It also criticized US policy that generally allows Cubans who reach US territory to stay. Cuban Foreign Minister said the Cuban-Mexican agreement would lead to "the immense majority of Cubans being repatriated."
United States
![May Day Immigration March LA47](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/May_Day_Immigration_March_LA47.jpg)
Approximately 11 million illegal immigrants were estimated to be living in the United States in 2006. The
Pew Hispanic Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C.
It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the wo ...
estimated that this peaked at 12 million in March 2007 and declined to 11 million again in March 2009. The majority of the illegal immigrants are from Mexico.
The issue of illegal immigration has long been controversial in the United States. In 2007, President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
called for Congress to endorse his guest worker proposal, stating that illegal immigrants took jobs that Americans would not take.
The Pew Hispanic Center notes that while the number of legal immigrants arriving has not varied substantially since the 1980s, the number of illegal immigrants has increased dramatically and, since the mid-1990s, has surpassed the number of
legal immigrants. Penalties for employers of illegal immigrants, of $2,000–$10,000 and up to six months' imprisonment, go largely unenforced.
Political groups like Americans for Legal Immigration have formed to demand enforcement of immigration laws and secure borders. ALIPAC has also called for "safe departure" border checkpoints, free of criminal checks.
In a 2011 news story, the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported,
...illegal immigrants in 2010 were parents of 5.5 million children, 4.5 million of whom were born in the U.S. and are citizens. Because illegal immigrants are younger and more likely to be married, they represented a disproportionate share of births—8% of the babies born in the U.S. between March 2009 and March 2010 were to at least one illegal immigrant parent.
Immigration from Mexico to the United States has slowed in recent years. This has been attributed to the slowing of the U.S. economy, the buildup in security along the border and increased violence on the Mexican side of the
Mexico–United States border
The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border trave ...
.
In 2016, the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
announced it would substitute "noncitizens" and "unauthorized immigration" for "illegal aliens" as a bibliographic retrieval term, saying the once common phrase had become offensive, and was not precise. However, the change was suspended and the
heading "illegal aliens" remains in use.
In 2018, Attorney General
Jeff Sessions
Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United States ...
instructed the US attorneys offices not to use the term "undocumented immigrants", but to instead refer to people as "illegal aliens".
Other countries
* Venezuela: An estimated 200,000 Colombians fled the
Colombian conflict
The Colombian conflict ( es, link=no, Conflicto armado interno de Colombia) began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and far-left gue ...
and sought safety in Venezuela. Most of them lacked identity documents, which hampered their access to services, as well as to the labor market. The Venezuelan government has no specific policies on refugees. A much greater number of Venezuelans entered Colombia trying to escape from the political, economic and humanitarian crisis in the 21st century, especially during the last five to 10 years.
* Chile:
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
has recently become a new pole of attraction for illegal immigrants, mostly from neighboring
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
and
Bolivia but also
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
,
Colombia,
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
,
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
and
Haiti. According to the 2002 national census, Chile's foreign-born foreign population has increased by 75% since 1992.
* Dominican Republic: The
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
is a nation that shares the island of
Hispaniola with
Haiti. An estimated 1,000,000 Haitians live and work in the Dominican Republic, which has a total population of about ten million. The percentage of Haitians that have illegally immigrated to the Dominican Republic is not accurately known, and "many Dominicans have come to resent the influx of lower-paid workers from across the border and have sought to make their country less hospitable to noncitizens." (See also
Haitians in the Dominican Republic
The Haitian minority of the Dominican Republic ( es, Haitianos en la República Dominicana; ht, Ayisyen nan Dominikani; french: Haïtiens en République dominicaine) is the largest ethnic minority in the Dominican Republic since the early 20th ce ...
.)
Eurasia and Oceania
Australia
Official government sources put the number of visa overstayers in Australia at approximately 50,000. This has been the official number of illegal immigrants for about 25 years and is considered to be low. Other sources have placed it at up to 100,000, but no detailed study has been completed to quantify this number, which could be significantly higher.
On 1 June 2013, the ''Migration Amendment (Reform of Employer Sanctions) Act 2013'' commenced. This new law puts the onus on businesses to ensure that their employees maintain the necessary work entitlements in Australia. The new legislation also enables the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship to levy infringement notices against business (AUD $15,300) and individual (AUD $3,060) employers on a
strict liability basis – meaning that there is no requirement to prove fault, negligence or intention.
Russia
Russia experiences a constant flow of immigration. On average, 200,000 legal immigrants enter the country every year; about half are ethnic
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
from other republics of the former Soviet Union. There are an estimated 10–12 million foreigners working in the country without legal permission to be there. There has been a significant influx of ethnic
Georgians,
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...
,
Azerbaijanis,
Tajiks
Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Taj ...
, and
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...
into large Russian cities in recent years, which has been viewed very unfavorably by many citizens and contributed to
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
sentiments.
Many immigrant ethnic groups have much higher birth rates than native Russians, further shifting the balance. Some
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
flee the overpopulation and birth control regulations of their home country and settle in the
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
and in southern
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
. Russia's main Pacific port and naval base of
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...
, once closed to foreigners, today is bristling with Chinese markets, restaurants and trade houses. This has been occurring a lot since the Soviet collapse.
Illegal border crossing is considered a crime, and captured illegal border crossers have been sentenced to prison terms. For example, ''
Rossiyskaya Gazeta'' reported in October 2008 the case of a
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
n who was detained after illegally crossing the
Amur River from China. Considered by Russian authorities an "
economic migrant
An economic migrant is someone who emigrates from one region to another, including crossing international borders, seeking an improved standard of living, because the conditions or job opportunities in the migrant's own region are insufficient. Th ...
", he was sentenced to 6 months in prison and was to be deported to the country of his nationality after serving his sentence, even though he may now risk an even heavier penalty there. That was just one of the 26 cases year-to-date of illegal entrants, of various nationalities, receiving criminal punishment in
Amur Oblast
Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrat ...
.
Turkey
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
receives many economic migrants from nearby countries such as
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
, but also from
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
,
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and Pakistan. The
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
is thought to have increased the flow of illegal immigration into Turkey, and the global parties directly involved in the conflict have been accused of extending a less-helping hand than Turkey itself to resolve the precarious situation of immigrants stranded in passage.
Europe
The
Schengen Area is a multilateral agreement between 26 states in which they in most cases abolish the border control among themselves. These states include most of the EU countries, as well as the EEC countries Norway, Switzerland and Iceland. Any person who is physically inside any of the Schengen states will usually be able to travel to any other Schengen state without hindrance from the law enforcement, even if he or she has no legal right to enter another Schengen Area member state. A person who wishes to immigrate illegally to a Schengen Area member state may therefore find it more practical to enter it through another member state. According to a BBC report from 2012, over 80% of illegal immigrants entering the European Union pass through Greece.
EU countries that are not members of the Schengen Agreement are still committed to allow lawful entry by citizens of EU countries; they may however exercise border control at their discretion.
![Migrants in Hungary 2015 Aug 003](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Migrants_in_Hungary_2015_Aug_003.jpg)
This typically presents a significant hindrance to persons who are trying to enter those countries illegally.
Citizens within The EU is an economic and political partnership between 28 European countries that together cover much of the European continent. A citizen of an EU member state has the right to seek employment within any other member state. The Schengen Agreement does not regulate treatment of persons who enter the Schengen Area illegally. This is therefore left to the individual states, and other applicable international treaties and European
case law. Illegal immigration to Schengen and to Europe in general was increasing sharply since approximately early 2014. The main causes for this increase are the conflicts that followed the
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econo ...
; in particular, the civil war in Syria has driven millions of people from their homes, and the disintegration of the Libyan government removed a major barrier for the African migrants.
Illegal immigration to some of the Schengen Area states might face different consideration depending on countries such as Bulgaria, France, Greece.
France
Children born to noncitizens in France are not immigrants themselves, but they are considered foreigners under French law, until they reach the age of 18, at which time they automatically become citizens.
, "The Challenge of French Diversity." French citizenship
French nationality law is historically based on the principles of ''jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and ''jus sanguinis'', according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nationality, ''jus sanguinis'' ( ...
is based in the idea of political unity; therefore, French citizenship may be more accessible than other EU countries, such as Germany and the UK. However, many French citizens feel that those who gain French citizenship should conform to the cultural aspects of French life. Foreigners can also become French citizens if they serve in the
Foreign Legion.
French law prohibits anyone from assisting or trying to assist "the entry of a foreigner in France." (Except for a non-EU national, entering in metropolitan France illegally from the territory of a Schengen country)
Hungary
![Hungarian-Serbian border barrier 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Hungarian-Serbian_border_barrier_2.jpg)
In 2014, Hungary registered 43,000 asylum seekers and 80,000 up to July 2015.
In the summer of 2015,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
started building
a 4m high fence along its 175 km border to neighbouring
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
to keep out the tens of thousands illegal immigrants from the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
and migrants trying to reach the European Union.
The border was sealed on 15 September 2015 and the fence was the following day attacked by refugees and defended by riot police.
With the Hungary-Serbia border closed, migrants then started heading to Croatia, but as Croatia led the migrants to the Hungary-Croatia border, Hungary then started the construction of a second fence along its border with Croatia on 18 September 2015.
United Kingdom
Many try to cross the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
from
Calais to seek asylum or refugee status in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
.
Truck drivers can be fined up to €2,500 if illegal immigrants are found on board. The Home Office has its agents working alongside French police and immigration agents, to prevent unauthorized people from entering the zone. An area of Calais known as
"the Jungle" had a police raid in September 2009 to control illegal immigration.
The French also try to stop illegal immigrants from entering France from the southern part of the country.
Non-governmental organizations, such as Secours Catholique and the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...
provide food, showers, and shelter to sans papiers who gather waiting to cross the Channel.
In 1986,
an Iranian man was sent back to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, from
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, as he was unable to present any ID to British immigration officers. He stayed at the airport for nearly twenty years and his story loosely inspired a film, ''
The Terminal
''The Terminal'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stanley Tucci. The film is about an Eastern European man who is stuck in New York's John F. Kennedy ...
''.
there were between 550,000 and 950,000 illegal immigrants in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is a difficult country to reach as it is mostly located on one island and part of another, but traffickers in
Calais,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
have tried to smuggle illegal immigrants into the UK. Many illegal immigrants come from
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
. As of 2008 there were also many from
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
and
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
having overstayed their visas.
A 2012 study carried out by the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
's Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) has estimated that there were 120,000 illegal migrant children in the UK, of whom 65,000 were born in the UK to parents without legal status. According to the study these children are at risk of destitution, exploitation and social exclusion because of contradictory and frequently changing rules and regulations which jeopardize their access to healthcare, education, protection by the police and other public services.
The
Home Office estimated that 4,000 to 10,000 applications a year to stay in the UK are made on the basis of a
sham marriage
A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into without intending to create a real marital relationship. This is usually for the purpose of gaining an advantage from the marriage.
Definitions of sham marriage vary b ...
. Many undocumented immigrants or asylum seekers have tried to enter the UK from France, by hiding inside trucks or trains.
On 11 August 2020, the
Government of Britain
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_est ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
worked together on a single channel to finalize a new plan for blocking illegal migrant route. Many of the migrants who aimed to emigrate to
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
came from
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Syria and countries in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, fleeing poverty, persecution or war.
Other countries
* Bulgaria: In 2013, 11,000 persons attempted to enter
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
via its border with Turkey.
Their aim is not believed by Bulgarian border officials to remain in Bulgaria, but to go to other European countries.
In November 2013, Bulgaria started building a
razor wire
Barbed tape or razor wire is a mesh of metal strips with sharp edges whose purpose is to prevent passage by humans. The term "razor wire", through long usage, has generally been used to describe barbed tape products. Razor wire is much sharper th ...
fence on its Turkey border, which was completed in 2015.
* Norway: The number of illegal immigrants in Norway was estimated to roughly 20 thousand in 2009, and to between 18 and 56 thousand in 2017. Estimates by organizations working with illegal migrants are much lower, between 5 thousand and 10 thousand in 2011.
* Germany: The number of irregular immigrants caught in Germany from January to November 2018 was 38,000 according to the Federal Police. Over 28,000 people entered Germany by land and 10,300 entering from Austria. Some 9,270 people also arrived illegally at airports and more than 1,120 people at sea ports. Most of the migrants were from Afghanistan, Nigeria, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.
* Switzerland: It is estimated that at least 100,000 individuals reside in Switzerland without being registered with the authorities and thus are considered illegal immigrants by the state. Many are also workers, employed as nannies, labourers on farms or construction sites, as well as waiters or kitchen or other ancillary staff in the restaurant and hotel industry.
Middle East
Iran
Since late April 2007, the
Iranian government
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, نظام جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Neẓām-e jomhūrī-e eslāmi-e Irān, known simply as ''Neẓām'' ( fa, نظام, lit=the system) among its supporters) is the ruling state a ...
has forcibly deported back
Afghans living and working in Iran to
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
at a rate between 250,000 and 300,000 per year. The forceful evictions of the refugees, who lived in Iran and Pakistan for nearly three decades, are part of the two countries' larger plans to repatriate all Afghan refugees within a few years. Iran said that it would send 1,000,000 by March 2008, and Pakistan announced that all 2,400,000 Afghan refugees, most living in camps, must return home by 2009. Aimal Khan, a political analyst at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad said it would be "disastrous" for Afghanistan.
Israel
![There Are No Illegal Children!](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/There_Are_No_Illegal_Children%21.jpg)
Tens of thousands of migrants, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea, had crossed the Israeli border between 2009 and 2012.
Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
said that "This phenomenon is very grave and threatens the social fabric of society, our national security and our national identity." In May 2012, Israel introduced a law which would allow illegal immigrants to be detained for up to three years, a measure that the Interior Ministry intended to stem the flow of Africans entering Israel across the desert border with Egypt.
As a result, completing a
barrier along the border with Egypt, illegal immigration from Africa decreased by over 99%.
Israel faces substantial (estimated at 40,000 in 2009)
illegal immigration of Arab workers from the Palestinian Authority territories, a migration that includes both workers seeking employment, and homosexuals escaping the social opprobrium of Arab society.
Thousands of foreign workers who entered the country on temporary visas have overstayed and live illegally in Israel. There is a debate within Israel as to whether the Israel-born children of foreign workers should be allowed to remain in the country.
Libya
Before the
Libyan civil war
Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
,
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
was home to a large population of illegal immigrants from
Sub-Saharan Africa, numbering as much as 2,000,000. The mass expulsion plan to summarily deport all illegally residing foreigners was announced by then-current Libyan leader Colonel
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
in January 2008, "No resident without a legal visa will be excluded."
Saudi Arabia
In 2004,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
began construction of a
Saudi–Yemen barrier between its territory and
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
to prevent the unauthorized movement of people and goods into and out of the Kingdom.
Anthony H. Cordesman labeled it a "separation barrier". In February 2004,
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
reported that Yemeni opposition newspapers likened the barrier to the Israeli West Bank barrier,
while
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
wrote "Saudi Arabia, one of the most vocal critics in the Arab world of Israel's 'security fence' in the West Bank, is quietly emulating the Israeli example by erecting a barrier along its porous border with Yemen". Saudi officials rejected the comparison saying it was built to prevent infiltration and smuggling.
Syria
Since the US-led
invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
in March 2003, there are more
refugees from Iraq. The
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
estimates that nearly 2,200,000 Iraqis have fled the country since 2003, with nearly 100,000 fleeing to
Syria and
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
each month. Most ventured to Jordan and Syria, creating demographic shifts that have worried both governments. Refugees are mired in poverty as they are generally barred from working in their host countries.
Syrian authorities worried that the new influx of refugees would limit the country's resources. Sources like oil, heat, water and electricity were said to be becoming scarcer as demand were rising. On 1 October 2007, news agencies reported that Syria reimposed restrictions on Iraqi refugees, as stated by a spokesperson for the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
. Under Syria's new rules, only Iraqi merchants, businessmen and university professors with visas acquired from Syrian
embassies
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
may enter Syria.
See also
*
Asylum shopping
Asylum shopping is a pejorative term for the practice by some asylum seekers of applying for asylum in several states or seeking to apply in a particular state after traveling through other states. The phrase is derogatory, suggesting that asylum s ...
*
Bolivarian diaspora
The Venezuelan migration and refugee crisis, the largest recorded refugee crisis in the Americas,
*
*
*
* refers to the emigration of millions of Venezuelans from their native country during the presidencies of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás M ...
*
Border control
*
Deportation
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
*
Environmental migration
Environmental migrants are people who are forced to leave their home region due to sudden or long-term changes to their local or regional environment. These changes compromise their well-being or livelihood, and include increased drought, deserti ...
*
Free migration
Free migration or open immigration is the position that people should be able to migrate to whatever country they choose with few restrictions.
From a human-rights perspective, free migration may be seen to complement Article 13 of the Univers ...
*
Immigration and crime
Immigration and crime refers to the relationship between criminal activity and immigrant communities. Research suggests that people tend to overestimate the relationship between immigration and criminality, and that the media tends to erroneously ...
*
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration th ...
*
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
*
Nationality law
*
Open border
An open border is a border that enables free movement of people (and often of goods) between jurisdictions with no restrictions on movement and is lacking substantive border control. A border may be an open border due to intentional legislation ...
*
Political demography
*
Stowaway
*
Undocumented youth in the United States Undocumented youth in the United States are young people living in the United States without U.S. citizenship or other legal immigration status. An estimated 1.1 million undocumented minors resided in the U.S. as of 2010, making up 16% of the undoc ...
*
Unreported employment
Unreported employment, also known as money under the table, working under the table, off the books, cash-in-hand, or illicit work is illegal employment that is not reported to the government. The employer or the employee often does so for tax e ...
(Working under the table)
*
Venezuelan diaspora
References
Further reading
* Barkan, Elliott R. 2003. "Return of the Nativists? California Public Opinion and Immigration in the 1980s and 1990s." ''Social Science History'' 27(2):229–83
online* Beasley, Vanessa B., ed. 2006. ''Who Belongs in America?: Presidents, Rhetoric, And Immigration''.
* Besenyo, Janos. 2017.
Fences and Border Protection: The Question of Establishing Technical Barriers in Europe" ''AARMS'' 16(1):77–87.
* Bischoff, Christine, Francesca Falk, and Sylvia Kafehsy. 2010 November. "Images of Illegalized Immigration. Towards a Critical Iconology of Politics." Bielefeld: transcript.
* Borjas, G.J. 1994. "The economics of immigration." ''Journal of Economic Literature'' (32):1667–717.
* Chacón, Jennifer M. "Criminal Law & Migration Control: Recent History & Future Possibilities". ''Daedalus'' 151#1 (2022), pp. 121–34
online*
De La Torre, Miguel A. 2009. "Trails of Terror: Testimonies on the Current Immigration Debate." Orbis Books.
* Dowling, Julie A., and Jonathan Xavier Inda, eds. 2013.
Governing Immigration Through Crime: A Reader." Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
* Espenshade, Thomas J. 1995. "Unauthorized Immigration to the United States" ''Annual Review of Sociology'' (21):195+.
*
* Hopkins, Daniel J. "National Debates, Local Responses: The Origins of Local Concern about Immigration in Britain and the United States". ''British Journal of Political Science'' 41#3 (2011), pp. 499–524
online* Hunter, W. 2019.
Undocumented Nationals: Between Statelessness and Citizenship'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* Inda, Jonathan Xavier. 2006.
Targeting Immigrant: Government, Technology, and Ethics" Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
* Kamphoefner, Walter D. "What’s New About the New Immigration? A Historian’s Perspective over Two Centuries." ''Studia Migracyjne-Przegląd Polonijny'' 45.3 (173) (2019)
onlinefocus on illegal migration to USA
* Kennedy, Marie, and Chris Tilly. 2008
''
Dollars & Sense
''Dollars & Sense'' is a magazine focusing on economics from a progressive perspective, published by Dollars & Sense, Inc, which also publishes textbooks in the same genre.
''Dollars & Sense'' describes itself as publishing "economic news and ana ...
'' (July/August 2008).
* Magaña, Lisa. 2003. ''Straddling the Border: Immigration Policy and the INS'' .
* Marquardt, Marie Friedmann, Timothy Steigenga, Philip Williams, and Manuel Vasquez. 2011. ''Living "Illegal": The Human Face of Unauthorized Immigration'' , The New Press.
* Mohl, Raymond A. 2002. "Latinization in the Heart of Dixie: Hispanics in Late-twentieth-century Alabama" ''
Alabama Review'' 55(4):243–74. 9–4894945651.
*
Myers, Dowell. 2007. ''
Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America.'' Russell Sage Foundation, .
* Ngai, Mae M. 2003. "The Strange Career of the Illegal Alien: Immigration Restriction and Deportation Policy in the United States, 1921–1965." ''Law and History Review'' 21(1):69–107. . Full text in History Cooperative.
* ——2004. ''Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America''.
* Range, Peter R. 1993 May. "Europe faces an immigrant tide." ''
National Geographic Magazine
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'' .
* Rosello, Mireille. 1998. "Representing undocumented immigrants in France: From Clandestins to L'affaire Des Sans-Papiers De Saint-Bernard." ''Journal of European Studies'' 28: 959525126.
*
* Tranaes, T., and K. F. Zimmermann, eds. 2004. ''Migrants, Work, and the Welfare State'' , Odense, University Press of Southern Denmark.
* Venturini, A. 2004. ''Post-War Migration in Southern Europe. An Economic Approach'' Cambridge University Press.
* Vicino, Thomas J. 2013. ''Suburban Crossroads: The Fight for Local Control of Immigration Policy'' . Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
* Zimmermann, K. F., ed. 2005. ''European Migration: What Do We Know?'' Oxford University Press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Illegal Immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
Human migration
Criminal law
Immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
Morality