All posts tagged: Migration

Migration stats show thousands more are moving to Kent than moving out

Migration stats show thousands more are moving to Kent than moving out

Published by Sam Flores

Thousands more people are choosing to move to Kent than are packing up and quitting our area for somewhere new. New internal migration figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that while more than 113,000 former residents moved out of local authority areas in Kent last year, almost 123,000 people moved in. That’s a net population gain of almost 10,000 people who moved to Kent from somewhere else in England and Wales. Maidstone was the most popular part of our county to move to. The figures show almost 12,000 people moved to Maidstone last year, while 10,000 moved out, a net gain of 1,800 people. The vast majority of local authority areas in Kent saw more movers than leavers. Thanet saw a net population gain of almost 1,800 people, Swale of 1,700, and Dover of 1,400. Only three parts of Kent saw an exodus. Almost 16,000 newcomers moved to Medway, but 17,000 people moved out a net loss of 1,000 residents. Gravesham saw a net loss of 368 people, and Canterbury a net …

The Ceuta border incident shows how EU migration can be ‘weaponised’ – but overall levels are declining

The Ceuta border incident shows how EU migration can be ‘weaponised’ – but overall levels are declining

Published by Sam Flores

It took one night in Ceuta to end a relatively quiet summer on Europe’s southern border. Over 70,000 people entered the Spanish enclave from Morocco between July 30 and 31, most of them swimming around the heavily guarded border fences. For comparison, at the peak of the 2015-16 migration crisis, Italy received over 180,000 irregular migrants across an entire year. This was roughly a third of Italy’s busiest year, compressed into a single day. Most of those who crossed have since returned to Morocco. But the episode has already become an EU-wide political crisis. By the end of the day, Italy had suspended its Schengen free-movement agreement with Spain. This choice was primarily political, but short-sighted. It ignored the fact that most people crossing at Ceuta have little interest in going to Italy. And just as new EU migration rules mandating “flexible solidarity” come into force, it sets a precedent for turning away from frontline states – Italy included – the next time they face migratory pressure. Who is to blame for Ceuta? Spain’s prime …

how the colonial legacies of these cities have shaped migration in the region

how the colonial legacies of these cities have shaped migration in the region

Published by Sam Flores

Ceuta, a small Spanish enclave on the Moroccan mainland, was unprepared for the arrival of more than 70,000 undocumented migrants on July 30. They arrived mostly by sea, from Morocco via the Tarajal breakwaters and its shoreline. The minuscule city of just seven square miles had few provisions for food, shelter or support for the unexpected arrivals. This was a shocking exposure of the apparent porosity of the city’s heavily fortified borders. More than 95% of the migrants have since returned via the land border, following emergency negotiations between the governments of Spain and Morocco. Those who remain have overwhelmed the city’s migrant reception centres. According to the latest figures from Spain, at least 88 people are known to have lost their lives while attempting to cross into Ceuta. The mass influx, however temporary, has fuelled some far-right and nationalist political reactions, as well as protests by those resisting Europe’s rising populism and anti-immigrant sentiments. Read more: How the Ceuta border crossing incident immediately played into the hands of Spain’s far right It has also …

The Unraveling of Afghan Asylum | Tanvi Misra

The Unraveling of Afghan Asylum | Tanvi Misra

Published by Jenni Sidey

Afees Monsef has a grave magnetism that makes him easy to find, even in a crowd.1 We first met in the spring of 2025, at a gathering in the basement of the Hazrati Abu Bakr Siddique mosque in Flushing, two years after he and his family of eight crossed the US–Mexico border fleeing persecution by the Taliban. By the time we reunited this past March, at an iftar dinner hosted in Brooklyn by the grassroots organization Afghans For A Better Tomorrow, Monsef and his family had taken substantive steps toward building a life in the US; with support from a state program, they were about to move from a hotel shelter in the city to a house in Westchester. He and his wife both had jobs. Their two eldest children—both girls—were in college. And yet the Trump administration kept putting new restrictions in their path. The judge assigned to their case was among the many that the federal government has fired since Trump retook office. Last fall the administration’s leading immigration bureaucrat announced an indefinite …

Chile’s hard-right Kast renews crime, migration crackdown pledge

Chile’s hard-right Kast renews crime, migration crackdown pledge

Published by Sam Flores

Chile’s hard-right leader Jose Antonio Kast on Monday announced crackdowns on crime and migration as his ratings suffer less than three months into his term. Kast unveiled new measures including a “vandal” registry and longer detentions for migrants during his first-ever address to Congress as Chilean president. The 60-year-old took office in March as Chile’s most right-wing leader since the end of General Augusto Pinochet’s 1973-1990 dictatorship. Source link

Follow the money: Mapping millionaire migration across America

Follow the money: Mapping millionaire migration across America

Published by Jenni Sidey

Since 2018, around 102,600 millionaires have left California. In the same period, 61,400 Americans with at least seven figures to their name have packed up and left New York state. Where have they gone? According to the Wealth Exodus dashboard, Florida has added 133,000 millionaires over those years, and Texas has added 61,400. Using data compiled from the IRS, the Federal Reserve, and state tax records, this dashboard visualizes the migration of American millionaires between states. Politically explosive numbers The numbers are politically explosive because they are neither random nor subtle. The map shows the moneyed classes moving from predominantly Democratic-run states to Republican ones. Put another way: from states with typically higher taxes and more regulations to states with generally lower taxes and fewer regulations. It’s not a trivial trickle. From 2020 to 2024, Americans collectively worth around $500 billion changed their state of residence. The top three states they moved from were California, New York, and Illinois. The largest inflows went to Florida, Texas, and Nevada. Drone view of downtown Ocala, Florida. According …

'Net Migration Is Falling But The Small Boats Keep Coming'

'Net Migration Is Falling But The Small Boats Keep Coming'

Published by Sam Flores

Migrants board a small boat in an attempt to reach Britain, Wednesday, April 8, 2026 in Malo-les-Bains, northern France. The net migration figures released this week make for extraordinary reading. Net migration to the UK has fallen dramatically. Work visa applications have plummeted. Study visas no longer bring family members automatically.  And emigration is accelerating – not just British people leaving, but large numbers of immigrants departing too. For years, the political right has spoken of invasion. On the evidence of this week’s data, that invasion has gone into reverse. It is beginning to look like an exodus. There is one exception. In one category of arrival there have been no government measures, no bilateral deals, no ministerial announcements, and no number of press conferences on the docks of Dover tarmac that have made any lasting difference. Channel crossings continue. Month after month. Parliament after parliament. Home secretary after home secretary. That’s because we are not asking the right question. Instead of asking how we stop the boats, we need to consider the question why, …

DNA uncovers a dynamic history of migration to Britain

DNA uncovers a dynamic history of migration to Britain

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Each of us tells a story about who we are, often tracing our identity back through an imagined line of ancestors. Though identity is fundamentally cultural, we tend to anchor it in biology – in the idea of a stable genetic inheritance passed down through generations. Population genomics has exposed a history far more complex, dynamic and intertwined than we might wish to imagine. Even in a place such as Britain, long imagined as an island of deep and uninterrupted heritage, genetic data suggest a history marked by intense migration, mixture and cultural reinvention. Two new studies have reinforced this picture, by analysing DNA from the skeletal remains of British individuals who lived during Roman and medieval times. Prehistoric Britain witnessed periodic major migrations interspersed with smaller and more regular movements of peoples across what was then a contiguous landscape. After about 6100BC, rising sea levels isolated Britain from mainland Europe, helping to promote later historical narratives of a population relatively isolated. Yet even early observers recognised otherwise. Writing in the first century AD, the …

UK Net Migration Decline Masks True Demographic Replacement As British Exodus Accelerates

UK Net Migration Decline Masks True Demographic Replacement As British Exodus Accelerates

Published by Jenni Sidey

Via Remix News, The left-wing U.K. government has claimed it is making real progress in tackling the ongoing migration crisis enveloping Britain after official statistics published on Thursday showed that net migration had decreased to 171,000 last year. However, that figure alone doesn’t tell the whole story. “I promised to restore control to our borders. My government is delivering,” under-pressure Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on X in response to the latest publication by the Office for National Statistics. “Net migration is now at 171,000, down from a high of 944,000 under the Conservatives,” added Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, claiming the government had “restored order” after the unprecedented figures under the last Conservative administration. Yet, a glance at the broader figures shows the reported number isn’t as impressive as the government would have you believe. In the year ending December 2025, the total number of people immigrating to Britain stood at 813,000. For comparison, this figure is around two-thirds of the population of the U.K.’s second-largest city, Birmingham. That figure comprises 110,000 British nationals returning …

Tell us: have you emigrated because of rising anti-migrant sentiment?

Tell us: have you emigrated because of rising anti-migrant sentiment?

Published by Sam Flores

The Unite the Kingdom march attracted tens of thousands of people to the capital on Saturday. While some insist it was a display of national pride, others see the Tommy Robinson rally as a hostile display of anti-migrant sentiment. US vice president JD Vance appeared to align himself with those who attended the march at a White House press briefing on Tuesday. We would like to hear from people who have emigrated – or are considering doing so – because of anti-migration sentiment or government policy. Since the UK is just one country where anti-migration sentiment has flared, we’re keen to hear from people globally who have made life decisions because of the current climate. Share your experience You can tell us your experience using this form. Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer …