International migration is not new. For centuries, people have moved across borders in search of better opportunities. Now, one in 35 people is an international migrant. But the values of globalisation are inconsistent. Trade has been liberalised, allowing freedom to move goods and capital between countries, but at the same time migration polices become tighter. As migration policies get tougher, more illegal migration occurs and migrants’ human rights are more likely to be at risk.
Widening disparities in income, wealth, human rights and security between countries serve as push factors towards migration. In 1975, incomes in high-income countries were 41 times greater than those in low-income countries and eight times greater than those in middle-income countries. By 2005, these differences had increased to 61 times and 13 times, respectively.
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