International | New arrivals, old problems

Why migration is in such a mess once more

Violence and poverty are pushing the desperate towards jobs and safety

Migrants climb onto a goods train in the Chihuahuan desert in Mexico — Image: Getty Images

Nov 9th 2023|SAN DIEGO AND WARSAW

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION is taxing governments on both sides of the Atlantic. The maritime migration route between west Africa and the Canary Islands, a passage so dangerous it was avoided for years, is back in use: some 30,000 people have attempted the crossing so far in 2023. Countries like Germany, once friendly to asylum-seekers, are slashing benefits and hastening deportations. This year half a million people may traverse the Darién Gap, part of the isthmus that links Colombia to Panama, to reach the United States. That is more than four times as many as attempted the crossing throughout the 2010s.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “The train to anywhere”