Immigration in Europe - HumanitarianNet - Universidad de Deusto

FRAMING THE ISSUES AND MEETING THE CHALLENGES... 35and economic policies on the part of host communities to help addressproblems faced by immigrants in places where they settle. Integrationpolicies and programmes will succeed only if they are based on theparticular socio-economic, cultural and political circumstances of thecommunities that receive them.Host communities themselves will be faced with new challenges,including whether they have the capacity, the will and the resources toaddress the needs of newcomers fairly and adequately. If not, how canthey access such resources? If they are not capable of integratingnewcomers, what accounts for this inability? How can member statespromote education campaigns to curb the rise of racism and xenophobiain response to increasing immigration? These are only some of themany questions that need to be asked, discussed and answered indevising sound integration policy and programmes to benefit bothimmigrants and the members of the host communities.Academics, non-governmental organisations and practitionersworking together: an American perspectiveNon-governmental organisations (NGOs), academics and practitionersin the United States have come together over the last fifteen years tocreate a dynamic, collaborative relationship to advocate for the rights ofimmigrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the United States. Thatcollaboration has resulted in the provision of direct legal, social andeducational services to immigrants and asylum seekers, direct lobbying ontheir behalf before local, regional and national decision makers andfederal court litigation to challenge unfair and discriminatory laws andpolicies. A large, diverse and powerful NGO community across the UnitedStates is devoted to promoting respect for the rights of migrants, refugeesand asylum seekers. The immigration bar association —the AmericanImmigration Lawyers Association— has over 8,000 members who arelawyers practising in the field of immigration law, primarily in the UnitedStates (see their website at http://www.aila.org). Academics dedicated tomigration and refugee issues have organised sophisticated networks andassociations through which they share ideas, information and research. 22 In the field of immigration, nationality and constitutional law, many legal academicsand scholars belong to focus groups within the American Association of Law Schools(AALS). For information on AALS and those groups, visits its website at http://www.aals.org Additionally, immigration and nationality law professors in the United Stateshave organised a list serve, known as the immprof list, with close to 200 participants.