Home | Legal | Immigration
We are aware of the fact that humans were referred to as nomads in the past. Man moved from one land to another in search of food and shelter. Immigration is also the movement of people from one nation to another but it implies long-term permanent residence by the immigrants and not a short term stay. The International Integration and Refugee Association estimated that there are 191 million immigrants across the world. If wee see the break up: 115 million immigrants live in developed countries e.g. 38 million reside in the US alone, making up 13% of its population; 33% of all immigrants live in Europe. 75% live in just 28 countries and women constitute approximately half of all migrants at around 95 million. There are numerous questions which arise in the mind of the common man about the concept of immigration. Some of them have been answered below. Why do people emigrate? Thousands of people have migrated from their own countries to other foreign lands. Even in the present scenario immigration is continuing on a large scale. There are various reasons for the same; some are forced to shift due to conflict or to get away from maltreatment and discrimination, while others migrate voluntarily. Although it is not an easy task to leave their homeland but it is the need of the hour to do so. It is truly an act of courage to do the same as one has to: Move to a different country with different culture and norms. Suffer the potential loneliness. To earn a living and preferably save for sending the home. Poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunity are the major causes for the growing immigration throughout the world. People are migrating from one place to another as they feel that the other country will probably have better infrastructure for supporting them. The present drive for globalization is gradually increasing the rate of immigration and creating losers rather than winners. What are the effects of Immigration? Immigration has many advantages and disadvantages which are al follows: Immigrants have to do many kinds of jobs for earning their living, which the local population may not do in the ordinary course. Immigrants also work for long hours and at cheap rates. This is beneficial for the country as the local population work at the fixed country rates only. If the immigrants are welcomed in the host country with open arms they will surely work for the economic and social development of the country. If the immigrants are well educated they offer a lot of talent for the development of the country and its economy as well as society. As the immigrants come from different walk of life and from different countries they give the host country a snapshot of their cultures and traditions. But there are also numerous drawbacks which are faced by the immigrants as well as the host country: Generally immigrants are exploited for cheap labour. The developing countries suffer brain drain. After educating their subjects and spending resources on them, the citizens leave their own country to serve a foreign country. Drug trafficking, terrorism, smuggling are some of the things that are encouraged if immigration is encouraged. Immigration can become a political issue and racism can be used to abuse the feelings of local population. Sometimes refugees who also enter as immigrants are given more privileges than the local population, this can create panic amongst the citizens. Illegal immigration concerns can also spill ill feelings among the citizens of the host country. At the outset immigration appears to be an easy affair but the reality its different. In the United States of America the New York-based Human Rights Watch reports on the ruthless treatment given to the immigrants who enter the country. The US Immigration and Naturalization Service treat the immigration captives as though they were criminals by putting them in jail. In UK even though the number of people looking for asylum in UK is not as large as other countries in Europe the Amnesty International is concerned about the fact that UKs existing process actually means that the asylum centers which appear like prisons accommodate people who perhaps are waiting for long years before their case can be heard. The European Union has framed specific policies to manage and control the growing number of immigrants coming from different areas of the world e.g. Spain is raided with a large number of immigrants from Morocco and other North African countries where people are unhappy with the political and economic condition of their countries. Since 2004, when most of the Eastern Europe countries became part of the European Union, over 430,000 East Europeans and almost two-third of Poland registered for employment in Britain. The modern idea of immigration deals with issues involving the development of nation-states and nationality law. In every state the citizens have inalienable rights but laws for the immigrants are more stringent and strict. Illegal immigration is growing day by day affecting many territories. What is illegal immigration? Illegal immigration refers to the crossing of borders of the host country in a way which will hamper the immigration laws of that country. This definition includes an illegal immigrant who has illegally crossed an international border, or who has entered a country legally but stays there for a period which is longer than that prescribed in the visa. Causes of illegal immigration (a) War Illegal immigrants leave the country of their origin to get away from war or repression. They also leave their country to avoid the abuse, exploitation, dictatorship and injustice which they would have to face during their stay in their country. The figures from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reveal that Colombia is one of the leading source countries of unauthorized immigration to the United States. One third of El Salvador has already shifted to US. According to the estimates US will be accommodating around 70,000 refugees in 2007. President Bush stated that his ultimate goal is to resettle 90,000 refugees each year. The State Department officially re-opened the Vietnamese resettlement program in 2006. (b) Poverty Natural disasters and overpopulation magnify the migration flows. The people from developing countries want to shift to the developed areas in order to fulfill their dreams. They also shift to the countries where the wage labour ratio is much higher a compared to their own country. (c) Prostitution and Slavery Even after the end of the international slave trade started by the European nations and the United States in the 19th century, the illegal import of slaves has continued. Some women are still smuggled in US and Canada. In the present scenario sexual slavery is the greatest menace prevailing in the Eastern Europe, Middle East and the US. Burmese women, who are trafficked into Thailand, are forced to work in factories and also as prostitutes are not conversant with the language of that region and are thus abused by police due to their illegal immigrant status. The Dominican sex trade rank third in the world after Thailand and Philippines. The Haitian workers who work here are sold to work in the sugar plantations. Some female children are also forced to work as prostitutes. There are various methods by which these illegal immigrants cross the borders and step into the other country. They are as follows. Methods (a) Border crossing This route is followed by those people who do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not qualify for a visa. This method is very dangerous and immigrants often suffocate in shipping containers, trucks etc., sink in shipwrecks or die of dehydration during long walks without water. Human smuggling and trafficking is a type of cross border immigration. Human smuggling is the practice of aiding large groups of illegal immigrants in crossing over international borders for financial gain. There is a difference between human smuggling and trafficking. A human smuggler will assist the immigrants in the illegal entry into a country for a fee, but on arrival, the immigrant is usually free. On the other hand trafficking involves the using of physical force and fraud to obtain and transport people. The types of human smugglers who are operating from different countries include Snakehead gangs of China and "coyotes" who operate in the areas of Southwestern United States and are well known for even abusing and killing the immigrants. Sometimes immigrants are abandoned by their human traffickers if there are difficulties, often dying in the process. Others may be victims of intentional killing. (b) Overstays There is another category of immigrants who enter the country legally but after the expiry of their visa they continue staying in the same country illegally. Almost 200,000 refugees are staying in Canada in spite of the fact that their refugee applications were rejected. Another class of immigrants is created when a person is allowed to remain in a country because he/she needs special pension for a medical condition, etc. even if he/she does not possess the required residence or work permit. These people can neither be called illegal immigrants nor can they be called citizens. In cases where a child is born in the jurisdiction of another country, the parents of the child can claim the right of territory. But this can be achieved only after the child attains the age of eighteen and there is a specific application filed by the child or the parents. Solution to the problem There have been innumerable debates and discussions to solve the problem of illegal immigration. In the current situation there is a need to understand the mind of the illegal immigrant and the immediate reasons for the risk that he takes in immigrating. The following steps can be followed to reduce and minimize the effects of this problem. (a) There should be a compulsory registration procedure for the immigrants and some simple tests including a background check should be conducted. (b) Visas should be given to a greater number of people and the criteria for the same should be made less complicated. This will close the illegal path which the immigrants would have followed in case their visa applications were cancelled. (c) It should be made compulsory for the immigrants to work and no special social welfare services should be given to them. (d) The citizens of the host country should be given the power to sue the illegal immigrants and also report the matter to the higher authorities. In this way a close watch can be kept on these immigrants. (e) Anyone who is once caught as an illegal immigrant should never be allowed to immigrate in the host country. (f) A border wall should be constructed to eliminate the flow of people into the United States in an undocumented fashion. (g) A multi-purpose identity card would also help in curbing illegal migration. To conclude it can be said that immigration is a means through which people of far off lands are coming closer but on the other hand the illegal infiltration of people is leading to the grave consequences. The need of the hour is that every country should be vigilant and alert to remove this problem completely. Efforts should be made to remove poverty, war, hunger, unemployment etc. which are the driving forces for the people to emigrate from their own lands in search of better living conditions and amenities.
Provided by ArticleGOLD: Articles Directory - Article Directory
About the Article Author
Mindsprings Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. For more detailed articles visit www.mindsprings.net visit blog lpo-legalprocessoutsourcing.blogspot.com
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
# of Ratings = 1 | Rating = 5/5
