Making Migration Work for Britain - Essay Example

Introduction UK immigration policy has been touted as being firm and effective in restricting individuals to enter and live in the country. It has been declared as a restrictive tool that allows a limited set of people to live in the country. This paper therefore argues that while the policy is straightforward and clear, it is has some limitations that affect the society. Among this limitation is the undermining of families and marriages. The discussion in this paper will major on the aspect of marriage, families, children and the society at large. UK over the years has been historically rated as a net exporter of immigrants from other countries and more specifically Middle East and Africa. But this trend changed in the 1990s when the UK increasingly became a net exporter of populations. In fact, previous studies have shown that the labour market in the UK consists of a majority of immigrants especially in the lower grades. This means that the UK is greatly benefiting from immigrants into the country. In the recent past however, the government has been forced to revise its immigration laws in order to curb issues such as terrorism, crime, overpopulation and unemployment. The proposals are that the employers will be given a tier system that will prioritize those people who will be living in the UK The new system The government’s proposal for a new policy to end ‘chain migration’ into Britain encompasses a point-based approach that forms part of the five year strategy for immigration and asylum. The system which was published in February 2005 and contained in the home office publication was; “controlling our Borders: Making migration work for Britain”. This proposal has not only been subject to extensive consultation but has also had a fair share of opposition with critics arguing that it has negative effects on families and marriages in addition to other effects including unemployment, poor public service, costs of implementation etc. This five year strategy is a continuation of the government’s aim to have a smooth immigration system that will see elimination of earlier mistakes such as the bombings witnessed last year. Despite the fact that the policy will come with social, economic and cultural benefits, it has its shortcomings which can be noticed from the other countries such as the United States (Hoffman, 2001). The government needs to accept that in one way or another that the proposals to end chain migration in the U.K has undetermined the family and marriages in many ways. Impacts of the system on families and marriages Although the government believes that the policy will be beneficial to the economy in the country, critics including the human rights people think that there is a sinister motive behind the move. A statement posted in the Home Security publications indicate tat; “We will replace out-dated and confusing rules with a clear and modern points system so we only allow into Britain the people and skills our economy needs. Those who want to settle permanently in the UK will have to show they bring long-term benefits to our country. But while making the rules strict and workable, we will make sure we don’t slam the door on those genuine refugees fleeing death and persecution” (Home Department, 2007). The government admits that the immigration policy has negative effects on the economic performance of the country which directly affects the income that families will be achieving in the long run. The availability of jobs and work in the country will be improved but a particular tier group. This shows that more people will be lazy in the education programs and especially the parents. The parents in this case will believe that since the law protects the natives in finding jobs, their children n will find it easier to get jobs. This kind of laxity will greatly affect the way the country will be moving on in the future. The government continues to welcome within strict criteria economic migration and asylum. Students and other visitors are considered to be huge contributors to the economy of the country and a large percentage of the GDP is attributed to them. The new system offers an opportunity for people who may wish to live or visit the country to understand the regulations in a much better way and that migrants will only fill jobs that cannot be filled by the workforce here in the country. (McCubbin, Patterson, 1983) In an academic and common sense perspective, the immigration current rate has stabilized certain sectors such as the housing market which is almost 200,000 people. The policy if implemented the way it is will increase shortages and push up rents. This means that families will find it difficult to afford the housing units. The costs of housing and the availability of housing will be a problem as it will mean that more people will be leaving and coming into the country for shorter periods of time. (Shavinina, 2004) High costs This policy increases the amount of costs that are usually incurred for visits and travelling by family members who may want to visits their relatives abroad. Since this policy restricts visits only to academic and economic reasons, it will be difficult to meet the expenses of the same. It is also difficult to follow all the regulations of the policy and people who will not be meeting the requirements will be affected. Families will therefore find it difficult to meet travelling and other costs. Human rights abuse Although there are no human rights principles that can prevent a state like the UK to introduce such a system on immigration, it is obvious that there are concerns that must be addressed fully in order to be able to effectively utilize such a system. Proposals such as those that do not accept appeals on decisions that have been made will be a bridge to the human rights of the individuals affected. This will ultimately affect the development of family statutes and especially the marriage factors in the society. (Boyle, 2002) Social relations Since the proposals indicate that a worker will be allowed certain amount of time to live, work or study in the country, then it has some implicative effects on the way marriage and social relations will be dealt with. Many families which will want to extend their stay in the country will be forced to make other plans because the law may not allow and that the family will move to where laws are somewhat less strict. (Boyle, 2002) Abandoning a family after a stay of five or so years is unpredictably more stressing. In that case, marital problems such as poor child upbringing, divorce or separation will arise. Other social problems Other social problems that may arise include the increase in number of single spouses in the country. The current estimates on the number of Britons married to immigrants are overwhelming and if this policy is implemented and given another ten years, the number of single persons in the country will increase. This will be a disaster if the policy will go ahead without any amendments for the three or so decades. It will also be more difficult for the youth to socialize freely with the ambition of getting married in future. More people will be sceptical on the possibilities a long lasting relationship with people who may not be able to live in Britain because if immigration rules. Because of the complications that come as a result of this policy, children will be affected severely. For a child who is born in the country by parents from different countries and living in the country for a short period of time, the children’s education system, lifestyles and other benefits will be interfered with. With will have short and long term implications especially given the fact that the living standards will change and may be their lives in future (Clifford, 2000). Violence in other countries Another potential implication that may in fact be forced on the individual who have stayed in the U.K for some time before they are told to leave is to go back to a country where there is no security at all. Telling people to leave to countries where the situation is worse will be like sending people to hell. A country such as Sierra Leone is violent, poor and unwelcome to its native people. If a lady Briton married to a man from this country and told to leave the country, it will be very unfortunate and that life will be difficult for the two if they live in Sierra Leone. Lack of cultural understanding Failure by the government to accept the influx of immigrants on social terms and not labour and economic basis means that a problem will brew itself with reference to cultural diversity. The country badly needs to have a cross-cultural opinion that will see increased cases of intermarriages, diversity in the workplace etc. Since such kind of diversity benefits the society in terms of cultural know-how and development, the family stands to lose on it. (Goody, 2003) Children will be growing up in a non-cosmopolitan setting and this will lead to lack of societal cooperation. In order to apply the policy effectively and in a robust way, there is need to have a fair monitoring system. The centre for human rights in Northern Ireland argues that the program is discriminatory in nature and will be more harmful than useful. Families which have successfully gotten the permit to stay in the country will need to have more evidence to help their families and friends back at home visit them. Families will find it difficult to communicate effectively with one another and this will affect their general relationships. Conclusion The immigration rules and polices introduced by the government has adverse effects to the families and marriages not only in the UK but also in other countries of the world who have linkages in Britain. The main effects are the high costs of housing, travel etc., Lack of cultural understanding, divorce, family break-ups and social problems. Although I concur with the government that not all issues will be addressed by the same policy, care should be taken into account to avoid the excesses in the society. (Parries and Jeffery, 2002) The comprehensive reform process in the country especially on asylum and immigration will benefit the country economically but will to some extent deny people their rights to live in the country permanently. The main impact that will be experienced will be the social effects that will deny people, families and marriages free associations and relationships. References Antonovsky, A. (1997): The Immigration law and its impacts on the society. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 3, 12-98 Boyle, M. (2002): The Immigration reforms in Britain; Human Rights response in Northern Ireland. 36; 23-90 Connor, L. and Connor, B. (1999), Real-Time impacts of Immigration policies in U.K on learning processes; Linux Journals pp 5-12 Clifford, J. (2000): Immigration and its social impacts on day to day Human activities. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, p. 90-108 Duran, S. (2006): JWCI immigration, nationality and Refugee law handbook. P. 45-48 Hoffman, K. 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