Immigration Law of the United States vs. France - Essay Example

A Discussion of Immigration Laws: The Comparisons Between the United s and France Due IntroductionThe United States is a country renowned as the historical melting pot of ethnicities, cultures, and ideologies. Issues concerning immigration continue to be at the center of a great deal of ethical, social, and political debate. The United States is not the only country that struggles with the finding of the best possible policies to be applied to the immigrant populations within the country. Many countries in Europe, as well as, Canada have similar concerns. France, in particular, is presently reforming and altering how they handle immigration concerns; their reasoning however is rather different for several reasons. Between these two countries, the United States and France, both, struggle to find balances socially, ethically, economically, and politically to resolve these immigration issues experienced in their countries respectively. Background In order to understand the immigration concerns of each country it is important to explore the immigration history of the two countries, which contributes to immigration situations that exist today. The United States is a country that was founded on immigration. For this reason, there were no laws relating to immigration at all. It wasn’t until a century after the country was founded that the first immigration legislation appeared; however, these policies were specifically biased, it focused to deter the immigration of prostitutes, criminals, and peoples of Asian descent.(Ewing, 2012) A quota system was implemented, in 1921, it too was biased in favor of Western Europeans. There were no restrictions or quotas on people of Latin or Hispanic descent until 1965. This was the first year that the quota was applied to Latin and Hispanic immigrants; it was, also, the last year that the quota system was put into practice. Much of the immigration policy in the United States was determined by the individual states. However, as the years went by immigration issues and laws have become more under the federal jurisdiction. More recently, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks much more strict immigration laws appeared aimed, particularly, at certain ethnicities and religious affiliations. In 2005 the “Secure Fence Act” added stronger restrictions on border passage, longer fences, and the insistence of identification documents that are not easily forged or tampered with, all in hopes of deterring illegal immigration into the United States.(Ewing, 2012) Even more recently, are the stringent laws being enforced in the state of Arizona. Where it is now acceptable legal practice to question “potential” immigrants, who may have an undocumented status; the citizens in Arizona are required to carry the paperwork that verifies their right to be the United States at all times. France’s history with immigration is a little different than the United States. At one time France was the only country in Europe that encouraged permanent immigration to their country. However, by the 1970s, France’s need for migrant labor faltered with the first “gas shock.” The French political administration discontinued the renewal of visas and began actively working to deter possible immigrants coming from outside their borders. Ironically, with France’s floundering economy France became less attractive to migrant workers, when there is knowingly few jobs to be found.(Guiraudon, 2002) Unlike America, France has no social or professional businesses or organizations that lobby heavily in favor of immigration and the value of diversity on the workforce. France has, almost, taken n a “xenophobic” mentality, which simply means, that they prefer as few outsiders as possible. France has a large population of Muslim immigrants. They recently passed laws banning the building of minarets on their mosques and the wearing of burkas, or headscarves, in public places.(Remmers, 2010) France, unlike the United States, favors conformity over diversity. With greater understanding of the summated immigration history of both countries, it is easier to discuss the specific comparisons and contrasts that exist between these two nations today. Discussion One of the major differences between the immigration concerns is the status of the immigrants themselves. France has a large number of immigrants, today it is primarily Muslims, nearly 3 million, that have legally immigrated and now live in isolated communities.(Remmers, 2010) France’s major issue with these immigrants is that Muslims, as a part of their faith are not willing to compromise their traditions and culture, are not open to conforming to French culture; they refuse to assimilate. Therefore, France’s immigration laws are intended to impose a sense of forced assimilation on the immigrants within their borders. America’s greatest concern in regards to immigration is not the lack of conforming to the population, but the number of undocumented immigrants living within the United States. There is estimated to be, nearly, 10 million Hispanic/Latin immigrants in America that are here illegally which of course, creates a battery of social, political, and economic issues that contribute to the issues of immigration. Ethics, or rather diversity ethics, also, plays a huge role in the differences in how immigration is approached. As a whole, the United States encourages diversity, freedom of ideals, expression, and, ideally positive multi-cultural environments. They may not always live up to those expectations, but those ideals are part of basic foundations of the United States. For this reason, implementing laws the affront immigrants’ human rights bring about debate if those laws are ethical. This is why finding the correct solution becomes difficult. France, on the other hand as mentioned, does not share the American encouragement of diversity. They are, also, not bothered by Arizona’s new stricter immigration laws; France has had similar laws for generations, requiring immigrants to carry all identity documents with them at all time.(Bartram, 2012) So while Americans struggle with Arizona’s laws, France would, likely find the legislature completely logical. On a political scale France and the United States are quite different. In the most recent American election, Barack Obama, earned a second term of office as President of the United States A short time earlier Obama bypassed the traditional Congressional means and implemented an “executive order,” and put the “DREAM Act” into action. The “DREAM Act” allows the children of undocumented immigrants, assuming they meet certain criteria, would be rendered safe from deportation and persecution since they did not arrive in this country of their free will. There are many Americans believe that Obama’s action has less to do with concern for immigration and more to do with gaining the large Latino/Hispanic vote. Immigration may have been a huge deciding factor in the outcome of that election. In contrast France’s reaction to immigrants, as a whole as mentioned before, is a xenophobic one. French citizens In general find the presence and encouragement of immigrant culture and influence as a threat to the “French identity.”(Remmers, 2010) Another distinct difference between the two countries is how they approach enforcing immigration laws. The United States expends great energy and millions of dollars attempting to locate, apprehend, detain, and deport undocumented immigrants. The focus is on the immigrants and the “criminal” action of crossing a foreign border. In France however, the laws do not focus as much on the immigrants and more on businesses that employ them; this is a behavior quite common throughout Europe.(Bartram, 2012) The fines imposed on companies for hiring undocumented immigrants are severe enough that it seems to have a greater impact and result in better determent, as it will be financially costly. There are even some instances where such employers can face jail time. The final contrast between the United States and France is how immigrants impact the economy and social environments. As previously discussed, France has taken a xenophobic attitude towards the influence of immigrants within their country; In the United States, again, the multicultural and multiethnic influence is perpetual. The United States immigrant population has provided the foundation of many industries particularly in that they fill the jobs that natural-born Americans were not interested in taking. Therefore quite often, in the U.S. the immigrant workers are actually beneficial to American industry and economy.(Rampell, 2013) However, it is the illegal immigration that causes the issue in the United States not the immigrants that follow through with the legal processes in order to be here. America encourages immigration to a certain degree, but would be preferred it were legally obtained. France on the other hand, would just as soon there was no further immigration into France at all. Solutions Solving the immigration issues in France, the U.S. and all over the word is no easy task, and will likely not come quickly. There is no doubt that these issues are of serious concern. There are different approaches attempted, as yet, however, there is no single satisfactory universal solution that will be agreeable to everyone. It has been suggested that the United States adopt the French legislation that allows the persecution of employers who hire immigrants, instead of focusing on the immigrants themselves. This might have the kind of impact that they are hoping for. However, for a plethora of ethical reasons, America is reluctant to universally attempt any universal or highly strict policies. (Bartram, 2012) The issue of immigration is not a black and white, one-size-fits all, topic. The solutions are not easy to come by. When the first immigrants came to this country they did so to gain freedom. Many immigrants in the United States today are eager and willing to follow the necessary legal, procedures to obtain a legal status. However, others are not so eager and choose to remain undocumented. France pushes a conformist and assimilation mentality on those who immigrate to their country. America encourages diversity as a positive dynamic. The two countries continue to work to find the right solutions; as yet neither country has found an ideal solution. Conclusion In the end, whether you are a natural-born American, French citizen, or an immigrant from another land, there are rules, laws, and processes that must be followed in order to function and contribute to society. This applies to all people. Ultimately, it seems the best plausible solution will only come when people can truly respect cultures, ideals, philosophies, and faiths that are different from their own. Acknowledging that the needs and wants of most people are the same no matter where they originally come from; secure employment, safety, acceptance and the feeling that your existence matters and is in some way contributory. France may eventually manage to eliminate immigration into their country at some point. In America, the country of immigrants, the solution will be quite different. In the United States resolving the concerns about undocumented immigrants is paramount however; legal immigration will remain available for those who wish to become a part of this country. References Bartram, D. (2012, June 26). Interview by Horwich J. [Web Based Recording]. How u.s. immigration law compares to other countries , Retrieved from http://www.marketplace.org/topics/world/how-us-immigration-law-compares-other-countries Ewing, W. A. (2012, January). Opportunity and exclusion: A brief history of u.s. immigration policy. Retrieved from http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/Opportunity_Exclusion_011312.pdf Guiraudon, V. (2002). Immigration policy in france: U.s.-france analysis. The Brookings Institution, 1-4. Retrieved from http://www.unc.edu/depts/europe/francophone/brookings_immig.pdf Rampell, C. (2013, February 5). Are immigrants taking your job? a primer. The New York TImes. Retrieved from http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/are-immigrants-taking-your-job-a-primer/ Remmers, J. K. (2010, January 12). Immigration: U.s. vs. france. The Moderate Voice, . Retrieved from http://themoderatevoice.com/59212/immigration-u-s-vs-france/ Read More