Issues of Migrant Immigrants - Essay Example

Issues of Migrant Immigrants The issue of immigrant migration has become a hot topic globally, and while the issues vary from country to country, acommon theme of concern is expressed by advocates and proponents of immigrant migration; that immigrants are being exploited and that their inclusion in the host country’s workforce is harmful to the host country’s citizen workforce population and economy. In an article printed in the Guardian Newspapers Limited, Alan Travis (March 16, 2006) writes that British citizens should be concerned over a change in the immigration system that would favor a highly skilled immigrant work force while restricting immigration of the lesser skilled immigrants (4). The change to the current system is scheduled to take effect within two years, and would give third world citizens who are educated and skilled the opportunity to come to the UK with their families and to settle there permanently (4). At the same time, the system would “close” to unskilled and lesser educated immigrants from the same third world nations (4). This is, Travis says, a proposal of bias that will create an imbalance in third world countries with respect to the populations included and excluded, since it takes the third world home country’s most needed workforce; and it creates an incentive for UK employers to take advantage of the system in a way that is harmful to the existing and future workforce within the UK (including the immigrants) (4). Britain’s employers claim that migrant immigrants are a highly motivated workforce, and imply that the migrants have a better work ethic than that found amongst their own country’s workforce (4). Indeed, there are often extenuating circumstances that serve as personal incentives for the migrant worker to excel, perhaps even accepting overtime assignments and going beyond the call of duty in doing a good job for the employer. A recent article published in the Washington Times (2005) discusses the benefits to the host country and the immigrant’s home country. “Recent projections by international agencies, including the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, put the annual remittances – the money that migrants send to their home countries – from the world’s 176 million international migrants in 2002 at $130 billion a year, $79 billion of which went to developing countries.” The article goes on to say that the figures reported could be even higher because of undocumented money transfers to third world nations (January 3, 2005: A10) Mexico stood as one of the largest contributors to remittances to home countries with an estimated “…$14.5 billion, and were that country’s second largest source of income after oil (A10).” Other countries that host migrants include New Zealand, which hosts migrants from the country of Pakistan. Pakistan reports that its New Zealand migrants remitted $1.7 billion from New Zealand, to Pakistan (A10). While these figures show a win-win situation for migrants and their home countries, it is these same figures that give rise to fears and criticism within the host countries. In the United States, which has an unprecedented illegal immigration population from Mexico, citizens have organized grass roots campaigns against illegal immigration and are putting pressure on local and federal representatives and agencies to take action to address the illegal alien problem in the United States. In the state of Colorado, where an story in the Washington Times (2005) reports illegal immigrants increased in number by “more than 300 percent between 1990 and 2000,” a citizen action group forced the State of Colorado to close an online site that, according to the action group, served as a welcome to Colorado greeting and an information site directing the illegal aliens on how to get state services and jobs and open bank accounts – their illegal status notwithstanding (February 2, 2005: A01). The information web site, which has since been closed down, has prompted opponents of illegal immigration to pressure state authorities to ban social services and other benefits afforded legal immigrants and citizens (A01). In the UK, figures reported in the Washington Times indicate that immigrants contributed $60 billion in taxes, they also consumed $54 billion in state benefits and services (March 6, 2006: 4), resulting in a net gain to the UK of $6 billion. In the United States, where social medicine does not exist and it falls upon the taxpayers to support the uninsured medical care of illegal immigrants, as well as other benefits that once in the United States they’re able to access, the cost to taxpayer on a state by state basis becomes not a net profit, but a burden. Under the new system that take effect in two years, families of unskilled migrant immigrant workers will not be permitted into the country, and those worker’s earnings will be deposited into accounts in their home countries to ensure that they return to those countries at the end of their contracted period of employment (The Guardian 2006). The Evening Standard (2005) reports, that the British Government is set to institute a charge of (pounds sterling) 200 per person to migrant immigrants to bring their families into Britain, if they appeal the ban (which is part of the two year system change) to bring their families into the country and are successful (April 25, 2005: 9). Like US citizens, UK citizens are angry over what they perceive as migrants under the UK’s present immigration system. Like the US, the UK has problems with a backlogged system that delays the deportation of immigrants for years on end during multiple levels of appeal (9). Thus, according to The Evening Standard, efforts to expedite legal actions and increase the deportation of “failed asylum seekers is being pursued by the British Government (February 4 2005: 1).” Like the US, according to the The Evening Standard (April 25, 2005: 9) the UK has an undocumented illegal alien problem estimated by one expert to be as many as 500,000 illegals (9). Officials within Britain’s government reject that number, citing problems with the methodology employed by the expert (9). “The Prime Minister said last week it was ‘impossible’ to know how many illegal immigrants there are.” Taking steps to address the problems of the current immigration system rank high on the Prime Minister’s agenda the article reports (9). The US has an illegal population estimated to be close to that of the UK’s, at about 465,000 reports the Washington Times (July 14, 2005: A20). Of that number, it is estimated that 71,000 are other than illegal aliens coming from Mexico and Latin American countries (A20). One of the problems that US Immigration agents face is a lack of facilities where illegal entrants can be detained when apprehended. “The U.S. Border Patrol had detained 98,000 non-Mexican across the country by June,” (A20), “but about seventy percent of them were released immediately owing to lack of detention facilities (A20).” The problem with illegal aliens for the UK and the US only serves to fuel the anger and outcries of broken systems by both country’s citizens. The question becomes one of how to address the issues of migrant immigration in a way that is equitable to the host country, the immigrant worker, and the host country’s citizenry. There is no easy solution, and only time will tell if Britain is moving in the right direction with their upcoming changes to their immigration system. Reference List Alan Travis, Home Affairs Editor. 2006. Guardian Newspapers, March 16, 4. Colorado Unplugs Online Guide for Illegal Immigrants. 2005. The Washington Times, February 2, A01. IMMIGRANTS [Pounds Sterling]200 CHARGE TO STAY IN UK; Pre-Election Blitz on Families Joining Migrant Workers. 2005. The Evening Standard (London, England), February 4, 1. Legal Migration Is a Boon to All; Sending, Receiving Nations Benefit. 2005. The Washington Times, January 3, A10. The Other Than Mexican Loophole. 2005. The Washington Times, July 14, A20. PM Did Know Illegal Migrant Tally. 2005. The Evening Standard (London, England), April 25, 9. Read More