Immigration

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Immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. An immigrant is usually someone who intends to reside permanently, and not a casual visitor or traveler. Immigration means "in-migration" into a country, and is the reverse of emigration, or "out-migration." The long term and/or permanent movement of human population in general, whether into, out of, or within countries (or before the existence of recognised countries) is regarded as migration.

Why people immigrate

People immigrate for the following reasons:

• professional,
• political,
• economic
• persecution
• sentimental (i.e., the desire to settle in a country due personal preference; family reunification).

Much immigration occurs for economic reasons. Wage rates vary greatly between different countries; individuals of third world countries in particular can have far higher standards of living in developed countries than in their originating countries. The economic pressure to migrate can be so high that when legal means are restricted, people may immigrate regardless of their legal status.

National reactions to immigration

Throughout the world, immigration is a controversial issue. All developed nations put restrictions on how many people can immigrate to them. These are usually justified on economic grounds with worries that many poor workers would lower wages and the nation's standard of living. Sometimes the justification for limiting immigration is cultural. The latter is heard most strongly in homogenous old world (European) nations where citizenship was long tied to a person having deep historical roots in the country. Western European nations, Japan, and other countries have long been deeply concerned about their national culture being subsumed. This concern can be especially high when the immigrants are of differing race or religion than the majority.

Immigration into European countries has a long tradition, though until the 1970s and 1980s the levels were relatively modest. Recent increases in immigration have led to the development of political parties in Europe which are almost solely concerned with limiting immigration.

Only five countries in the world "actively encourage" large numbers of immigrants: The United States, Israel, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. These nations still restrict the numbers of people allowed to immigrate, but in most of these countries (Excluding the United States), population growth is almost entirely due to the relatively large level of immigration. Many other countries permit immigration in particular circumstances, e.g., to fill jobs where a skill is not available locally, for wealthy investors or business leaders, in cases of marriage, multiple citizenship or asylum, or under multilateral agreements such as within the European Union or between New Zealand and Australia.

Differing perspectives on immigration

Some free-market libertarians believe that a free global labor market with no restrictions on immigration would, in the long run, boost global prosperity. Likewise, there are anarchists who believe national borders are not legitimate to begin with. Among those on the opposite side of the issue are nationalists who propose militarizing borders, protectionists who prefer closed labor markets, and xenophobes who fear the presence of foreigners, though these views are not shared by all or even most immigration reductionists.

In practice, no civilized nation operates without immigration controls. Some nations, such as Japan, allow for little or no immigration. In countries that do allow immigration there is disagreement over the numbers, policies, and implementation. Those who support more restricted immigration believe that the current levels of immigration serve to depress wages and circumvent unionization, and contribute to unsustainable levels of population growth. Others disagree, believing that overly restrictive immigration policies and practices would not address the economic demand for work emanating from wealthier countries, would not harm the safety or cohesiveness of the country, and would endanger the lives of legimate refugees.

Immigration has become an increasingly controversial topic among environmental activists in recent years, especially within the Sierra Club in the United States. Some environmentalists concerned with overpopulation favor limiting immigration as a means of isolating human population growth, while others argue that overpopulation and environmental degredation are global problems that should be addressed by other methods.

See also

General immigration topics

• Anti-immigration
• Brain drain
• Benefit tourism
• Illegal immigration
• Immigration policy
• International Organization for Migration
• Multiculturalism
• Nationalism
• Nativism
• Overpopulation
• People smuggling
• Refugees
• Racism
• Rural Migration
• Trafficking in human beings
• Xenophobia

Australian immigration

• White Australia policy

Canada immigration

• Chinese Immigration Act of 1923

United Kingdom immigration

• Immigration to the United Kingdom
• British nationality law
• Immigration Apellate Authority
• Becoming a UK citizen

United States immigration

• Immigration to the United States of America Main Article
• List of United States Immigration Acts
• Naturalization
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service INS)
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Further reading

• Peter Brimelow, Alien Nation: Common Sense about America's Immigration Disaster, HarperTrade, 1996, trade paperback, 384 pages, ISBN 0060976918, hardcover, Random House, 1995, 327 pages, ISBN 067943058X

External links

• Barbed Wire - Network to End Migrant and Refugee Detention (organization: UK)
• Brookings Institute: Immigration Policy webpage
• Carrying Capacity Network (organization: US)
• Cato Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies - Immigration webpage
• Center for Immigration Studies (organization: US)
• Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America (organization: US)
• Fair Immigration Reform Movement
• Federation for American Immigration Reform (organization: US)
• Forced Migration Review (journal)
• ILW.COM (publisher of Immigration Daily)
• Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride Coalition (organization: US)
• International Organisation for Migration (organization: Europe)
• The Legalization Site
• Migration Policy Institute (organization: US)
• National Immigration Forum (organization: US)
• National Immigration Law Center (organization: US)
• National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (organization: US)
• New American Opportunity Campaign
• No Border Network (organization: Europe)
• NumbersUSA (organization: US)
• Population-Environment-Balance (organization: US)
• Project USA (organization: US)
• Rights Working Group (organization: US)
• U.S. Immigration. (organization: US)
• Urban Institute: Immigration Studies webpage
• VDARE (website)
• ZaZona (website: concerned with importation of low-wage replacement workers into the U.S.)

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